Commercial & Grants Assurance Lead

Job summary

Sarah Hamilton, Deputy Director ICS Commercial:

We are looking for a commercial professional to join Integrated Corporate Services (ICS) Commercial Assurance at a time of real growth and change. This role offers the opportunity to influence high-value, high-profile decisions across complex commercial activity, major investment proposals and grant schemes.

ICS is a shared services organisation that provides expert corporate services across government. Our commercial teams support the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and a range of partner organisations. As demand for our services continues to grow, commercial assurance plays a critical role in helping teams make well-evidenced decisions, manage risk effectively and secure strong outcomes for the public.

Within the Commercial Assurance team, you will work across a varied portfolio that includes strategic programmes, digital delivery, grants and investment decisions. You will provide independent scrutiny, practical advice and constructive challenge, helping to shape stronger business cases, clearer governance and better commercial strategies. The role offers wide exposure, senior stakeholder engagement and the chance to contribute to some of the most important decisions across our partner departments.

If you are motivated by working at pace, dealing with complexity and improving how organisations make commercial decisions, this is an excellent opportunity to make a visible impact on a collaborative and purpose-driven team.

Job description

In this role, you will provide assurance for grant and commercial transactions above £10 million, including new grants, contracts and contract changes across the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and partner organisations.

You will work closely with teams developing business cases and commercial strategies, offering advice, challenge and practical support to help them build robust proposals. This is a key role in ensuring that complex commercial and investment decisions are well-governed, evidence-based and deliver value for money.

Reporting to the Head of Commercial Assurance, you will be part of a small specialist team of 4 handling cases with a combined value of more than £3 billion last year. The work is varied and high-profile, with opportunities to contribute across a wide range of programmes, projects and grant activity.

We are looking for someone with strong commercial judgement, experience across the commercial lifecycle, and the confidence to work through complex issues and challenge constructively at senior levels. Experience of grants is helpful, but not essential.

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:

• Work with stakeholders across the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and their partner organisations to provide advice on grant and commercial strategies, business cases and risk management.
• Lead the review of grant and commercial cases, providing clear scrutiny, constructive challenge and practical recommendations to strengthen proposals before decisions are taken.
• Support teams at an early stage to improve delivery models, value for money and the allocation of commercial risk.
• Prepare high-quality briefing materials and advice for assurance and investment discussions, ensuring that issues, conditions and recommendations are set out clearly.
• Support effective assurance governance, including managing case flow, tracking actions and helping assurance forums (Commercial Assurance and Grants Commercial Assurance Boards) run efficiently.
• Build strong working relationships with customers, delivery teams and assurance partners, providing consistent and credible commercial advice.
• Work with central controls and assurance colleagues to ensure cases meet the right standards and are progressed at the right time.
• Contribute to continuous improvement by identifying themes, improving processes and supporting wider capability, policy and sustainability priorities.

Technical skills

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

• Experience assessing complex information, identifying key commercial risks and making balanced recommendations where information may be incomplete or evolving.
• Experience of leading or assuring complex commercial activity, managing competing priorities and delivering high-quality work to demanding deadlines.
• Experience of leading, reviewing or assuring significant commercial activity and delivering strong commercial outcomes for an organisation.
• Ability to build credibility quickly, influence stakeholders and provide clear, confident challenge to improve decision-making and commercial outcomes.
• Knowledge of public sector procurement and commercial policy, and the ability to apply this in practice to support well-governed, value-for-money decisions.

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 Monday 2nd 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-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 basic (or equivalent) 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 : Marina Dura
• 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, 64kB)472986 - CL2615 - ICS - Commercial & Grants Assurance Lead - Candidate Pack (3) Opens in new window (pdf, 411kB)