Associate Commercial Specialist - Asylum Support Procurement Team

Job summary

I would like to welcome you to the Home Office Commercial Directorate and thank you for your interest in the roles we are offering.

The Home Office works to keep our citizens safe and our country secure. As well as working to reduce crime, enforce the law and protect our borders, it also works to protect the most vulnerable and is at the forefront of public policy making - our work is among the most challenging and rewarding in Government. Our commercial teams have been at the forefront of the Department’s responses to the COVID 19 pandemic, the protection of our borders and society.

The Home Office spends approximately £3bn each year with third party suppliers and this is managed by the Commercial Directorate, a team of around 300 procurement and contract management professionals. The range of goods and services acquired is huge and includes services to complex programmes that are unique in Europe with multi-million-pound contracts.

At the Home Office, you will have the chance to make a real and tangible positive impact to the country’s future structure, impacting the lives across the UK and work on a broad range of Missions from Borders and Migration, Public Safety and our Homeland security, the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme, Digital Data & Technology.

What we do matters and the opportunity to turn policy into reality is at the forefront of the commercial work we do and seeing the difference it makes to our country is hugely rewarding.

We are partway through a programme of change which has seen us recruiting across all grades. So, whatever your background, either public or private, if you are passionate about delivering first class outcomes then come and join our journey.

Job description

The Home Office has one of the most challenging and critical jobs in Whitehall: to keep Britain safe and secure. We operate at the heart of the Government's agenda, leading on immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime policy, counter-extremism and counterterrorism and work to ensure visible, responsive, and accountable policing in the UK. The challenges the Department faces are significant and can change rapidly in the global environment in which we operate, making this one of the most exciting and stimulating Government Departments in which to work.

The Commercial Directorate manages the conduit between the Home Office and those supplier markets that help us provide key services to the public. It provides strategic commercial services such as market intelligence, procurement and contract management activities and its principal aims are to deliver efficiency savings, support the strategic agendas of our client groups by procuring the right products and services in a timely manner and dynamically managing contracts and suppliers, whilst delivering activities in a transparent and compliant manner.

The Asylum Support Commercial team consists of a Procurement team and a Commercial Contract Management team. This Commercial team sits under the Missions team which is responsible for commercially supporting the Home Office prime mission to keep our citizens safe and secure our border. Missions is specifically responsible for the commercial support to Public Safety Group (PSG), Homeland Security Group (HSG), Migration and Borders including Border Security Command and the Customer Services Group (including Asylum Support).

We are recruiting an Associate Commercial Specialist for the Asylum Support Procurement team. These roles will support the Commercial Specialist (Deputy Director) in complementing the existing business partner facing model whilst integrating a new category management operating model. The successful candidate will also be expected to work closely with the Associate Commercial Specialists responsible for the Asylum Support Commercial Contract Management team.

The role is challenging and exciting. You will lead the commercial team and our stakeholders through a significant step-change in the way we deliver a commercial service. You will ensure that we deliver and drive best in class commercial outcomes. You will lead a significant portfolio of commercial spend, leading business and category strategies, and delivering excellent commercial outcomes for the Home Office key priorities. You will have the opportunity to join a trusted, empowered team where everyone can fulfil their potential.

You will be responsible for leadership, driving people development, change, innovation and creating a cohesive, positive mind-set to deliver great commercial outcomes with real accountability and collaboration with business and project teams. The Asylum Act places an obligation to protect those claiming refuge. The role will lead the Asylum Support Procurement team. The portfolio includes our largest contracts for Asylum Accommodation valued at over £3bn annually, nearly half of the Home Offices third party spend. This includes approximately £6m per day on hotels. You will explore alternative options through a delivery model assessment and deliver re-procurement of the Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts. This is a high-profile role that will require significant engagement with Ministers, Policy and operational colleagues.

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

The job holder will be expected to:

1. Lead a commercial team responsible for procuring large, complex contracts (existing and new) across Asylum Support.
2. Lead and support your team, function, and customers to implement the commercial change programme, paying particular attention to the evolving future pipeline, ensuring it is regularly refreshed and agreed with business teams.
3. Be accountable for the delivery of category/business areas commercial strategies and portfolio of commercial spend.
4. Inspire performance of your team, motivating and supporting them to deliver an excellent and high-quality commercial service to our customers. Championing diversity and attracting a rich mix of talent from wide ranging backgrounds.
5. Create a culture and behavioural change, both in the commercial function and the business, to ensure we meet our objectives.
6. Have a deep understanding of your portfolio of commercial pipeline and associated spend, understand, and manage the markets you operate in, develop category plans, put in place, and agree savings plans, manage commercial risk, and lead significant supplier/contra negotiations.
7. Champion, influence, and challenge senior stakeholders (internal and external); providing high-quality support to Ministers, Home Office and the Commercial senior leadership, ensuring that best commercial outcomes are delivered in line with commercial strategy.
8. Ensure the team exemplifies commercial best practice and civil service behaviours, creating positive relationships, encouraging innovation, “value add” initiatives, a strong customer service ethic, and a culture of continuous improvement.
9. Be an active advocate of commercial, representing commercial and Home Office at senior meetings both within the Home Office and externally at industry events, actively networking with peers to remain current with industry best practice.
10. Bring a commitment to ambitious standards, excellent influencing and relationship management skills, and clear incisive thinking to bear on a range of areas relating to the department’s most important priorities.
11. Play a role in the broader commercial reform programme led by the Government Chief Commercial Officer.
12. Play a key leadership and change management role in developing a strong commercial function for the Home Office and across government.

Technical skills

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

• Evidence of leading large-scale procurement portfolios (e.g. £3bn asylum accommodation contracts), navigating complex stakeholder environments and delivering outcomes in politically sensitive contexts.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver best-in-class commercial outcomes aligned with strategic priorities, including the procurement of high-value contracts and driving value for money.
• Experience of building strong relationships with a range of stakeholders, to influence and deliver collaborative commercial solutions.
• Experience in leading and developing high-performing teams, fostering a culture of inclusion, innovation and continuous improvement across commercial functions.
• Strong understanding and application of end-to-end procurement processes for complex contracts, ensuring compliance, strategic alignment and commercial excellence.

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.

https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/gcf-benefits/

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 Experience and Technical skills.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. Please note: Only candidates that achieve an A grade at ADC will be invited to interview for this role.

Please be advised that the Virtual ADC is taking place on 7 April 2026 and will require a full day's attendance.

If you are invited to attend a virtual ADC, but for any reason are unable to meet the date outlined then please get in touch with the team on commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible. The ADC is booked and paid for in advance by departments, therefore it is only in certain circumstances we are able to accommodate alternative dates.

For full details of our process, and a likely timeline, please read 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 Technical Skills (essential criteria) and your Job History (CV) that you will be asked to provide during the application process. Further help and advice on our application and selection process can be found at this web address https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/gcf-how-to-apply/
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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/artificial-intelligence-and-recruitment/
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.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Ashlene Doherty
• Email : commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should direct this to the Head of Commercial Resourcing Hub at the following email commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk quoting the vacancy reference number (if applicable) and the details of your complaint. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission via the following web page: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitm…

Attachments

451415 - Associate Commercial Specialist - Asylum Support Procurement Team - Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 784kB)Guaranteed Interview Schemes (GIS) Opens in new window (pdf, 70kB)