Commercial Lead - Estates

Job summary

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) touches the lives of everyone in the UK in some shape or form, delivering services and support to help people find work, assist with a disability or provide support through their retirement. As a key part of DWP, the Commercial Directorate (CD) shapes how services are delivered across 100’s of 3rd party contractual arrangements; with an annual procurement spend in the region of £3bn with some of the largest industry suppliers. CD has been undergoing a transformation exercise to develop into a world class Commercial function and is focused on continuously developing our achievement against Government Commercial Operating Standards.

The Estates Commercial Directorate procures services to help maintain the DWP Estates infrastructure. It delivers and manages contracts in a range of areas including Facilities Management (FM), Security, Furniture, Integrator services, Landlord and Lease Management (LLM), Property Legal Services, Projects and Professional Services. It is a lively team due to the large DWP Estate of circa 800 properties which include Job Centres and Health Assessment Centres and as a result, the contracts we let are specialised to accommodate the needs of every customer that visits one of our sites and all our staff while achieving value for money for the department. We also pride ourselves on developing the skills of everyone in the team, along with supporting other colleagues, to build a professional commercial community that progresses and supports everyone we work with.

The combination of exciting programmes and varied category work enables the team to work across the entire commercial life cycle from strategic development, procurement and contract management and gives the opportunity to explore a range of contracts in detail and build relationships with suppliers and stakeholders alike. This makes this a dynamic, fast paced, rewarding and successful Commercial Team.

Job description

We require a driven, dynamic leader who can deliver commercial solutions at pace. You will be a self-starter who is able to deliver discrete work packages with minimal supervision while working alongside other Commercial Leads. You will demonstrate strong commercial knowledge and understanding of the procurement process and the Cabinet Office Sourcing Playbook. You will be motivated to achieve best value for money by implementing best practice Category Management techniques and working closely with colleagues across the Estates Delivery Team and the wider Commercial Directorate.

You will be passionate about creating change by contributing to an evolving Category Team and you will have the resilience and skills to both challenge and inspire your team, staff and stakeholders. You will form robust and trusted relationships with stakeholders at all levels across your sub-category area, working collaboratively to solve complex problems and achieve the best outcomes. You will play a critical role in this complex category that will involve leading dialogue with major suppliers.

You will play a key role in a strategic project focused on the renewal and future delivery of one of the Category’s most critical contracts. Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, you will be expected to collaborate closely with colleagues and Estate’s stakeholders to assess current service delivery arrangements and identify the most effective model for the future.

A key aspect of the role will be contributing to the development of a comprehensive Delivery Model Assessment (DMA), ensuring that all viable options are thoroughly evaluated. This will include analysing and comparing delivery approaches such as insourcing, outsourcing, hybrid models, and other innovative solutions, taking into account cost, risk, performance, service quality, and strategic objectives.

Person specification

The successful candidate will:

• Motivate and manage a professional commercial team to deliver corporate outcomes and to ensure continuous improvement. Line Manage, mentor and coach team members on policies, procedures, practices, and techniques equipping them with the knowledge and skills to deliver their work in an effective and efficient manner.
• Contribute to developing Estate’s strategies to identify optimal delivery solutions, identification and delivery of savings initiatives and innovation opportunities. Be accountable for the selection and implementation of appropriate commercial models to achieve Departmental strategy and goals and encourage supportive supplier behaviour.
• Act as a source of expert market knowledge, insight and advice to policy and operational teams in the Estates category area. Work with them to understand requirements and develop commercial strategies aligned to policy objectives, suppliers and supply markets.
• Contribute to project scrutiny, commercial governance and approval boards as required.
• Lead on procurements that conform to Departmental procurement procedures, and which comply fully with PCR 2015 and PA23, Departmental commercial policy, and assurance processes.
• Lead on to implement robust contract and supplier management processes and strategies, including the strategy for smooth transition from the existing to future contractual arrangements.
• Provide expert advice on commercial risk management and deliver mitigation plans / strategies to manage identified risks at corporate level.
• Represent the Commercial team at senior meetings across DWP, across wider Government department meetings including Crown Commercial Service, and externally at industry events to remain current with industry Best Practice and Public Procurement Policy.

Technical skills

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

• *Lead Criteria - Delivered end-to-end public procurements in either/or PCR 2015/PA 2023 within complex organisations, developing commercial strategies, plans and processes, managing risk, and securing VfM across complex commercial environments
• Develop & interpret innovative pricing models which ensure equity of outcomes for both the customer & supplier. Makes use of experience & data evidence to develop commercial models that are fit for purpose & robust
• Builds strong internal and external relationships to deliver shared outcomes, understanding stakeholder and organisational goals. Uses structured relationship management and adapts communication styles to engage diverse audiences effectively
• Proven experience of; ability to support others & build commercial capability within a team, and provide expert advice to others & develop teams’ relationships with external stakeholders
• Worked with stakeholders to define sourcing requirements, forecast demand, evaluate sourcing options, develop strategies and business cases, engage suppliers, and align market solutions with business needs and outcomes

Benefits

As a valued employee of the Government Commercial Organisation (GCO), you will have access to all the benefits the centre has to offer; including flexible working, generous benefits, Career Coaches, Mentors, L&D, a Commercial College, active talent management and, most importantly, access to commercial projects that will far exceed the scale and complexity on offer elsewhere in the UK.

For existing Civil Servants: For full details of the impact on any move across the civil service on your existing terms and conditions, please read the candidate pack. Please note that any move across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to continue to claim childcare vouchers.

Kindly refer to the following link for the GCF Rewards and benefits page.