Sector Insights and Commercial Strategy Lead

Job summary

DHSC leads the health and care system in England, helping people to live better lives for longer. We have one of the most absorbing, challenging and critical set of tasks and objectives in Government.

The Commercial Directorate is a strategic and enabling function that supports all DHSC’s commercial interactions with suppliers, other third parties and ministers in delivering their agenda. Our mission is to ensure that health and care policy is implemented at best value for the taxpayer.

We achieve this by leading and overseeing the department’s direct commercial activity, implementing commercial policies across DHSC and its arm's length bodies, and acting as advisors to the Secretary of State and Ministers.

This is an exciting time to be part of the DHSC Commercial Directorate (CD) with an ever-growing need for policy and commercial professions to work closely to solve some of the most fascinating challenges in health and care. We hope you’ll join us as we continue our work to be a world class commercial function, excelling in customer service and achieving best value for money.

The post of Sector Insights and Commercial Strategy Lead is a highly varied role, that requires strategic thinking, the ability to deal with ambiguity and build relationships quickly.

The role involves working closely with policy colleagues to ensure commercial expertise and market considerations are embedded in policy design. The post holder is expected to work on and manage several projects at any given time, have the ability to build good relationships with a range of colleagues and provide credible advice.

We work on complex projects and programmes across all areas of health and care, the work is fast paced and motivating and our team is integral to influencing the commercial aspects of policy development, shaping sector engagement and contributing to improving outcomes across the system.

The team offers an inward and outward facing service to senior DHSC policy officials, Ministers, and our ALBs. We provide long-term strategic commercial advice and support to major policy agendas with significant market forces in play. The department spends or influences billions of pounds through commissions and market policy, outside of core procurement and contracting.

The team operates as a trusted partner with policy colleagues, taking commissions for fieldwork, industry consultation, market research, policy options appraisal and implementation design.

Job description

Key Role Responsibilities:

• To take the lead in embedding commercial considerations into departmental policy development by providing valued, reliable, and trusted support to the policy profession and maintain a reputation for customer service excellence with policy colleagues;
• Work collaboratively and cultivate good working relationships internally and externally, becoming a trusted partner;
• Lead and deliver work packages with project management discipline to ensure that DHSC policy teams can translate commercial considerations into successful policy implementation. This will include managing a diverse workload across multiple independent projects whilst meeting deadlines and providing high quality work;
• To use creative thinking, commercial awareness, and experience to make well-informed judgements and influential proposals to policy colleagues. This will include drawing on additional expertise in analysing complex or conflicting evidence, presenting options, and making recommendations to enable the most appropriate solutions to be developed;
• Establish, build, and maintain relationships with key stakeholders who are of strategic importance to the organisation. This may include internal Ministers and senior employees from the DHSC or external government departments or organisations, (recognising potential conflicting views and priorities);
• Lead engagement with markets and suppliers to ensure policies and strategies are deliverable;
• Build deep sector insights knowledge to better understand the structure, functions and significant activities in key sectors within the health and care system. Supporting the delivery of health and care outcomes at best value for the tax payer;
• Foster deep relationships within the Department, across the NHS and the wider health and care system, other Arms-Length Bodies (ALBs) and government departments;
• Engaging with DHSC Policy Units to generate new project opportunities by assessing the strategic commercial implications of new policies and projects, potential to improve services, improve efficiency or generate revenue from public sector assets/activities;
• Be politically aware and consider the commercial, financial, and long-term implications of policy and other changes; interpret trends and developments and produce future policies and organisational strategies considering these;
• Managing conflicting workload across multiple independent projects – deliver work packages to time and to a high standard maintaining a reputation for customer service excellence with our policy colleagues;
• Support the Deputy Director and Heads of Sector Insights & Commercial Strategy in briefs for ministers and senior leaders both in person and via submissions which summaries the issues and seek their advice, approval, or action;
• Undertake line management duties and support the development of direct reports as well as the wider team;
• Lead by example; role modelling ethics, integrity, impartiality, and the elimination of bias by building diverse teams and promoting a working environment that supports the Civil Service values and code.

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

Relevant Experience & Skills

The role requires a flexible and adaptable approach as priorities and workloads will shift throughout the year.

You will:

• Have a track record of juggling multiple complex commercial projects, managing competing deadlines, working with ambiguity and change, and have experience understanding and responding to diverse stakeholder needs;
• Be highly organised, respond to ad-hoc support requests when needed and re-task at pace;
• Be comfortable and adaptable with frequent and fast paced change. This includes both moving between multiple projects and working across a diverse work area;
• Have experience using evidenced based analysis to shape commercial options;
• Have experience of using early market engagement and robust data to inform decisions on commercial models;
• Have experience of supplier management strategies in order to maximise commercial leverage
• Have experience of market insight production and/or strategy development (public or private);
• Have experience of leading stakeholder engagement and influencing senior stakeholders;
• Have experience of managing direct reports

Whilst not essential, it would be desirable if you have relevant experience in any of the following:

• Knowledge and understanding of commercial markets and models;
• Experience of project management and commissioning;
• Business development and consultancy;
• Experience of working with/or in the public sector or developing policy (particularly in health and/or social care)

Technical skills

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

• Analyses and assimilates information from a variety of sources to form a comprehensive picture of complex situations. Able to bring clarity when working with incomplete information and when explaining complex information to others.
• Able to effectively engage with markets to build insight and understanding. Understands market and commercial drivers and motives in practice. Articulates complex Market insights to stakeholders to help inform and shape policies.
• Manages stakeholders and communicates with impact. Is trusted for commercial advice and is able to put technical considerations in plain language for stakeholders.
• Understands the wider political context and considers the impact on others of actions, issues and changes. Adapting style and approach in line with others’ needs and managing the political dynamics of situations.
• Contributes to the development and implementation of business unit strategies through to supply chain management. Implements commercial policy objectives and challenges risk averse behaviours where appropriate.

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 be advised that the Virtual ADC is taking place on 26th 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 : Hayley Parfitt
• 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

449202 - Candidate Pack - DHSC - Sector Insights and Commercial Strategy Lead.docx Opens in new window (pdf, 518kB)Guaranteed Interview Schemes (GIS) Opens in new window (pdf, 70kB)