Associate Commercial Specialist FTNS x 4

Job summary

In DESNZ we are leading the Government’s focus on being a clean energy superpower by 2030 and accelerating our transition to net zero. Consequently, our commercial landscape is very broad across entity-to-entity contracts, First of a Kind (FAOK) investments in Hydrogen and CCUS, SMR Procurements amongst many others. This role will focus on being a critical friend to Policy colleagues at the early stages of policy exploration to test multiple commercial arrangements including contracts, grants, concessional finance, equity to deliver the policy objective, whilst looking to standardise and embed knowledge management across this space. This will include negotiation advice and design. For someone with broad commercial experience, it presents a great opportunity to work across the full commercial lifecycle, well beyond procurement.

You will need to be able to build strong customer relationships and influence our internal stakeholders on the value commercial can bring. This is a critical remit with a wide-ranging responsibility and accountability for developing customer relationships and building the pipeline as well as managing, developing and increasing the maturity of the commercial team.

As an integral member of the Directorate, you will play an active role in supporting the leadership and management of the directorate, embedding Commercial’s vision and values to create a supportive working environment for all

You will also be helping deliver the step change in the operation of the Commercial profession within the Department, and an ambassador for the commercial function. You will deputise for your DD when needed/appropriate.

The Commercial function in DESNZ is embarking on an exciting programme to review and change the way we operate with the Department, to put Commercial at the heart of everything the Department does, and impact the whole lifecycle of commercial activity, from investment to operational commercial management of projects on site. As part of our senior leadership, you will play a key role in shaping this development and driving growth and enriching the function.

NZBI focus is on reducing carbon emissions across domestic and commercial properties, scaling up clean heat technologies, and cutting industrial energy consumption and this role will play a crucial role in driving this.

Job description

This role is critical to DESNZ’s mission as it ensures policy ambitions are translated into effective, deliverable commercial solutions. By partnering early with policy teams, it tests and shapes a range of funding and delivery models—from contracts to equity—ensuring the right approach is selected. It also strengthens negotiation, design and knowledge management, enabling consistent, informed decision-making and delivery across the full commercial lifecycle, well beyond traditional procurement.

The team provides expert commercial advice and delivery support to help the Department achieve its policy objectives through effective, value-driven commercial arrangements. It plays a central role in shaping how DESNZ delivers its priorities by embedding commercial expertise across the full lifecycle of activity—from early investment decisions through to operational contract management. As part of a wider transformation programme, the team is helping to strengthen the Commercial function, ensuring it is positioned at the heart of departmental decision-making, improving consistency, capability and outcomes, and enabling more effective delivery through stronger business partnering, governance, and professional leadership.

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

Provide advice to SROs on routes to market and ‘deal’ incentives including advice on Grants, equity models, loans and procurement models.

Provide advice on negotiation planning, models, concession matrices and styles to SLT.

Help to assemble and collect Departmental negotiation models and plans already used in a ‘knowledge management’ architecture to enable ‘invent once, use many times.

Lead as requested red team challenge reviews of plans in flight

Create an overview of Departmental capability and expertise in this field outside commercial.

Support the Commercial Director in the leadership of the Commercial Collaboration Group

As agreed, lead negotiation on behalf of SRO, DD Negotiation Centre of Excellence and / or support the Department’s Chief Negotiator

Provide Commercial input and resource into the Policy group

Support the ICS assurance team with assessing Outline Business Case etc of SROs coming to Portfolio Investment Committees.

Technical skills

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

• Demonstrate an ability to navigate complexity, with high levels of confidence with a natural presence and gravitas that is likely to result in successfully influencing outcomes. Lead Criteria.
• Evidence of negotiation skills, likely to have been gained from multiple large deals. Able to demonstrate examples of having been forceful in order to secure a deal, while maintaining strong customer/supplier relationships.
• Significant category expertise, likely to have been gained from working with or in blue-chip organizations at a senior level. Evidence of running insource/outsource conversations and transitioning.
• Demonstrate outstanding consultancy skills, whether internal or external; ability to gain credibility and influence through, network development, strong stakeholder engagement and effective communication skills.
• Extensive evidence of designing, shaping and agreeing innovative sourcing and commercial strategies from a lead role in a complex organization.
• Working with Ministers and SCS to shape their thinking and understanding of the dynamics of the markets.

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 the 19th of November 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-re…
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 basic (or equivalent) 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 : Thomas McDonald
• 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

Guaranteed Interview Schemes (GIS) Opens in new window (pdf, 70kB)20260918 OFFSEN 482070 - Associate Commercial Specialist FTNS NZBI x 4 - Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 434kB)