Head of Contract Management

Job summary

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is leading one of the most ambitious digital transformation agendas in government. The department is responsible for modernising how public services are designed, delivered and operated, replacing legacy approaches with platforms, products and delivery models designed to work at national scale.

This role focuses on contract management across the Government Digital Service (GDS) portfolio, supporting the operation and performance of nationally critical digital services and platforms. The scope spans major live services such as GOV.UK and One Login, alongside emerging areas including digital identity, the National Data Library and AI. This work sits at the heart of how government delivers services at scale, with a focus on maintaining service continuity, performance, value for money and effective supplier delivery across complex contracts.

This role supports the management of contracts underpinning major digital programmes as they scale, evolve and transition between delivery phases. You will take responsibility for defined areas of contract management activity, contributing to strong in-life governance, performance management and risk identification, helping programmes maintain control, assurance and value while delivering at pace.

You will work closely with contract owners, delivery teams and suppliers, supporting contract management, supplier performance and in-life commercial controls within your area. The work is fast-moving and often involves complex supplier arrangements, requiring sound judgement, attention to detail and the ability to work collaboratively to address issues and maintain delivery confidence.

DSIT Commercial operates as a central function, bringing together experienced commercial professionals supporting a broad portfolio of live contracts. While your primary focus will be GDS, you will be part of a wider commercial community, contributing to improved contract management practices, consistent standards and better visibility of in-life commercial performance across DSIT.

This role offers the chance to shape how digital government is delivered at scale, working on programmes that genuinely change how the state operates. If you are motivated by complex transformation, enjoy working where delivery, risk and innovation collide, and want to have real influence over high-impact digital programmes, this is a role where your judgement and expertise will matter.

Job description

The role supports major digital transformation initiatives, including nationally significant platforms and services that operate at scale across government.

The role includes line management alongside a strong focus on leading contract management across complex, high-profile digital delivery programmes. You will work closely with teams delivering GDS products and platforms, shaping and overseeing in-life commercial arrangements, including contract performance, supplier delivery and commercial controls across the lifecycle.

Key stakeholders include programme and delivery leaders within GDS, senior departmental officials, finance and legal colleagues, and a wide range of technology and delivery suppliers. You will act as a trusted commercial adviser, providing clear insight, surfacing risks early and supporting senior stakeholders to make informed decisions in complex delivery environments. You will be expected to challenge constructively and manage upwards to maintain confidence in delivery, value for money and commercial control.

You will lead contract management across a defined area of the digital, data and technology portfolio, taking accountability for in-life performance, governance and value for money. This includes managing supplier performance, maintaining effective commercial controls, and ensuring contracts adapt as services scale, transition or evolve. You will play a key role in escalating issues, driving resolution and ensuring senior stakeholders have clear line of sight over performance, risk and delivery confidence.

In addition to your portfolio responsibilities, you will contribute to DSIT Commercial’s wider objectives, including strengthening contract management capability, improving tools and processes, and supporting a consistent, pragmatic and portfolio-level approach to in-life commercial management across an evolving departmental portfolio.

These roles sit within DSIT’s central Commercial team, providing commercial leadership across some of the department’s most high-impact digital programmes. Initial focus will be within the Government Digital Service (GDS) portfolio, including GOV.UK One Login, digital identity, the National Data Library, and emerging areas such as AI and digital capability. These programmes operate at national scale and are at the forefront of public sector transformation.

As a senior member of the DSIT Commercial team, you’ll lead commercial activity for a defined part of the GDS portfolio, working closely with delivery, digital, policy and operational colleagues. You’ll report to a Deputy Director and play a visible leadership role across GDS and DSIT’s broader commercial function.

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

• Lead the GDS Contract Management function, setting direction for a team of 7 FTE and establishing a practical, portfolio-led operating model across the GDS contract landscape.
• Initiate and deliver the GDS Contract Management Strategy, translating strategic intent into an implementation plan, governance, priorities, operating rhythms, templates and measurable outcomes.
• Prioritise effort across the contract portfolio, focusing direct commercial support on Gold and critical contracts, while implementing proportionate lighter-touch arrangements for lower-risk contracts.
• Embed a differentiated approach for Build and Run contracts, ensuring that Build contracts have strong mobilisation, SOW discipline, deliverables, acceptance and change control, and that Run contracts have robust financial control, supplier assurance, performance management, continuity and exit planning.
• Establish and maintain a clear control framework for in-life contract management, including contract management plans, obligations matrices, risk and issue management, change control, spend and burn-rate tracking, supplier assurance schedules, and exit or re-procurement planning.
• Provide strategic oversight of supplier performance, commercial risk, spend, burn rate, change activity and contractual compliance across the portfolio, using management information to challenge suppliers and improve delivery confidence.
• Create a single source of truth for the GDS live contract portfolio, improving visibility of contract status, expiry, extensions, uplifts, obligations and future pipeline requirements.
• Lead supplier relationship management for key contracts, including performance discussions, escalation, dispute avoidance and negotiation to secure value for money, continuity and better outcomes.
• Set clear handover points between procurement and contract management, improving transition from sourcing into mobilisation and ensuring lessons learned, supplier performance and demand insight inform future commercial strategies.
• Represent Commercial at senior governance forums, advising leaders on contract performance, delivery confidence, value for money, commercial risk, assurance, change and continuity.
• Develop and embed common contract management standards, templates, reporting packs and toolkits, building a centre-of-excellence offer that supports contract owners and improves consistency across GDS.
• Build contract management capability across the team and wider business through coaching, clear accountabilities, communities of practice, training and continuous improvement.

You’ll need strong experience in leading complex commercial delivery, ideally in a digital or technology-focused environment. A confident communicator and inclusive leader, you’ll bring sound judgment, strategic thinking and the ability to deliver at pace in high-profile, high-impact settings.

Technical skills

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

• Able to build and maintain effective working relationships, influencing stakeholders and providing appropriate challenge to support successful delivery.
• Experience leading contract management across a portfolio of complex or high-value contracts, establishing governance, controls and performance management arrangements, ideally in a digital or technology-focused environment.
• Ability to apply commercial judgement to manage contract performance, risk and value for money, making informed decisions and taking responsibility for outcomes in complex or fast-moving environments.
• Evidence of identifying risks and issues early, leading intervention and resolution, and ensuring robust in-life control across performance, financials and compliance.
• Experience leading and developing teams, setting direction, managing performance and building capability to deliver consistent, high-quality commercial outcomes.

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 5th of August 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-re…
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 : Ashlene Doherty
• 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)20260629 OFFSEN 468964 - Head of Contract Management - Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 712kB)