Deputy Commercial Director - Digital & Security

Job summary

Please be aware COHMT will be hosting a call on 02/09/2026 at 10:30am. Please reserve a slot using the Eventbrite link here. This is an opportunity to learn more about the role and you will have the chance to ask any questions during the call too.

The Cabinet Office and HM Treasury operate at the heart of the UK government, and we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive Commercial team that truly reflects the society we serve. We warmly welcome applications from all backgrounds, irrespective of gender, ethnicity, or working pattern, and we champion flexible and inclusive ways of working.

The COHMT Commercial team is currently undergoing an exciting strategic evolution, transitioning into a highly specialised Commercial Delivery and Operations model. As part of this transformation, we are looking for an inspiring and collaborative Deputy Commercial Director to lead our Digital, Technology, and Security cluster.

In this role, you will have a significant impact on some of the UK’s most critical digital and security transformations. You will lead a high-performing team, drive commercial strategies for major technology platforms, and shape the way the government buys innovation. If you are passionate about using your commercial expertise to deliver value for taxpayers, championing SME inclusion, and fostering a supportive, dynamic, and kind team culture, this is a uniquely rewarding opportunity to shape the future of government technology.

Your role will have a significant impact delivering policy objectives, strengthening commercial acumen

Across both departments and ultimately delivering value for taxpayers.

We are looking for a talented commercial professional to join the Commercial Leadership Team and help to deliver strategic, operational and cultural change, transforming how commercial services are delivered across both departments. This will be a stretching and uniquely rewarding position.

Job description

Following a recent strategic redesign, the COHMT Commercial Directorate has transitioned to a three-cluster model. As the Deputy Commercial Director, you will play a crucial leadership role heading up the Digital & Security Cluster.

Reflecting the new team structure, this role has dedicated, specialist responsibility for the Digital / Technology, Security, and HM Treasury categories, alongside overseeing dedicated Commercial and some Operational Contract Management for these areas.

You will lead a multidisciplinary commercial team to execute complex procurements, manage strategic relationships with major global technology vendors, and act as a senior business partner supporting business units across the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury.

Key Expectations of the Role:

• Strong Supportive Leadership: Be an active and supportive Leader within the COHMT Directorate Commercial Leadership Team , the wider Cabinet Office and HMT Treasury SCS community. Undertaking cross Government view to support the aims of both Departments and the role model the Civil Service Values.
• Strategic Category Leadership: Direct the commercial lifecycle across a dynamic portfolio encompassing agile digital solutions, cybersecurity frameworks, major enterprise software, and bespoke HM Treasury commercial requirements.
• Vendor & Complex Deal Management: Lead high-stakes negotiations with major global technology providers (e.g., Microsoft, Google) to secure optimum commercial terms, eliminate licensing overlaps, and drive value.
• Driving SME Inclusion: Proactively utilise GCA frameworks to ensure a diverse supply chain and continuously exceed SME award rate targets.
• Business Partnering: Act as the senior commercial point of contact, seamlessly translating highly technical digital requirements and HM Treasury policy objectives into viable, value-for-money commercial delivery plans.
• Navigating Change & Ambiguity: Provide resilient, steady leadership during periods of significant organisational transformation, managing complex inter-departmental transfers (Machinery of Government changes) without any disruption to live services.
• Inclusive Team Leadership: Work collegiately as a member of the COHMT Commercial Leadership Team. Act as a visible role model for our core values—Curious, Collaborative, Kind, Integrity, and Focused on value for money—ensuring your team is fully supported, accredited, and empowered to succeed

