Reference number
101141
Salary
£61,710 – £74,000
GCO Pension, GCO Terms- up to 15% performance-related-pay available on accreditation.
Grade
Grade 7
Commercial Lead (GCF)
Contract type
Permanent
Business area
Other, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Type of role
Commercial
Working pattern
Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time, Compressed Hours
Number of posts
1
Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 14th March 2021
Location
About the job
Summary
Building a strong Commercial Function in Government, and with it the right commercial capability, is at the heart of a far-reaching programme of Civil Service reform.
We are building a cadre of commercial talent in all Government departments; people who can manage our commercial portfolios, who can lead our most complex and novel programmes and projects, people who have the gravitas and depth of experience to work alongside our policy and operational leaders to develop innovative commercial arrangements, whether through joint ventures, outsourcing or best-in-class contracts.
The Government Commercial Organisation is an employer which is truly committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive workplace where all our people are able to bring their whole selves to work and are able to perform to their potential. We understand the importance of diversity and inclusion and strive for a workplace that reflects the communities which we serve. We especially welcome applications from underrepresented groups including Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates, candidates with a disability and candidates with gender-diverse identities. Appointments will be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.
We have already made significant progress through the establishment of the Government Commercial Organisation (GCO), our single employer of senior commercial talent across government. This role will sit within the GCO, but based in our FCDO commercial team delivering departmental objectives.
Job description
The successful applicant will have a varied portfolio of complex and high value contracts/agreements to oversee and they will be responsible for managing key suppliers which are critical to the delivery of the FCDO’s priorities and objectives. The key focuses in this role will be the delivering of value and the managing of risk in line with best practice throughout the contract lifecycle.
There will be the opportunity to build and maintain relationships with a number of key internal & external stakeholders (including suppliers) which will help ensure successful service delivery throughout the contract lifecycle including re-procurement when necessary.
Ensuring that key day-to-day interfaces and supporting documentation remains current and accurate, and that all elements of the obligations covered by the Terms of Business Arrangement (ToBA) between the FCDO and the supplier are delivered are also key features of the role.
There will be the opportunity to support and coordinate a commercial operating model and to carry out a scope root and branch review. Given the dynamic nature of the supplier management profession, individuals will need excellent communication and relationship management skills, as well as a pro-active and responsive nature in order to meet the demands of this role. These skills will be critical to ensure the individual is able to prioritise numerous and varied tasks and manage their own workload to meet the demands of both the FCDO and its suppliers.
Responsibilities
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- Ensuring effective contract management and performance monitoring, including monitoring supplier performance against KPIs, to deliver successful outcomes (time, cost, performance);
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- Identifying considerations, performance trends, evaluating non-conformance, dispute resolution, and remedies;
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- Ensure that commercial risks are identified, understood, and managed working with key stakeholders. Providing feedback to assist with development of contract sourcing and commercial strategies that reflect the needs of the business;
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- RTSS (in full) commercial management requires ability to manage across Estates, ICT and Corporate Services categories. Resolving issues will require liaison with Heads of Commercial Categories and senior stakeholders in FCDO business units;
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- Ownership of ToBA and potential to refresh – design, changes, interface and engagement between FCDO and FCDO-S. This will include, but is not limited to performance management, auditing service delivery, payment schedules and billing, monitoring contract compliance and ensuring that change requests and pricing assumption changes are effectively discussed, managed, processed and recorded;
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- Management of the day to day supplier relationships, oversight to include;
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- – Risks, issues, disputes, escalations and strategic opportunities;
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- – Understanding of revenue flows by category, cost base, overheads, profit margins as inputs and outturns;
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- – Owning relationships with key gatekeepers and enablers.
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- Identifying and implementing opportunities to maximise value for money and identifying strategic opportunities to reduce cost and improve performance;
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- Building external relationships, including cross government forums, with other donors and partners to include and monitor best practices across the sectors;
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- Supporting senior Commercial leaders with the smooth preparation, coordination, interfaces, running and follow-up/resolution of issues/escalations raised with the FCDO/FCDO-S Partnership Review Groups (PRG);
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- Coordination and management of all aspects of supply partner governance including:
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- – Meeting minutes and action monitoring for the Partnership Review Groups (PRG), which operate as the customer board and activity liaison with business units as appropriate;
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- – Preparation for the Partnership Board (PB), which operates as the executive owner board, and linkage with Secretariat and key interfaces/dependencies with PRGs.
Technical skills
We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Risk Mindset- The ability to identify and mitigate commercial risk, to be able to use the relevant tools to identify risk throughout the full commercial lifecycle.
- Commercial Focus- Proven contract management experience and performance monitoring experience, which has delivered great value for money outcomes that have met the needs of the end user.
- Builds Relationships- The ability to build and improve relationships with key internal and external stakeholders. Experience managing commercial or partner relations with significant spend.
- Coaching Manager- Strong leadership ability which has developed high performing teams.
- Contract and Supply Manager- Full contract management lifecycle experience, with a track record of effectively supporting and improving the performance of suppliers.
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.
Things you need to know
Security
Selection process details
For full details of our process, and a likely timeline, please read the explanation provided in the attached candidate pack.
Throughout our selection process, we will make decisions about your capability to do the job, based on evidence you provide against the essential criteria for the role which are detailed in the attached Candidate Pack.
Your application will be reviewed by a panel and should you be successful at sift we will invite you to attend a Virtual commercial Assessment and Development Centre (VADC). The panel will review results of the VADC and determine which candidates will go through to a subsequent final panel interview
IMPORTANT: If you do not receive an acknowledgement of your application within 2 working days please contact: commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles.
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact : | ||
Name : | Stephen Sharpe | |
Email : | commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk | |
Recruitment team : | ||
Email : | commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk |
Further information
More Information
- Salary Offer £61,710 - £74,000