188 Flexible Jobs in West Midlands (CC)

Job summary

Manchester Digital Campus

The Manchester Digital Campus (MDC) is part of the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP), and is an exciting transformation across multiple Government departments.

A central Manchester brownfield development site will become the vibrant workplace for well over 8,000 people (including ministers) from the digitally focused departments. MDC will strengthen HMG’s skills, innovation and enable multi-department careers, whilst learning from and contributing to the exciting digital/AI sector in Manchester and the North West. The programme completes in 2032.

Specific security requirements have been set for MDC, and will be discussed with you during the recruitment process. SC is the minimum vetting requirement to start in MDC posts. MDC may subsequently offer the opportunity to sponsor your DV application in this role.

The MDC team are all expected to have a significant presence in Manchester (averaging at least 2-days a week). Regular travel is expected to attend GPA offices, and partner locations, especially London and occasionally Birmingham. The role involves hybrid working with an expectation of office/meeting attendance on three days a week or more as the project demands.

GPA

The Government Property Agency is the largest property holder in government. 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.

Our four core values are at the heart of everything we do. They shape our culture and guide how we work, lead and grow together:

• Striving for excellence- We always aim to deliver great results
• Empowering through respect- We insist on fair treatment for all, always
• Acting with integrity- We consistently do the right thing
• Succeeding together- We rely on each other to achieve success

We are committed to representing the communities we serve by making Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) part of everything we do. Our strong emphasis on 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. To ensure that we are always recruiting and retaining a diverse mix of talent, we are particularly inviting applications from candidates who are disabled, ethnically or gender diverse, and people who identify as being part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Job description

As the Head of Commercial for the Manchester Digital Campus (MDC) you will be dedicated to this Programme to ensure the whole programme maximises commercial opportunities and value.

You will continue development of the procurement strategy, market engagement and contracting approach (from those within the Outline Business Case) for the c.£1bn, 5-year main construction and fit out under a JCT model, overseeing competitions and support the project director in successfully managing the contract through to its commercial and financial completion.

You will need to pay particular attention to continued financial stability, ensuring procurement programme resilience and continuity in a changing economic context. Lower value, but equally important are the effective management of pre-construction works, client side support and the development of income generation propositions supporting the wider programme’s strategic aims.

You will provide commercial leadership across the whole programme, developing the whole team’s commercial thinking and skill set. You will be focused heavily on the infrastructure delivery (a £1bn+ contract). whilst working closely with both project directors, together with the leads of the wider strands (or Lines of Development), finance team and SRO to support the whole programme, ensuring the commercial approach across the whole of MDC is generating best value from the market, maximising social value and alive to income generation opportunities. You will line-manage the small MDC Commercial team, shaping and growing the team, building its capacity and capability, within the wider GPA commercial function and delivering the required commercial outcomes.

You will need construction sector experience and commercial and financial acumen to deliver innovative routes to market, and will work closely with the GPA’s construction partners and professional client side support team.

As part of the leadership team the successful candidate will help create the culture for everyone to thrive; its a matrixed, multi-disciplinary team. The MDC ways of working have been set out as:

• SRO and programme deliver for the whole system, part of all the departments involved;
• Collective, transparent delivery;
• Maximise HMG and UK Benefit;
• Digital and innovative by default;
• Psychological safety in all we do; and
• Robust, proportionate foundations.

MDC needs commercial acumen: An in-depth knowledge and understanding of the procurement and management of professional services partner and construction partner contracts, including handling challenging commercial relationships. Ability to maintain a commercial focus with experience of enhancing and delivering value and continuous improvement through hands-on leadership.

MDC needs construction experience, Experience of procuring and managing very large contracts delivering large-scale construction and technical support services. A thorough understanding of Public Procurement with particular experience in the property construction sector. Demonstrate a trusting, effective working partnership with Crown Commercial Service (CCS) to utilise their category and sourcing teams for timely and compliant procurement.

