Digital & Data Commercial Lead

Job summary

The Government Property Agency is the largest property holder and service provider in government, with more than £2.1 billion in property assets and over 55% of the government’s office estate.

We are transforming the way the Civil Service works by creating great places to work, leading the largest commercial office programme in the UK, working towards halving carbon emissions from government offices, and achieving greater value for taxpayers. We are a collaborative enabler of Civil Service Reform and of the government missions - creating a smaller, better, greener government office estate. And we are looking for innovative, solutions-focused people to join the team.

Representing the best covenant in the UK – His Majesty’s Government – we are leading transformational programmes such as the Government Hubs Programme, Whitehall Campus Programme and Net Zero Programme, as well as delivering modern, cost-effective real estate service solutions.

We are creating a progressive, highly performing, collaborative organisation focused on delivering our values that drive our behaviours: empathetic excellence, respectful empowerment, consistent integrity and succeeding together. Innovation and progress are at the heart of our behaviours. We foster a culture of lifelong learning and innovation, where curiosity and self-improvement are encouraged. And we’re dedicated to becoming a leading, inclusive employer both in the external market and throughout the Civil Service. Our strong emphasis on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) is not just about driving inclusion across our organisation, it is also about ensuring our services meet the needs of government departments and the civil servants who use our spaces.

Our dynamic team leads with purpose, improving sustainability, nurturing social value, driving inclusivity and flexibility, and kickstarting economic growth. We are driven by purpose, and you can be part of it too: where you make a meaningful impact; where you influence; where your voice really matters; where you help to shape our future direction.

As a Commercial Lead, you will be the lynchpin of the Digital & Data Team's success, directly enabling its ambitious 3-year vision and beyond. You will provide strategic commercial direction and procurement expertise, leading the delivery of key Digital and Data contracts. This is your chance to drive innovation, secure high-performing agreements, and deliver exceptional value for money at the heart of government transformation.

Job description

This is an opportunity to be a driving force behind the Government Property Agency's ambitious digital transformation. You will take the lead on critical, end-to-end procurement processes, delivering commercial excellence and a customer-centric service that powers the GPA's future.

What You'll Do:

Lead High-Impact Procurement: You will be the commercial expert, leading all stages of the Commercial Lifecycle, with a sharp focus on the procurement phase in the initial years. This involves partnering with stakeholders to define requirements, conducting strategic market research, and identifying the most effective routes to market in line with broader government digital strategy.

Shape the Digital & Data Portfolio: Your expertise will be vital across the dynamic Digital and Data category. You'll contribute to the development and delivery of cutting-edge contracts, including commercial software agreements, managed service arrangements, securing implementation partners, and leveraging emerging areas like Artificial Intelligence.

Influence and Drive Performance: Utilise your commercial acumen to lead project teams, influence key decisions, and drive exceptional performance across the portfolio.

Grow with the Organisation: While this role begins without direct line management, the Government Property Agency is rapidly expanding, meaning future opportunities for leadership and team management are on the horizon.

Essential Requirement for Success:

Professional Qualification: Applicants must hold a minimum of CIPS Level 4 qualification and demonstrate a commitment to working towards full MCIPS certification to remain in the post.

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

The successful candidate will:

• Drive Transformative Commercial Delivery: Lead the end-to-end commercial lifecycle for high-impact activities within the Digital & Data pipeline—from engaging the market to contract award—to ensure maximum value and directly support the Digital team's ambitious objectives.
  
  
• Be a Trusted Commercial Advisor: Offer expert Commercial Contract Management advice and guidance to devolved Contract Managers, safeguarding the GPA's commercial standing, fostering positive supplier relationships, and ensuring consistent, high performance.
  
  
• Forge Strategic Partnerships: Cultivate collaborative, high-value relationships with key suppliers, strategic partners, and government-wide stakeholders to achieve exceptional client satisfaction, deliver optimal cost, and drive performance improvements.
  

• Master Commercial Risk and Resolution: Deepen your understanding of complex contractual arrangements and commercial challenges, working proactively with stakeholders to identify and resolve issues swiftly, ensuring smooth project delivery.
  
  
• Influence Across Government: Build vital, effective working relationships with colleagues across the GPA and key external government bodies (including Crown Commercial Service and Cabinet Office) and strategic suppliers, positioning yourself as a central commercial figure.
  
  
• Shape Commercial Talent: Provide essential commercial advice and mentorship to a diverse group of stakeholders, including senior GPA members, helping to elevate the organisation's overall commercial awareness.

• Develop the Future of Commercial: Play an active role in enhancing the Commercial function by contributing to the development of new policies, templates, and commercial strategies that will be rolled out across the department.
  
  
• Elevate Organisational Capability: Champion the development of commercial skills across the GPA workforce, ensuring all colleagues have the necessary expertise to excel in their roles.
  
  
• Contribute to National Missions: Collaborate with colleagues to ensure the GPA meets its strategic goals, including promoting economic growth, transforming the Civil Service, contributing to the Net Zero agenda, and consistently delivering better value for the taxpayer.
  
  
• Lead with Accountability: Take full ownership and be accountable to the Head of Commercial, Digital & Data for the integrity and success of all commercial activities you manage.

Additional information:

• A minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. Although requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.

Technical skills

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

• Experience of defining a commercial strategy from conception to delivery, clearly articulating the benefits, opportunities & risks
• Remains calm and composed in challenging situations. Strives to resolve issues, despite challenges & helps others to deal with setbacks
• Able to evidence building and maintaining effective working relationships with a range of stakeholders to support collaboration and successful delivery
• Experience of advising on and applying procurement policies, processes and governance
• Experience of developing risk and reward mechanisms in Contracts along with key performance indicators

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 Tuesday 3rd March 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/
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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/artificial-intelligence-and-recruitment/
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.

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 : Marina Dura
• 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

443994 - Candidate Pack - GPA - Digital and Data Commercial Lead.docx Opens in new window (pdf, 1533kB)Guaranteed Interview Schemes (GIS) Opens in new window (pdf, 70kB)