Commercial Manager - HM Treasury

Job summary

The Cabinet Office and HM Treasury operate as the corporate headquarters responsible for ensuring the effective running of government, maintaining control over public spending and working to achieve strong and sustainable growth for the UK.

The Cabinet Office & HM Treasury (COHMT) Commercial Directorate offers a unique challenge to established commercial professionals or those aspiring to develop their commercial acumen further who want to work on some of the UK’s most important and interesting policy issues. The team works in partnership with all areas of the business in both departments, providing a service that covers planning, commercial strategy, sourcing and contract management on circa £1bn of third party spend.

The COHMT Commercial team operates with our core values in mind which are:

We are Curious, Collaborative and Kind. We act with Integrity and are Focused on value for money.

We are looking to recruit a talented individual who will help deliver our vision of being a top performing commercial function which sets best practices that others follow. The successful candidate will deliver a high quality service to customers and stakeholders alike including through the provision of sound commercial advice to Business Units covering all aspects of their commercial and contract portfolio across different categories of spend.

The role is interesting and varied, providing excellent development opportunities. The successful applicant will have a significant impact delivering key commercial and policy objectives, strengthening commercial acumen across the departments and ultimately delivering value for UK citizens.

Job description

The COHMT Commercial Directorate is made up of category teams which are supplemented by business partners and embedded commercial teams in specialist areas and programmes. The directorate is supported by a central team responsible for the overall strategy and enabling functions.

You will be joining a directorate with a strong team ethos where you will work collaboratively with colleagues and stakeholders to enable the effective management of all commercial activity across your business area through all stages of the procurement lifecycle. This could include activities such as successfully influencing and shaping business case development, advising customers on initial commercial strategy or routes to market, reviewing and shaping requirements, advising on contract management issues and helping develop individual and departmental commercial capability.

You will also support customers with commercial planning, building a robust commercial pipeline and ensuring that contract records are accurate and up-to-date to ensure effective data-driven decision making.

You will:

• Provide commercial advice and support for new procurement activity and contract and supplier management activities
• Enable continuous improvement and commercial capability development across business units and wider department
• Forward planning for commercial activity and developing effective commercial pipelines
• Review commercial business cases and help business units navigate commercial governance and approvals
• Be an Intelligent Client, supporting procurement planning and helping customers get the best out of the service from Crown Commercial Service
• Drive the development of departmental and individual contract management capability. Supporting the management of contracts for the business area where necessary and leading on the management of bronze contracts where required
• Develop commercial management reporting and improving the quality of commercial MI to support better decision making
• Support senior colleagues in raising awareness and understanding of commercial policy agendas among stakeholders and embed this as BAU across business areas
• Contribute to creating a great place to work, championing diversity and inclusive ways of working and proactively participating in improvement activities across the Commercial Directorate

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• A commitment to successfully deliver excellent business services and high-quality outcomes that meet customer needs and deliver value for money;
• Excellent interpersonal skills that help shape and influence decision making;
• Pro-activity and forward thinking with a can-do attitude;
• Good understanding of commercial management techniques and demonstrable experience of applying best practice;
• Successfully delivering against multiple priorities;
• Successfully building and managing enduring stakeholder relationships e.g. with customers, suppliers and internal stakeholders at all levels of seniority
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills;
• Strong IT skills - Microsoft Excel, Word, Powerpoint.

Desirable Criteria

• Effective delivery within a commercial setting in the public sector
• A working knowledge of the procurement routes available in Government
• Experience working in a regulated environment
• Hold relevant commercial qualifications such as IACCM/MCIPS or be prepared to work towards them

Additional information:

Cabinet Office policy is that a minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. For some roles, due to their nature and the business need, this may be up to 100%. Requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.

Behaviours

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

• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,922, Cabinet Office contributes £10,986 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 which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and employer contributions of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.

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 and Experience.

Application process

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and 500 word statement of suitability. It should explain how your knowledge, skills and experience (using examples) meet the requirements for this role using the job advert information, particularly the job description and person specification.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the Statement of Suitability. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Selection process
Applicants should submit a CV and write their personal statement by giving examples of how their experience to date meets the criteria set out in the person specification. The following Civil Service Behaviours will be tested at interview:

• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date – w/c 30 March 2026

Expected interview date/s – w/c 13 April 2026

Interview location - Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.

Reasonable adjustments

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Further information
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 note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

Any move to Cabinet Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service/Disclosure Scotland 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

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 had their employment continued. Any applicant’s 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.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

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 : Kai Yeung
• Email : kai.yeung@hmtreasury.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then in the first instance you should contact Government Recruitment Service by email at : cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission at info@csc.gov.uk. For further information on the Recruitment Principles and bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission, please visit their website at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk.

Attachments

Cabinet Office Employee Offer (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 302kB)Cabinet Office Terms and Conditions - External 2025-02-20 Opens in new window (docx, 83kB)