Commercial Lead

Job summary

Thank you for your interest in this role in HMRC. We don’t think of ourselves simply as an administrator of taxes: in terms of revenues collected, HMRC is larger than the world’s biggest multinational corporation. Every additional £1 we secure – whether through commercial savings or counter evasion measures, for example - is another £1 that can be spent on essential public services.

The importance of HMRC and its role in enabling essential public services has been reflected in the recent Spending Review settlement of approximately £7 billion per annum for the each of the next three financial years, making this an exciting time to join the Department.

In joining the commercial team at HMRC you will be enabling a programme of radical transformation across HMRC, including Estates and IT, which will create the UK’s future tax administration. This includes transforming one of the largest and most complex IT landscapes in financial services.

Join HMRC’s Commercial Directorate

We are recruiting for multiple Commercial Lead (Grade 7) roles across HMRC’s Commercial Directorate, including within IT Applications and Infrastructure teams, Corporate Services & Property (CS&P), the Major Programmes Commercial Team (MPCT), and the Statement of Work Centre of Excellence (SoW CoE). These roles offer a unique opportunity to shape and deliver high-value, complex commercial strategies that support HMRC’s transformation agenda and ensure value for money across a £2.5bn portfolio of annual external spend.

Whether you're passionate about digital transformation, financial services, major infrastructure programmes, or commercial innovation through outcome-based contracting, you’ll find a role that challenges and develops your expertise in a supportive, inclusive, and forward-thinking environment.

Job description

HMRC’s People and Professional Services team deliver an eclectic (but incredibly crucial) mix of Category and Sourcing activities for a wide stakeholder group, with procurement in the region of £250m per annum. Our coverage ranges from Technical and IT Professional Services, Contingent Labour to Recruitment of, and Health, Wellbeing and Learning and Development for staff.

We are looking for an experienced commercial lead to deliver some of the Tax Authorities key requirements, ranging from new transformational solutions to service replacement underpinning every £1 of cash coming into HMRC and wider government. You will be joining a team of people who are passionate about driving value for money, innovation, and best possible outcomes for customers and stakeholders alike. You will be exposed to a variety of senior stakeholders in this category role, alongside external suppliers of all varieties, and you’ll leverage those relationships to develop and deliver category strategies for the future.

It should be noted that the nature of roles within HMRC Commercial Directorate at G7, as a leadership cohort, may require individuals to work flexibly across team boundaries in order to deliver CD wide priorities in core role functions. Additionally, there will be expectations/opportunities that candidates work collaboratively across CD to support and where appropriate lead initiatives such as in support of People Plan and Systems and Data leadership.

A small number of roles may require SC clearance, however the expectation is that all roles will start with BPSS clearance and only where strictly necessary for the role requirements will a request be made to initiate SC clearance processes. Until clearance is received only BPSS work will be undertaken. At interview you will be asked to indicate your willingness to undertake SC clearance should a role require it in the future.

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

Stakeholder & Customer Engagement

• Build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders across HMRC programmes and Directorates, presenting data and information in a compelling way to influence outcomes.
• Act as a trusted commercial advisor to senior leaders and programme teams.
• Collaborate with managers to align commercial timelines and manage procurement risks.
• Develop customer relationships to forecast demand and plan commercial activities.

Market & Risk Insight

• Use commercial acumen and market intelligence to influence decisions and improve value.
• Identify and mitigate commercial risks in procurement and category strategies.
• Apply knowledge of public sector contracting or category specific knowledge as appropriate.

Commercial Strategy & Delivery

• Design and implement procurement strategies aligned with HMRC and Cabinet Office objectives.
• Lead the development and execution of sourcing strategies and innovative routes to market including drafting of specifications, bespoke evaluation criteria, key performance indicators and ITT/SOW documentation as required.
• Deliver high-quality, compliant commercial outcomes.
• Lead/support delivery model assessments and should-cost modelling on high value and complex procurements.

Operational Excellence

• Manage a live commercial pipeline to ensure timely, cost-effective delivery.
• Ensure compliance with governance, policy, and systems (e.g. Ariba).
• Support contract and supplier management teams and ensure consistent, value-adding processes.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Develop commercial models by challenging requirements and proposing creative solutions.
• Apply lean, agile, or continuous improvement techniques to enhance commercial delivery including where appropriate end to end processes.
• Maintain a forward pipeline of commercial needs and inform category planning.

Leadership:

• Demonstrate development of strong strategic relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders, maximizing opportunities to collaborate, achieve efficiencies, improve capability, and promote the procurement profession.
• Demonstrate leadership to develop or create opportunities to improve commercial leverage and drive best practice across all areas of HMRC.
• Demonstrate consistent and clear commercial advice and guidance to internal and external stakeholders and be a key point of contact with the department.
• Experience of ensuring organisation/department maintains compliance with all relevant policies, regulations, and legislation. Desirable experience of procurement in Government or similar regulated industries.
• Experience developing a commercially focused culture within the team and work to develop relationships with key stakeholders to improve commercial understanding across the business.
• Experience supporting the professional development of all team members, taking responsibility for the ongoing performance and development of self and staff, plus the team's performance.
• Demonstrates leadership direction, standards, and advice to the wider Commercial department, contributing to the culture of meeting the highest commercial standards and continuous learning and improvement.

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. Articulating key risks when presenting recommendations for customers and/or key stakeholders.
• Experience of having had a leading role in complex commercial activities, with demonstrable experience in sourcing or demonstrate relevant transferable experience from across the commercial lifecycle
• Experience building relationships at pace and influencing stakeholders, presenting technical issues in a coherent way to help them arrive at decisions through proactive and sound advice.
• Possess strong people skills and demonstrate commitment to the development of your team and wider stakeholders through coaching and sharing best practice.

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 12th March 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 : Hayley Parfitt
• 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)447026 - CL2534 - Candidate Pack - HMRC - Commercial Lead.docx Opens in new window (pdf, 505kB)