Associate Commercial Specialist – Estates

Job summary

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) touch 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 undergone a massive 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.

This Associate Commercial Specialist role represents a unique opportunity to join the Senior team in DWP commercial, one of the largest and highest performing commercial teams in central government. The DWP commercial team manages third-party delivery, providing services to 80 thousand staff and over 20 million customers, with an annual contracted expenditure of almost £3bn. Our purpose is simple, we will support DWP to achieve its objectives by ‘enabling effective and value-for-money delivery of DWP policies and programmes, driving better outcomes for citizens through best use of commercial partnering and third-party supplier delivery opportunities.

Job description

We are seeking an experienced commercial professional to lead the Estates Facilities Management sub-category team. This senior leadership role presents an exciting opportunity to shape and influence the commercial management of one of the Department's most significant and strategically important contracts, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, value-for-money services across a diverse national estate.

The successful candidate will be responsible for developing and delivering the commercial strategy for a high value (£1.6bn), complex Total Facilities Management contract. Working closely with senior stakeholders across the Department, the role holder will drive contract performance, commercial governance, supplier relationship management, and continuous improvement to ensure service delivery aligns with organisational objectives and operational requirements.

A key aspect of the role will be building and maintaining strong, influential relationships with senior business leaders, operational stakeholders and strategic suppliers, providing commercial leadership and assurance across all aspects of contract management. The role holder will play a critical role in identifying opportunities to improve service outcomes, maximise value, manage commercial risk, and support the Department's wider estates strategy.

The postholder will lead a team of (currently) 5 commercial professionals located across Sheffield, Leeds and Newcastle, providing clear leadership, direction and development opportunities. They will bring the expertise and credibility required to oversee complex contractual arrangements, resolve challenging commercial issues, and ensure robust commercial governance throughout the contract lifecycle.

We welcome applications from experienced commercial leaders with a proven track record in managing complex outsourced service contracts, leading high-performing teams, and engaging effectively with senior stakeholders across multiple business areas. Candidates will demonstrate strong commercial judgement, experience of supplier and contract performance management, and a consistent record of delivering excellent commercial outcomes through effective governance, assurance and stakeholder collaboration.

Locations:
The successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. When selecting your location listed in this job advert please be aware that this will be your contractual base location with a requirement to spend a minimum of 60% of your working time in this organisational workplace.

Your time spent on official duties at workplace locations other than your contractual office such as supplier, customer or partner locations required to perform your role is included in the 60% attendance.

This requirement will however take into consideration any reasonable adjustments agreed upon appointment for people with a disability, flexibilities agreed for those with specific caring responsibilities, or other similar temporary flexibilities.

Person specification

Strategic Leadership and Management of the Estates Facilities Management Portfolio

• Lead a team of circa [5] commercial professionals, fostering an inclusive, high-performing culture and developing capability through coaching, mentoring and the sharing of commercial expertise and best practice.
• Develop and deliver the commercial strategy for the Department's Facilities Management portfolio, ensuring alignment with departmental objectives, estates priorities and wider government commercial policy.
• Provide commercial leadership for a high-value, complex Total Facilities Management contract, ensuring robust governance, effective risk management, and the delivery of contractual outcomes.
• Work collaboratively with senior internal stakeholders, suppliers and industry partners to drive a consistent approach to contract management, performance oversight and commercial assurance.
• Anticipate and respond to changing business requirements, operational priorities, legislative developments and estate transformation activities, ensuring contractual arrangements remain fit for purpose.
• Lead commercial input into strategic decisions relating to service delivery models, market capability, contract optimisation and future commercial opportunities across the estates portfolio.

Commercial Contract and Supplier Relationship Management

• Provide strategic commercial oversight of the Department's key Facilities Management contracts, applying proportionate contract management approaches based on contract criticality, risk and business impact.
• Drive supplier performance through effective contract management, performance monitoring, governance forums and structured supplier relationship management arrangements.
• Identify, assess and mitigate commercial, operational and financial risks throughout the contract lifecycle, ensuring appropriate escalation and management of issues.
• Ensure compliance with relevant legislation, government functional standards, commercial policies and departmental governance requirements.
• Lead the resolution of complex commercial issues, disputes and contractual challenges, protecting service continuity and delivering value for money.
• Promote continuous improvement, innovation and service transformation through constructive engagement with strategic suppliers and key stakeholders.

Stakeholder Engagement and Commercial Influence

• Build and maintain strong relationships with senior stakeholders across Estates, F