Senior Commercial Policy & Negotiation Lead (GBR)

Job summary

Can you shape commercial policy?

Do you enjoy engaging in evidence-based debate with a range of stakeholders?

Have you driven difficult, high-profile work forward at pace?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

Be part of the team shaping the future commercial design of Great British Railways (GBR), one of the government’s key manifesto commitments and work that will fundamentally reshape the UK rail industry.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at DfTc Policy roles: Policy opportunities at the Department for Transport - Department for Transport Careers

Job description

Lead the strategic design, negotiation and approval for GBR’s non-legislative financial framework; including the tools, delegations and controls required to underpin its financial operation, manage budgetary and financial pressures, pursue opportunities, and deliver meaningful benefits for passengers and taxpayers. Collaborate across DfT, industry (including Network Rail, the ORR and DfTO) and external stakeholders (including UKGI and HMT), to interrogate framework options, inform decision-making, develop a negotiation strategy, and gain support for cross-Whitehall approvals.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

1. Lead the design and approval of GBR's non-legislative financial framework, chairing cross-government and industry engagement, resolving complex policy and stakeholder issues, setting negotiation priorities, and aligning delivery with the Railways Bill and necessary approvals processes.
2. Support the successful passage of the Railways Bill through Parliament by leading funding and finance input, managing senior stakeholder relationships across Whitehall and industry, and ensuring the Bill's funding provisions are effectively developed, understood and implemented.
3. Lead the next phase of development of GBR's Integrated Business Plan (i.e. GBR’s future business planning process and how it supports funding), driving cross-industry alignment, securing stakeholder buy-in, and ensuring integration with wider rail reform, existing financial settlement, and DfTO/Network Rail integration.
4. Ensure the timely and quality development of other workstreams, including but not limited to: insurance and debt.
5. Support other parts of DfT (RRD, GBR Design, NR Shareholding, NR Sponsorship, Future DfT) as they input work in support of the set-up of GBR.
6. Lead a team consisting of x2 SEOs. Ensure their wellbeing, provide mentoring/coaching and leadership, solve problems on the team’s behalf. Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.

For further information on the role, please read the attached role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

Essential qualifications/licenses:

1. A valid passport for international travel
2. A full UK driving license

You will be required to provide evidence that you hold any essential qualifications/licenses at some point during the recruitment process. If you cannot provide evidence, your application will be withdrawn.

Required experience:

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

• Significant rail industry experience, with strong negotiation skills and a proven track record of leading complex policy development across commercial, operational and financial areas.
• Experience leading through change and uncertainty, demonstrating resilience and the ability to support teams to adapt and thrive within a fast-paced and evolving environment, particularly in the context of Rail Reform.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with experience working collaboratively with senior leaders across organisations such as DfT, HM Treasury and Network Rail to drive outcomes and build consensus where differing views exist.

Additional Information

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

Occasional travel to other offices will be required, which may involve overnight stays.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).

Visa Sponsorship

DfTc roles only: DfTc does not offer Visa Sponsorship for this role.

Licences

A full UK driving license and a valid passport for international travel is required for this role.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Leadership

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,515, Department for Transport contributes £16,662 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies (opens in a new window).

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 Behaviours, Strengths, Ability and Experience.

How to apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's qualifications, skills, and potential fit within our organisation.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Online Test

Stage 2: Sift of CV, personal statement & Behaviour statement.

Stage 3: Interview

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Stage 1: Online test

At this stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

1. Ability

After submission of the first stage of your application (personal details), you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Numerical Test. If you successfully pass the test/s, you will be invited to complete the full application (please see ‘stage 2: sift’ for further information).

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended) to give yourself enough time to complete your full application (please see ‘stage 2: sift’ for further information). Both the online test and the full application must be completed by the closing date on the advert, otherwise your application will be rejected.

Guidance for the tests will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

Stage 2: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – you will be asked to provide a 250-word statement on the following Behaviour: Leadership
• Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount) and personal statement (750-word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:
  • Developing commercial policy at pace
  • Driving forward complex negotiations with challenging stakeholders
  • Leading teams though change and uncertainty

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead Success Profile element, leadership. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Please note: the sift will be completed on a rolling basis whilst the campaign is still live, so you may receive your sift scores before the advert closing date.

The sift will take place week commencing 21/07/2026.

Stage 4: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – Leadership, Making Effective Decisions, Seeing The Bigger Picture and Working Together.
• Experience – Negotiation
• Strengths

The interviews will take place from 05/08/2026.

This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site (opens in a new window).

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.

Further information on the selection process

Feedback on your application can only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

We will also hold a 12 month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for. You can read more about our reserve lists here.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert or the information on our website, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit theHow We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

Pre-employment Checking

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

All external applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:

• Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour
• Threats or acts of violence
• Illegal activity or substance misuse
• Sexually explicit material
• Extremist views or affiliations

Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public. Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It’s not about judging your personality or lifestyle - it’s about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture. If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what’s being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.

Feedback

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 : Rory Gibson
• Email : rory.gibson@dft.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dftrecruitment.grs@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, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here

Attachments

role profile Opens in new window (pdf, 224kB)