Cyber & Specialist Operations Command (CSOC) Commercial Manager

Job summary

Cyber and Specialist Operations Command (CSOC) generates and operates specialist capabilities, ready to fight across all domains to make the United Kingdom secure at home and strong abroad.

Always on, we are across every UK operation, delivering the capabilities you don’t usually see – or those you can’t.

From cyber warriors and medics to intelligence analysts, special forces, educators, and Defence attachés, our collective expertise delivers the warfighting edge Defence needs to deter threats and secure the nation today, and prepare for tomorrow.

CSOC unites Defence’s cyber and specialist capabilities under a single, military command alongside the Royal Navy, British Army, and the Royal Air Force – acting as the UK’s fourth Military Command. For more information, please see here.

CSOC Commercial has a rich and varied portfolio of contracts across multiple categories of spend. We have 100 commercial specialists geographically spread over the globe covering contracts worth £7.5bn. It is a dynamic and exciting place to work at the leading edge of Defence. We welcome diversity, we our passionate about inclusivity, and love challenge that drives innovation. We value each individual contribution, learn together, and deliver stronger.

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to capacity and any required workplace adjustments. Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or work in another MOD office, will also count towards this level of attendance. 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

Working closely with our military colleagues, you will have the opportunity to make an immediate and significant difference to the lives and well being of Military personnel both in the UK and around the world, working on an array of projects ranging from several thousand to multi-million-pound competitions. The Role will include all stages of the procurement lifecycle including pre-sourcing, sourcing and contract management. Although some of the workload is programmed, the nature of the operationally driven work we do dictates that you should expect to work and thrive in a dynamic and rapidly changing environment. The role offers the successful candidate an exciting opportunity to hone their existing commercial skill set whilst working within the fast paced, dynamic, and operationally facing MAB community.

As part of this management role, you will be expected to undertake strategic activities which contribute to programme planning, contract management, procurement and commercial strategies, whilst, in parallel, you will have the opportunity to advise on pragmatic and swift commercial solutions to immediate, novel and often contentious activities.

You will work closely with military colleagues to deliver the Commercial Pipeline whilst effectively managing a range of stakeholders in the commercial process within the MOD, Other Government Departments and Industry, providing commercial advice and guidance, ensuring all procurement activities represent best value for money and all activity undertaken is in line with HMG procurement policy, applicable regulations, and best practice.

The role will involve weekly travel to Corsham and/or Abbey Wood and regular customer visits to London, South and West of UK. In this role you will get the opportunity to:

• Provide leadership, monitoring and delivering of objectives whilst supporting the development of others and promoting a culture of continuous improvement and learning.
• Develop procurement strategies on single source or competitive routes, following analysis of the markets and advertising procurement activity on tools such as the Defence Sourcing Portal.
• Develop robust commercial strategies that will deliver effective contractual solutions, manage commercial risk, and provide the best possible value for money.
• Draft Tender documentation and Tender activity.
• Lead effective Contact Management to ensure our contracts deliver the required outputs, negotiating contract amendments and pricing when needed.

With regards to the wider Cyber & Specialist Operations Command (CSOC) Commercial Team, MOD and wider Stakeholders you will:

• Provide commercial advice and guidance in line with MOD Commercial policies and practices, establishing professional relationships with a range of stakeholders.
• Contribute to the commercial community by sharing best practice and LFE, actively seeking out opportunities to support the development of commercial skills both within the function and in the wider business.
• Engaging with a diverse range of stakeholders in a timely and appropriate manner, providing specialist commercial advice and support to customers. Whilst this post offers flexible working, there will be a requirement to spend a minimum of 60% of your working time in an office or out on official business.

You are welcome and encouraged to contact the Contact Point provided at the bottom of the page if you have any further questions regarding the roles.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Have experience working in a commercial role, building on a skillset involving sourcing, contract management, negotiation, stakeholder management and supplier management.
• Have excellent communication skills to support the need to initiate, develop and maintain effective relationships with a broad range of stakeholders.
• Be able to manage competing priorities, assess information rapidly, seek clarity or additional information where necessary and articulate needs or processes in a way that is understood by the diverse stakeholder audience.
• Have experience in line management.
• Be able to effectively demonstrate flexible approaches to procurement risk within the appropriate policy and legal framework in order to meet the demand of the customer.
• The successful candidate must provide evidence of CIPS level 4 (or equivalent) or be willing to work towards this by commencing study within one year of appointment.
• Additionally, the successful candidate will be expected to undertake and pass the MOD Practitioner Commercial License Assessment.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

• Sourcing – Executing the Sourcing Strategy (Practitioner Level)
• Contract Performance Management (Practitioner Level)

We only ask for evidence of these technical skills on your application form:

• Sourcing – Executing the Sourcing Strategy (Practitioner Level)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,720, Ministry of Defence contributes £10,927 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

CSOC Commercial is passionate about delivering excellent commercial outcomes for our customers but we also understand you will have a life outside of work; we respect your priorities, and our industry leading flexible workings practices will give you real freedom to balance work and life. We employ talented people who challenge and guide each other whilst providing a culture of inclusion and diversity.

• Learning and development tailored to your role.
• An environment with flexible working options.
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
• 25 days annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years’ service.
• Ability to roll over up to 10 days annual leave per year.
• Minimum of 15 Days Special Leave in a rolling 12-month period to for volunteer military or emergency service reserve commitments.
• Special Paid Leave for volunteering up to 6 days a year.
• Enhanced parental and adoption leave.
• Employee Assistance Programme to support your wellbeing.
• Most sites have good travel links with free car parking; many also have other facilities such as a Sports & Social Club and Gyms.

A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

To apply for this job, please submit:

CV – A CV outlining your job history, previous skills and experience.

Personal Statement – A Personal Statement (maximum 500 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience meet the role description and responsibilities.

Behaviours

• Delivering at Pace

Technical Skills

• Sourcing: Executing the Sourcing Strategy (Practitioner Level)

You should ensure that you read and understand the criteria within the Success Profiles: Behaviours and the Commercial Skills and Competency Framework documents and provide evidence of those criteria using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) format.

We aim to release sift results to applicants 1 to 2 weeks following the closing date. Depending on the volume of applications, these dates may be subject to change.

At Interview, you will be assessed against the following Success Profiles:

Behaviours

• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical Skills

• Sourcing: Executing the Sourcing Strategy (Practitioner Level)
• Contract Management: Contract Performance Management (Practitioner Level)

All candidates who are successful at the sift stage will be invited to undertake a single virtual video interview which will be conducted via Microsoft Teams and will take around 60 minutes.

Interviews are scheduled to take place 3 to 4 weeks after the job advert has closed. These dates may be subject to change depending on the volume of candidates we have to interview.

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

Open to UK nationals only.

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 : John Feather
• Email : John.feather100@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

20170329-Commercial_Skills_and_Competency_Framework_v1-1-O Opens in new window (pdf, 1811kB)CSOC Candidate Pack 2025 Opens in new window (pdf, 1777kB)Defence Internal Brief notice Opens in new window (docx, 43kB)MOD Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 1562kB)