Commercial Contract Management Lead

Job summary

Thank you for your interest in this role.

HM Revenue & Customs is the UK’s tax, payments and customs authority, and we have a vital purpose: we collect the money that pays for the UK’s public services, and help families and individuals with targeted financial support. To help us to this, we work with a large and diverse group of external suppliers, with whom we spend over £2bn annually. HMRC’s Commercial Directorate is essential to ensuring that this money is spent effectively.

We are looking to recruit two experienced commercial contract managers who will lead and deliver post-signature contract management for a portfolio of high-value contracts and services in our IT and Professional Services categories.

The contract management function at HMRC is mature and respected within Government. You would be joining this team at a time of change, as HMRC look to modernise and deliver against a refreshed set of strategic priorities through major transformational programmes of work. Our supply chain will continue to play a key role in this, and as a contract manager you and your team will be responsible for ensuring that we receive the best possible value from these relationships.

These roles offer interesting and challenging work alongside outstanding development opportunities within both HMRC and the wider Government Commercial Function.

We look forward to receiving your application.

Job description

Reporting to the Assistant Commercial Director, ensure suppliers and contracts are managed proactively to reduce risk and maximise value by:

• Being accountable for effective commercial contract management (both by managing contracts directly and by managing a small team of contract management professionals) of a number of assigned contracts, typically tier 1 and 2 (gold and silver) to deliver in-contract benefits/savings, manage risk and ensure quality of service
  
  
• Leading on in-life negotiations (including contract variations/extensions) to deliver business objectives and improve value/risk transfer
  
  
• Building and maintaining key stakeholder relationships
  
  
• Working closely with the IT Strategic Supplier Relationship
  Management (SSRM) team to drive value over and above the minimum levels set out in your contracts
  
  
• Employing best practice contract management strategies to protect HMRC from supplier failure and reputational damage

Contribute to the effective running of the Commercial Contract Management (CCM) team by:

• Being part of a small team of contract management professionals to manage a portfolio of contracts in accordance with HMRC and Cabinet Office best practice
  
  
• Working with and supporting peers across CCM to share and improve best practice approaches to contract management, and leading cross-team initiatives
  
  
• Maintaining effective relationships with colleagues across HMRC’s Commercial Directorate, particularly in the Pre-award team, to ensure full and effective management across the contract lifecycle. This will include involvement in developing good-quality contracts at the outset, and providing insight into lessons learned at contract end

Leading and developing our people by:

• Supporting personal and career development for team members
  
  
• Recognising achievement, and addressing unsatisfactory performance, attendance and behaviours
  
  
• Ensuring equality and diversity standards and employee wellbeing are championed within the team

Person specification

The successful candidate will:

• Maintain, operate and assure standard contract management policies, processes and systems which align to HMRC and GCO best practice
  
  
• Develop the team contract management plans to implement CCM strategies to maximise VFM and manage risk
  
  
• Ensure all contract management activities are carried out to the required frequency and depth, depending on contract segmentation (e.g. tracking contract compliance, contract change control, open book reviews, due diligence checks etc.)
  
  
• Work with key stakeholders to support them with developing their business strategies and in planning for timely exit/transition of existing contracts
  
  
• Ensure contracts deliver intended and additional benefits, leading continuous improvement, savings and value for money initiatives as appropriate
  
  
• Support business stakeholders in developing high-quality statements of work, with appropriate and innovative commercial models
  
  
• Undertake reporting and use of dashboards and key metrics in place for your area, including regular reporting to Cabinet Office and senior leaders, and speaking at programme governance boards
  
  
• Act as a key point of escalation to resolve critical contract or supplier issues, providing commercial guidance and support where requested
  
  
• Ensure a best practice approach to risk management, providing assurance that risks are identified, addressed and escalated as appropriate. For example, maintaining comprehensive contingency plans with appropriate supply chain mapping
  
  
• Ensure and assure supply chain assurance is embedded into working practices
  
  
• Work closely with the Strategic Supplier Relationship Management team to support and inform strategic supplier relationships, sharing insight and intelligence on the contract-level relationship to inform current or future commercial strategies and utilise senior commercial relationships to support contract strategies and negotiations
  
  
• Work with Pre-award (Category and Sourcing) team members to develop new contracts and maintain a pipeline of opportunities and anticipate downstream contract expiry dates and ensure early involvement of CCM in specification and contract development

Technical skills

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

• Demonstrable ability to identify and analyse commercial risks and develop recommendations for mitigation and controls which take account of political, technical, legal and other challenges
• Experience of negotiating commercial terms and/or taking a robust commercial position with suppliers, in order to drive value for money and protect the buyer’s interests
• The ability to challenge senior stakeholder decisions, work under pressure, and deliver multiple projects within agreed timescales
• Proven experience of managing commercial teams, building capability through coaching, leadership in challenging circumstances, supporting staff to promote wellbeing and resilience and maintaining delivery
• Experience of implementing contract management strategies and processes for complex, strategic contracts in order to deliver intended benefits, mitigate risk and ensure provision of a quality service

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 be advised that the Virtual ADC is taking place on Thursday 19th February 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 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 : Patricia Krauss
• 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

443911 - Candidate Pack - HMRC - Commercial Contract Management Lead.docx Opens in new window (pdf, 588kB)Guaranteed Interview Schemes Opens in new window (pdf, 70kB)