Commercial Officer - Air

Job summary

The Air Commercial Team is a Front-Line Commercial Branch, part of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Commercial Function and Government Commercial Function (GCF), delivering innovative commercial solutions and maximum value for the RAF. Embedded within the Royal Air Force (RAF) operating out of Headquarters Air Command (based at RAF High Wycombe) with regional representation primarily situated at RAF Cosford, RAF Leeming and MOD Lyneham.

Air Commercial handles a diverse portfolio of contracts from Space Command, Digital demand, helping aircraft take off and safely land, from trialling warfighting capabilities to training new recruits. The Commercial function collaborates with a wide stakeholder base including suppliers, project managers, finance, technical staff and our military colleagues to procure equipment and services and to manage contracts. Working with frontline commands across MOD, Cabinet Office and Government Departments we ensure our commercial strategies deliver the capabilities required and achieves the best possible Value for Money for Defence.

Working within a highly capable commercial team you will be supported to develop knowledge and experience of procurement and commercial processes, including sourcing, contract management, supplier management and category management to ensure our customer needs are met.

The successful applicant will work within one of our Air Commercial core teams; Contract Performance and Management. However, those on the merit list may secure a role in another Air Commercial team; Define and Procure or Major Projects. Each team covers elements of sourcing and contract management activities; so the successful candidate will need to demonstrate the capability to develop through life contract management and end-to-end commercial processes skills.

This role is suitable for hybrid working. Job holders may work from home or another MOD site, with regular attendance at your regular duty station as required based on individual, team and business needs. The post holder must be willing to undertake travel to relevant MOD Locations on occasion to fulfil these roles.

Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Defence Business Services cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week

Job description

Keep abreast of departmental commercial policy and procedural and administration directives, and to apply that information accordingly.

Build and maintain, appropriate effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders including Military and non-Military customers and Defence Suppliers.

Support line management in identification of commercial risks associated with delivery of contracts and issues that arise during the life of contracts.

Provide and maintain quality and relevant Management Information (MI), contracts pipeline, recording of benefits and savings utilising systems such as the MOD's e-procurement tool CP&F.

Prepare briefs and MI/data for management purposes and ensure procurement and management of contract files is aligned with policy.

Investigation and research of new procurement requirements, determining routes to market, carrying out early market engagement and producing commercial strategies.

Participate in procurement activities from advertising new requirements, Pre-Qualifying Questionnaires, drafting and issuing Invitation to Tender documentation and evaluation of bids through to contract award.

Participate in contract reviews of existing contracts as appropriate to ensure the best value is being realised and savings and benefits optimised.

Supplier and customer engagement, provide guidance, challenge service delivery to drive better performance.

Management of service contracts, working closely with stakeholders and contractors and resolving (and escalating where appropriate) any contentious or problematic issues.

Provide commercial advice to Air Command customers including insight to supplier performance and intelligence, procurement strategies and internal governance.

Maintain and improve own levels of competency by implementing a personal development plan, reflecting the training requirements associated with the post.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week. Part-time or Job-share will only be considered provided full time hours can be covered

Person specification

Essential:

• Studying towards CIPS level 4 or above or must be willing to complete CIPS Level 4 within 18 months of joining Air Commercial.
• Enthusiasm, proactiveness and a willingness to learn with the ability and confidence to engage.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Experience of working with the Microsoft Office 365 Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word etc.).
• Experience in establishing and maintaining effective relationships.

Desirable:

• Public sector procurement experience.
• Previous experience within a commercial function - however full training will be provided to the successful candidates.
• Strong problem-solving skills, an ability to prioritise tasks along with experience of balancing multiple requirements.
• Previous experience of Project Management would be useful in adapting to this role.

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,740, Ministry of Defence contributes £8,905 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Benefits include, but are not limited to:

• Flexible working
• Training and personal development opportunities
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• 25 days paid annual leave rising to 30 days on completion of 5 years’ service
• In addition to 8 public holidays per year you will also receive leave for HM The King’s birthday
• A highly competitive Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave
• Subsidised membership to a fitness suite and lunchtime/evening Military led fitness classes
• Café and shop on site

The post does not offer relocation expenses.

External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.

Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed.

Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.

Any move to MOD 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. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.

MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – We may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Policy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

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.

Please present your evidence using the S.T.A.R. format (Situation, Task, Action, Result)

Applicants are strongly advised to ensure that their submission uses the STAR format and demonstrates the behaviours detailed at EO level in the Civil Service Success Profiles – Civil Service Behaviours booklet. Comprehensive coverage on Success Profiles can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles

At Sift:

A 500 word statement of suitability, and CV will be required for this position; this cannot be uploaded to the advert. You will submit using the CV template provided on the CS Jobs dashboard, detailing job history, full qualifications, previous experience and skills

At sift, you will be assessed against your CV, Statement of suitability and the following Behaviours:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service

In the event of a large number of applications being received, we will use the lead behaviour Managing a Quality Service, and your Statement of Suitability to initially assess your application during the sift stage.

At Interview:

If you are successful at the sift stage, you will be invited to a video interview using MS Teams, where you will be assessed on the essential criteria as well as the following –

At interview, you will be assessed against the following Behaviours:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service

At interview you will also be assessed on Strength based questions.Success Profiles: Strengths - GOV.UK

The initial candidate sift is expected to be completed by mid-June 2026.

Interviews are expected to take place late June 2026.

The timeline above is provisional and is subject to change depending on the volume of applications received.

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

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact: DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk .

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came in to effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points based system.

Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).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.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 : Phoebe O’Neill
• Email : Phoebe.Oneill105@mod.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk

Further information

Please ensure you read the attached candidate information document prior to completing your application. If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received from DBS, or believe that DBS has failed to follow the recruitment process in line with the Civil Service Commission principles of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of Fair and Open competition, you can raise a formal complaint by writing to DBS at the following address: Defence Business Services, Scanning Hub, Room 6124, Tomlinson House, Norcross Lane, Blackpool, FY5 3WP. If after raising your complaint with DBS you remain dissatisfied you can complain directly to the Civil Service Commission at the following address: Civil Service commission, Room G/8, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ Or by email: info@csc.gov.uk.

Attachments

20230201 - Air Command's Applicant Guide Opens in new window (pdf, 499kB)Defence Civil Servant Offer Opens in new window (pdf, 1562kB)Candidate Information updated_ Opens in new window (docx, 32kB)EXTERNAL PACK Opens in new window (pdf, 1562kB)