Commercial Assurance Lead

Job summary

The Department for Transport (DfT) works with our Agencies, Arm’s Length Bodies and partners to support the transport network that helps the UK’s businesses and gets people and goods travelling around the country. We plan and invest in transport infrastructure to keep the UK on the move.

This Commercial Assurance Lead role presents a fantastic opportunity for a commercial professional to engage and influence, through commercial assurance, commercial arrangements for the nation’s major transport infrastructure projects.

The role will help the successful candidate build their commercial career and enhance their CV through involvement in complex, high value transport infrastructure projects.

The role sits within the Group Commercial Directorate, specifically in the Commercial Lifecycle Assurance, Supply Chain and Category Management (ASCCM) team, and is a fantastic opportunity to become involved with our major projects and supply chains and to help ensure delivery of effective commercial strategies in support of UK growth.

The culture within DfT is friendly, welcoming and supportive. One of our strategic priorities is to “Be an Excellent Department”, which entails:

• Striving to be the best we can be.
• Delivering the best outcomes for the travelling public.
• Being a department that continuously improves its delivery, and where people feel well supported, are able to reach their potential and enjoy working.

Job description

Important information for applicants

We have two posts available. One is a permanent post and the second is a fixed term appointment until April 2027 for maternity cover.

The Commercial Assurance Lead will provide scrutiny and expert, robust challenge, covering all commercial affairs, ensuring that senior management and governance bodies are advised of procurement and commercial risks in the delivery of the Department’s aims and objectives.

The position will involve cross functional working within the DfT Group Commercial Operating Model, undertaking commercial assurance reviews for a portfolio of projects from across the Department, and reporting to Investment Boards and the Commercial Assurance Board.

The post holder will be able to influence the commercial arrangements for some of the UK’s most significant and critical transport projects through close and ongoing progressive assurance engagement, and will expose the successful candidates to a number of different commercial categories, approaches and models. The post will suit applicants with a wide range of procurement and contract management experience.

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 successful candidate will:

• Lead and support the delivery of commercial assurance of a portfolio of Projects across the DfT Group, including its Arm’s Length Bodies and Agencies
  
  
• Identify commercial risks and present solutions to key stakeholders
  
  
• Engage with and influence senior commercial leaders on approaches to development, implementation and management of complex commercial arrangements and risks across the Department and with wider Government
  
  
• Manage the interface between Projects and the Department for Transport’s Commercial Assurance Board, including providing assurance briefings to the Board, and managing the outcomes of the Board’s decisions
  
  
• Constructively challenge commercial approaches at Governance Boards
  
  
• Maintain a forward look of the commercial assurance pipeline
  
  
• Capture and share lessons learned across the commercial community
  
  
• Review complex, high value business cases as part of the Commercial Centre of Excellence function, and to provide briefings to the Commercial Director and Investment Committees prior to endorsement decisions
  
  
• Ensure alignment between progressive assurance and Commercial Assurance Board (CAB) reviews
  
  
• Provide reports on assurance activity and commercial considerations for each project
  
  
• Maintain a tracker for each assurance project to produce a formal review and approval stages history

Technical skills

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

• Ability to analyse commercial risks and understand margins of error in developing recommendations for Customers and/or key stakeholders.
• Experience of having had a leading role in complex commercial activities, with demonstrable experience across the commercial lifecycle
• A broad and deep understanding of commercial approaches, management and leadership, with experience in creating, interpreting and managing complex commercial arrangements
• The ability to challenge senior stakeholder decisions, work under pressure, and deliver multiple projects within agreed timescales
• Experience in the development of strategies for high value/risk, critical/complex procurements and playing a leading role in the implementation and end to end delivery of these.

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 1st June 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.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 : Sean Kelly
• 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

457282 - DFT - Commercial Assurance Lead - Candidate Pack - Permanent Opens in new window (docx, 1079kB)457282 - Candidate Pack - DfT - Commercial Assurance Lead - FTA Opens in new window (docx, 1080kB)Guaranteed Interview Schemes (GIS) Opens in new window (pdf, 70kB)