MDC needs a risk mindset: MDC is a major programme, with complex requirements and a JCT24 contract form using firm, fixed and target cost; more widely the client side professional services are critical to delivery, the matrix team structure adds complexity.

MDC necessitates managing complexity: MDC is a major programme with multiple policy, regulatory and departmental drivers. The commercial structure needs to balance these drives and the conflicting change they can introduce.

There will be initially management of two direct reports who will also be commercial specialists. MDC is a matrix management model and this individual will be providing commercial leadership more widely. As the programme progresses all the teams will be kept under review and could expand with further Civil Service or interim/service contractor staff.

Key responsibilities

• Strategic commercial and procurement leadership across MDC.
• Contract management
• Compliance and risk management
• Value generation
• Governance and stakeholders
• You will be part of the MDC Exec working together across all the pillars, embedding the GPA values and the MDC delivery principles, with dotted line reporting to the GPA Head of Commercial and membership of the Finance directorate leadership team of which Commercial forms a key component.

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

• A thorough understanding of Public Procurement with particular experience preferably in JCT contracts and the construction sector. Demonstrate a trusting, effective working partnership with Crown Commercial Service (CCS) to utilise their category and sourcing teams for timely and compliant procurement.
• Able to navigate often complex and demanding regulatory, commercial and political landscapes, all the time maintaining a dynamism with a focus on achieving measurable and impactful results and delivering excellent customer value.
• Managing complex procurements and all stages of the process from tendering through to contract and supplier management. This would include: warming and engaging the market, preparing and running the tender, managing the clarification process, evaluating bids, selecting suppliers, preparing the contract documentation, managing contract sign off, feeding back to unsuccessful suppliers and then managing the contract through to completion.
• Leading and inspiring a commercial team. Supporting an integrated delivery team and building strong relationships across team/business area/departmental/ boundaries with clear evidence of an ability to deliver through others and build a network of influence.
• Strong relationship management, interpersonal, communication and influencing skills, with the ability to operate and build effective relationships at all levels within an organisation and across different clients.
• Ability to maintain a commercial focus with experience of enhancing and delivering value and continuous improvement through hands-on leadership.
• A high degree of personal resilience, tenacity, integrity and focus on outcomes.
• Able to contribute strategically across MDC as part of the leadership group as well as deliver vertically on functional objectives.
• Coaching a team to develop and continually model a can-do culture across the GPA whilst working in a ‘matrix management’ environment.
• Be amongst the most senior members of the Government Commercial Function and play a role in the broader commercial reform programme led by the Government Chief Commercial Officer;
• Play a key leadership and change management role in developing a strong commercial function for the GPA and across government.

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the communities and wider society that we serve. GPA prides itself on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a sense of belonging in a workplace where everyone feels valued.

Qualifications
Full (e.g. Chartered) professional membership/accreditation of a recognised professional body - CIPS preferred.

Interviews will be in person in Manchester

Technical skills

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

• Understands and robustly manages key commercial programme risks, seeks innovation and takes managed risks to change accepted practices, and manages risk at senior executive level to get correct outcomes for the government.
• Manages complex commercial deals across government, swiftly analyses ambiguous data for clarity, applies contract law and precedents to understand disputes, resources large contracts, and turns around problematic projects.
• Expertise in complex building procurement & contract management, with Property Playbook experience. Protects interests via market analysis, influences leaders to maximise value and shapes commercial strategies.
• Lead a resilient commercial team using construction insights to deliver complex procurement. Set the vision, build cross-boundary relationships, and foster a culture of efficiency, continuous improvement, and citizen value.
• Senior matrix stakeholder engagement experience, understanding drivers and behaviours. Builds collaborative civil service and global partnerships to meet objectives. Instigates collaborative commercial relationship frameworks.
• Oversees overall contract management strategy, deploys resources to manage complex contracts, and turns around problematic projects. Actively reconsiders the market approach over time to consider innovative commercial models.

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 19th 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.This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

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 security 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)20260716 OFFSEN 471901 - Head of Commercial - Manchester Digital Campus - Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 1122kB)