Job summary
The Home Office works to keep our citizens safe and our country secure. As well as working to reduce crime, enforce the law and protect our borders, it also works to protect the most vulnerable and is at the forefront of public policy making - our work is among the most challenging and rewarding in Government. Our commercial teams have been at the forefront of the Department�s responses to the COVID 19 pandemic, the protection of our borders and society.
The Home Office spends approximately �3bn each year with third party suppliers and this is managed by the Commercial Directorate, a team of around 300 procurement and contract management professionals. The range of goods and services acquired is huge and includes services to complex programmes that are unique in Europe with multi-million-pound contracts.
At the Home Office, you will have the chance to make a real and tangible positive impact to the country�s future structure, impacting the lives across the UK and work on a broad range of Missions from Borders and Migration, Public Safety and our Homeland security, the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme, Digital Data & Technology.
What we do matters and the opportunity to turn policy into reality is at the forefront of the commercial work we do and seeing the difference it makes to our country is hugely rewarding.
We are partway through a programme of change which has seen us recruiting across all grades. Now we are seeking enthusiastic individuals at Commercial Lead level who can help support the delivery of Commercial�s objectives. Commercial Leads are leaders and managers who will help us to build Commercial�s reputation as a strategic partner, improving business outcomes and delivering value for money through the contracts we source.
So, whatever your background, either public or private, if you are passionate about delivering first class outcomes then come and join our journey.
Job description
The Home Office has one of the most challenging and critical jobs in Whitehall: to keep Britain safe and secure. We operate at the heart of the Government's agenda, leading on immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime policy, counter-extremism and counterterrorism and work to ensure visible, responsive, and accountable policing in the UK. The challenges the Department faces are significant and can change rapidly in the global environment in which we operate, making this one of the most exciting and stimulating Government Departments in which to work.
The Commercial Directorate manages the conduit between the Home Office and those supplier markets that help us provide key services to the public. It provides strategic commercial services such as market intelligence, procurement and contract management activities and its principal aims are to deliver efficiency savings, support the strategic agendas of our client groups by procuring the right products and services in a timely manner and dynamically managing contracts and suppliers, whilst delivering activities in a transparent and compliant manner.
This is an exciting opportunity to join Home Office Commercial within the Maritime Commercial Team.
In this role, you will be a true leader, driving development, innovation and creating a cohesive, positive mind-set to deliver great commercial outcomes with real accountability and collaboration with business and project teams.
You will develop and maintain positive relationships with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders and encourage collaborative relationships as appropriate. Your professional expertise and judgement will be relied upon and valued by senior colleagues.
Supporting the Commercial Business Partner Border Force (BF) and Immigration Enforcement (IE), you will procure a range of commercial agreements for the Home Office to ensure that they deliver to requirements�ensuring value for money and compliance with the Government Commercial Outsourcing Playbook.
The Team delivers contractual arrangements to support the HO to deliver its primary objective of protecting our borders.
You will need to have a full understanding and experience of using public procurement legislation and be familiar with Procurement Policies in Government.
You will have delivered complex procurement activity.
You will also ideally have 2 or more of the following skills, experience, or knowledge:
1. Experience of working in the Maritime Sector/Environment
2. A Naval, defence/security, law enforcement or engineering background
3. Knowledge of the shipbuilding industry
4. Knowledge of unique risks in this sector
5. An understanding of Social Value in this context
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 successful candidate will:
6. Develop appropriate Commercial Strategies to meet the sourcing needs of the customer
7. Deliver complex procurement projects compliant with relevant legislation, the Outsourcing Playbook and relevant Procurement Policy Notes, including incorporating Social Value requirements
8. Assess routes to market (engaging across the Government Commercial Function to work collaboratively)
9. Work with other procurement experts to deliver a range of contracts for goods and services (low value to complex)
10. Collaborate with stakeholders (Senior Responsible Officers, Project Managers, Finance, Commercial Finance, Cabinet Office and others) to deliver excellent outcomes, on time
11. Manage the procurement risks ensuring mitigations are in place or escalated
12. Maintain accurate data to inform the commercial pipeline and reporting
13. Ensure the continuous development of yourself and your colleagues
14. Act corporately and make a contribution to the Home Office/Government Commercial Function wider objective
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
15. Manages Complexity - Evidence of designing and delivering complex procurement (over �10M projects likely) in a public sector environment
16. Market Insight - Knowledge of/experience of working within the Maritime Category or with relevant background/experiences (key priority criteria)
17. Commercial Focus - Leadership skills � has led a team of professionals to maximise commercial outcomes (professionals includes project managers, finance and other subject matters experts)
18. Builds Relationships - Strong interpersonal skills � ability to influence and negotiate with colleagues and stakeholders to reach the best outcome for the Home Office
19. Political Insight - Understand the wider drivers, objectives, and activity across Government
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.