Commercial Practitioner

Job summary

The Integrated Corporate Services (ICS) is a shared corporate service. It provides corporate services (HR, Finance, Digital, Commercial, Security and Estates) across the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT).

Our team of over 400 professionals will be leading the way in how these functions will be delivered in the future. Our ambition is to be the leading provider of integrated corporate services for government and set the standard for quality, efficiency, and innovation in our field.

We offer great working benefits including a world-class pension, flexible working options and a career where your learning and development is taken seriously. We are enormously proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We support candidates with adjustments throughout our recruitment process. Information about disability confidence and just some examples of the adjustments that you can request can be found in the reasonable adjustment section below.

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Job description

We are seeking a strong communicator and an enthusiastic team member, who can support the delivery of commercial objectives within ICS. The successful applicant will be responsible for supporting Digital Commercial activity across the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

This is a broad area covering customers in all policy teams across the Department and working with ICS Digital colleagues. The successful applicants will report to the Commercial Lead for ICS Digital. You will contribute towards the effectiveness and efficiency of Commercial, by supporting your team with varied tasks and help turn issues into opportunities.

In this role the Commercial Practitioner is expected to support the end-to-end sourcing of a range of requirements, providing commercial support to our operational procurements to enable them to build experience across the commercial team. The job holder is expected to evolve their commercial skills in all aspects of procurement, including tendering, supply, contract and supplier management and compliance, working closely with stakeholders.

Person specification

• You will support the end-to-end sourcing activities including market engagement, launching procurements on the e-sourcing portal, managing timelines and stakeholder expectations. You will work with a variety of stakeholders to support the development of clear business requirements to articulate these into sourcing activities. Building and maintaining relationships with a range of stakeholders.
  
• You will identify value for money ways to contract, leading end to end competitive and single source procurement activities.
  
• You will support the Commercial Lead and Associate Commercial Lead where appropriate throughout the commercial governance process.
  
• You will support the Associate Commercial Lead in Pipeline Planning, maintaining the Commercial Activity Log (Pipeline) for our up-and-coming projects and our Contracts Agreement Register.
  
• You will uphold and evidence commercial best practice and transparency through updating and maintaining of the commercial E-Procurement system, Jaggaer.
  
• You will support with commercial contract management for commercial issues or for variation and extensions requests.
  
• You will support the Commercial Lead and Associate Commercial Leads in the development of the overall category strategies and sub-categories.
  
• The job holder will need to be well organised and able to prioritise effectively, work independently and be required to work closely with stakeholders across the Department.

Essential Criteria

• Experience of supporting procurement process whilst ensuring compliance and adhering to set guidelines;
  
• The skills to persuade, influence and negotiate with internal and external stakeholders both written and oral
  
• Ability to work as part of a team and use initiative to deliver outcomes and meet commercial objectives
  
• Excellent administration and organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise tasks and manage risks and deliver tasks to time and quality requirements
  
• Excellent problem-solving skills, with strong attention to detail, planning and communication skills

Desirable Criteria

• Procurement experience in a Digital category
  
• Experience of using Public Procurement Regulations
  
• Experience of supporting effective contract management processes

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £35,950, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero contributes £10,414 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero offers a competitive mix of benefits including:

• A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
• Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
• Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
• A hybrid office/home based working model where staff will spend a norm of 40-60% of their time in the office (minimum of 40%) over a month with flex dependent on balancing business and individual need.

Office attendance

The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Judgement Test and a Civil Se