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

• Strategic Category Leadership: Develop and own the overarching commercial strategy for a highly complex and dynamic portfolio encompassing Digital, Security, and HM Treasury. You will be accountable for maturing category offers and leading on high-profile, strategic initiatives including the GBNI/NewMat plane programme, critical national security capabilities, and major enterprise software agreements (e.g., Microsoft, Google, AWS).
• Senior Stakeholder Partnering: Build trusted, highly effective relationships with senior executives across the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury. Act as a definitive commercial authority to shape future operating models and commercial strategies for sensitive business areas, including UK Security Vetting, COBRA Resilience, and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority.
• Resilient & Inclusive Leadership: Provide outstanding, steady leadership to a multidisciplinary commercial team, particularly through periods of significant organisational change or location strategy transitions. Foster a psychologically safe, inclusive environment, and actively coach team members to achieve commercial accreditations through Assessment and Development Centres.
• Complex Deal & Dispute Resolution: Act as the senior escalation point for complex, high-risk commercial situations. You will proactively intervene to negotiate terms, prevent formal legal challenges (e.g., managing risks akin to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation systems), resolve 'working at risk' situations, and eliminate financial risks such as double-licensing costs.
• Governance & Functional Excellence: Drive commercial capability and robust governance across the departments. This includes chairing Commercial Assurance Boards, implementing targeted spend controls for Consultancy and Professional Services, and establishing overarching agreements like the Memorandum of Understanding governing commercial services between the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury.
• Contract Management & Audit Compliance: Ensure rigorous contract management standards are embedded across the Security, Digital, and HM Treasury portfolios. You will be accountable for driving continuous improvement against internal audit targets, ensuring vital accreditations (such as achieving 'Green' status for Security Contract Management) are met and maintained.
• Data Integrity & Transparency: Champion the use of commercial systems and artificial intelligence to enable senior, data-driven decision-making. You will hold absolute accountability for maintaining 100% compliance in commercial data integrity, pipeline visibility, and statutory contract publication times.
• Managing Change & Continuity: Seamlessly manage complex inter-departmental transitions (Machinery of Government changes) into and out of your cluster, ensuring absolute continuity of critical live services and mitigating risks associated with contingent labour or transitioning digital systems.
• Supply Chain Diversity: Strategically leverage external delivery partners and frameworks to ensure the department benefits from market innovation. You will embed a relentless focus on securing value for money while continuously exceeding Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) utilization targets across all new procurements.
• Commercial Leadership Team Contribution: Work collegiately as a pivotal member of the Commercial Leadership Team, helping to set the overarching functional strategy, championing continuous improvement, and driving the transformation of the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury commercial offering

• Be amongst the most senior members of the Government Commercial Function and play a role in the broader commercial reform programme led by the Government Chief Commercial Officer;
• Play a key leadership and change management role in developing a strong commercial function for the COHMT and across government.

Technical skills

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

• Champions robust data governance and transparency. Demonstrates the ability to achieve flawless contract publication rates (100% compliance) and utilises market data to drive strategic supply chain diversity and high SME award rates.
• Significant experience as a senior decision-maker overseeing high-value portfolios across tech, security, and corporate services (e.g., £100m+ contracts). Capable of making robust, evidence-based decisions under pressure.
• Exceptional track record of leading complex negotiations with global technology giants. Able to assess software agreements to secure favorable terms, mitigate financial risks, and deliver millions in cashable savings.
• Expert in navigating complex stakeholder landscapes at the senior level. Proven ability to embed commercial thinking into organisational decision-making and foster productive relationships with external stakeholders.
• Lead and inspire multidisciplinary teams. Committed to developing commercial knowledge across the organisation, supporting your team's professional growth, and championing an inclusive and diverse working environment.
• Manage complex digital, tech, and security suppliers. Experience of devolved contract mgmt & operational contract mgmt across business units. Deliver savings, resolve disputes, and support effective supplier management strategies.

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 note: Only candidates that achieve an A grade at ADC will be invited to interview for this role.

Please be advised that the Virtual ADC is taking place on the 24th of September 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/

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.This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (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.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 : Lynsey Munro
• 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, 70kB)20260821 OFFSEN 477829 - Deputy Commercial Director - Digital & Security - Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 2496kB)