Senior Commercial Manager – Buildings Science

Job summary

In Defra, we deal with a vast range of issues that profoundly impact people’s lives. We are responsible for England’s environment, countryside and rural economy, the food and farming sectors and have a lead responsibility for protection from a wide range of natural threats and hazards. The role will lead provision of commercial support to the Science estate, operated by the Weybrdge Director of Operations. The postholder will also integrate with the National Biosecurity Centre Programme.

Defra has an exciting ambition to deliver on four priority outcomes: the Environment (improving the environment through cleaner air and water, minimised waste and thriving plants and terrestrial and marine wildlife); Net Zero (reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon storage in the agricultural, waste, peat and tree planting sectors to help deliver net zero); Floods and resilience (reducing likelihood and impact of flooding and coastal erosion on people, businesses, communities and the environment); Agriculture, food, fisheries, animal welfare and biosecurity (increasing the sustainability, productivity and resilience of agriculture, fishing, food and drink sectors, enhancing biosecurity and raising animal welfare standards).

The successful candidate will undertake a senior role.Responsible for effective spend management through innovation and transformation in order to meet the Defra strategic outcomes and the Weybridge Operating Model to ensure resilience of the building and laboratory assets at Weybridge.

The Buildings team, including Building Science, are responsible for c£350m spend per annum across multiple sub-categories including construction, construction related professional services, facilities management, utilities, estates management and sustainable power (EV charging, Solar PV etc.) The Defra and ALB estate is made up of offices, operational depots, fisheries, the Thames Barrier, high containment science laboratories, EU Exit border control posts (BCP’s) and Natural England visitor centers. The Science team are responsible for the capital delivery of the science estate to maintain operation of the Weybridge site and other regional laboratories, whilst NBC is in development including maintenance, refurbishments, extension of building life and adaptations.

The National Biosecurity Centre (NBC) Programme National Biosecurity Centre Programme – Weybridge - GOV.UK.

The Animal and Plant Health Agencies (APHA’s) facilities and laboratories at Weybridge are key to the Government’s management of animal health threats. The site provides the UK’s only large animal high containment labs and allows APHA to offer ‘end-to-end’ capabilities for managing disease threats ranging from research to horizon scanning, outbreak prevention and response. However, the site is in very poor condition.

Job description

The role will head up the Weybridge Science Estates commercial team, leading the commercial delivery of the capital pipeline across the estate, Weybridge and other regional laboratories in England. They will work in alignment with the wider Building Category and National Biosecurity Centre Commercial team to ensure a category management approach is adopted across the construction and construction related professional services spend.

The role is to manage spend effectively and innovatively in order to meet the Defra network outcomes, whilst also fulfilling its Spending Review targets. The post-holder will undertake a strategic leadership and influencing role.

They will provide expert advice to the business on commercial issues and governance. They will be expected to deliver propriety and value for money whilst applying the Commercial DNA principles.

The role holder will hold a business-critical senior leadership role within the DGC team, providing strategic and operational support to the Head of Category and other senior leaders, including Defra group Property and the Weybridge Director of Operations. They will promote commercial principles within the Defra network and wider Government, influencing where appropriate.

They will lead, motivate and direct a professional commercial team to develop and implement corporate initiatives to control and secure compliance with business outcomes and to ensure continuous improvement in the field of procurement.

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 Senior Category Manager role will report directly to the Head of Category and will have the following capabilities and responsibilities:

• Lead, motivate and manage a professional commercial team to deliver corporate outcomes and to ensure continuous improvement in the field of procurement.
• Lead on the development of team members ensuring that agreed targets are met.
• Lead on commercial engagement on major projects and prescribed expenditure sub-categories or specialisms, leading on the end to end commercial DNA process on behalf of customers.
• Lead by example in our approach to sustainability and communicating its importance, influencing others to improve their approach. Ensure sustainability is considered throughout our work and is the responsibility of all.
• Provide strategic leadership on supplier relationship and contract management to deliver customer outcomes whilst recognising the importance of the supplier’s commercial drivers / objectives.
• Effectively influence customers across the network to deliver value for money, achieving savings targets and sustainable outcomes in the procurement of works, goods and services.
• Drive and promote DGC’s capability to key stakeholders such as Ministers, Directors and senior management peers to ensure commercial best practise is applied and is able to influence strategic decision-making.
• Promote commercial principles within the Defra network and wider Government, influencing where appropriate.
• Lead on Lean procurement to reduce unnecessary complexity thereby reducing inefficiency and cost, while increasing the quality of commercial outcomes.
• Provide expert advice on commercial risk management and deliver mitigation plans / strategies to manage identified risks at corporate level.
• Enable customer directorates to develop their commercial capability.
• Influence on driving innovation into the network.

Technical skills

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

• Experience of identifying, analysing and managing commercial risks effectively through innovative and effective commercial solutions. Making risk allocations decisions to reflect market appetite and drive value.
• Experience successfully influencing a diverse range of senior internal and external stakeholders, building effective relationships with stakeholders at a senior level and suppliers.
• Experience of a category management approach, market analysis, market engagement and understanding of volatile and risk averse market sectors to drive market interest and value through strategy and the procurement process.
• An accomplished commercial professional with a track record of setting high standards and delivering significant procurement portfolios to time and quality.
• Demonstrable leadership skills, able to motivate and inspire a high-performing team, as well as enhancing capability. Communicates clearly and honestly, influencing stakeholders and gaining trust to achieve mutual benefits.

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 the 23rd of February 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.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist 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

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)20260113 444464 - ACS1474 - Candidate Pack - Senior Commercial Manager – Buildings Science - DEFRA (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 914kB)