Commercial Lead & Contract Manager - Strategic Sites Accelerator

Job summary

The Strategic Sites Accelerator (SSA) Programme is a national initiative launched under the Industrial Strategy aimed at unlocking complex, high-potential commercial and industrial sites across the UK to drive investment and economic growth. Led by the Office for Investment (OfI), the programme will deploy a range of interventions to assist, accelerate, and acquire strategic sites. This includes a novel approach to the use of Financial Transactions (FTs) to allow DBT to invest in stalled site projects to drive progress and seek a return on its investment. Given the capabilities required, the SSA will be delivered in partnership with a newly contracted National Delivery Partner (NDP). The SSA is designed to overcome barriers to site development by combining policy intent with financing and delivery execution, ensuring projects move forward in alignment with ministerial and departmental priorities.

The postholder will be the lead commercial contract manager responsible for overseeing the performance, compliance and value for money delivery of all commercial contracts held by OfI for the SSA Programme, including the programme’s NDP contract, as well as contracts with investors or Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) where the SSA Programme has made investments. The NDP will play a significant role in the delivery and success of this flagship programme, providing both specific expertise in commercial real estate, financial modelling, asset management and programme delivery, making up a large proportion of the team’s overall delivery capacity. This contract is worth £5m over 3 years and is classed as a government ‘silver contract’, requiring effective management to ensure value for money throughout the lifecycle.

This role ensures that the NDP fulfils the commercial, financial, technical, and programme delivery requirements set out in the contract, ensuring they integrate into the team and meet relevant milestones, KPIs and obligations. The role will also ensure a healthy working culture across the OfI and NDP teams which maximises the use of both skill sets.

The postholder will also ensure OfI complies with its own obligations to the contract, including timely and accurate payment of invoices.

The SSA programme is likely to also need additional contracts throughout its lifecycle, notably for a separate M&E supplier, legal advice and potentially other specialist advisors. The role holder will lead on the SSA’s overall approach to commercial relationships, supporting additional procurement exercises, onboarding and contract management. This will also extend to supporting OfI’s commercial obligations through its site investments with private sector partners.

Job description

Key Responsibilities

• Lead day‑to‑day management of the NDP contract, ensuring full compliance with all obligations and deliverables.
• Support onboarding of the NDP and embed a positive and integrated working culture across the OfI and NDP teams.
• Establish and run contract governance structures, ensuring accurate reporting, transparent decision‑making, and timely escalation of risks and issues.
• Oversee the NDP’s portfolio‑wide delivery approach, ensuring concurrent workstreams operate effectively and are aligned with programme milestones and ministerial expectations.
• Ensure contractual KPIs and Service Levels are monitored, drive continuous improvement and ensure contract change‑control procedures are followed where applicable.
• Work with the NDP on appropriately packaging and pricing additional work packages not included under their fixed fee, ensuring these reflect value for money and are adequately
• Ensure invoices are accurate and are paid in a timely manner, working with DBT finance and OfI Finance and Operations team.
• As required, support additional procurement processes and manage other SSA contracts including for specialist suppliers, such as legal advice.

Person specification

Essential Experience and Skills

The below criteria are essential and will be assessed at application stage.

• Demonstrable experience of contract management, delivering day‑to‑day oversight of supplier performance and ensuring compliance with contractual obligations.
• Proven ability to work effectively with external delivery partners (at senior level), including supporting onboarding, maintaining positive, collaborative working relationships and addressing stakeholder conflicts.
• Experience contributing to and operating contract governance arrangements, including performance reporting, issue tracking, and escalation.
• Demonstrable experience coordinating multiple workstreams or activities in parallel, ensuring delivery against agreed milestones and priorities.
• Experience monitoring contractual KPIs and service levels, identifying performance issues and supporting continuous improvement.
• Strong organisational and communication skills, with the ability to keep clear records and provide clear, timely updates on progress, risks, and issues.
• Strong business acumen and sense of value for money, particularly in a public sector context.

Desirable

The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates.

• Experience supporting procurement activity, such as call‑offs or sourcing specialist suppliers.
• Experience managing or supporting contracts with professional services suppliers, including advisory or legal services.
• Experience working on large or complex programmes with senior stakeholder interest.

Behaviours

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

• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,511, Department for Business and Trade contributes £16,660 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.

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 Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment
  history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years
  are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.
• A Personal Statement of up to 750 words, explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential criteria.

Your application will be sifted against the Experience criteria of the Civil Service Success Profiles.

We aim to sift both the CV and the Personal Statement but, in the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift may be conducted on the Personal Statement only. Candidates who pass the initial sift of the Personal Statement will either progressed to a full sift where the CV is then assessed, or progressed straight to further assessment/interview.

Candidates who pass the sift will be invited to interview, where we will assess you on the Success Profiles elements of Behaviours and Strengths.

It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-5 weeks after the closing date, though this is subject to change.

Further Information

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment:

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process.

Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at DBTrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information on: Diversity and Inclusion; Benefits; Learning and Development; Working Patterns and what we deliver as a department.

Further Information:

• A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit order based on location preferences.
• Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments.
• The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.
• New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
• Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty. Any applicant who has details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
• A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.
• Terms and Conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
• Please note – the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.
• Candidates that do not quite meet the standard for this role may be offered a position at a lower grade.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland/Access NI on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

For further information on the Access NI confidential checking service telephone: the Access NI Helpline on 0300 200 7888 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email accessni@ani.x.gsi.gov.uk

Feedback

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 : Amy Lambert
• Email : amy.lambert@officeforinvestment.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dbtrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact DBT by email: Resourcing@businessandtrade.gov.uk.
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.
For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Click here to visit Civil Service Commission/Complaints.

Attachments

DBT candidate pack July 2024 (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 943kB)DBT T&Cs 2025-08-18 Opens in new window (doc, 46kB)