Commercial Capability Manager - Reading

AWE plc; Sulhamstead; Hybrid; GBP 48,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

9-day working fortnight

270 hours annual leave

Pension scheme

Professional development funding

Employee Assistance Programme

Life Assurance

Discounts

Volunteer leave

Job summary

AWE plc is seeking a Commercial Capability Manager based in Reading, Berkshire, with hybrid working and a 9-day fortnight. The role focuses on building and embedding a comprehensive capability framework for competencies, training, and mentoring within Commercial teams.

You will identify skill gaps, work with department heads to tailor development plans, and report to the Senior Capability Manager. Strong stakeholder management and HR development experience are essential.

Qualifications

• Proven professional experience in a related field.
• Experience in Procurement / Commercial.
• Experience within HR or people-related functions with focus on skills and development.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong management and analytical skills.

Responsibilities

• Accountable for managing and fostering relationships with external governing bodies (MOD, DNO, CAB) and identify collaboration opportunities across government commercial skills and development.
• Define the Commercial competency framework and career pathways.
• Manage Commercial training plans and providers, ensuring leverage of AWE training providers.
• Collaborate with wider AWE HR and talent teams to align with employee development processes, tools and procedures.
• Oversee the Commercial skills and development programme and budget.
• Understand capability development demand and market trends across people development to define Commercial requirements.
• Analyze skills gaps and develop plans to bridge them across Commercial.
• Roll out a Commercial mentoring programme to nurture internal talent.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Analytical skills

HR / People development

Procurement / Commercial

Ambiguity tolerance

Attention to detail

Team collaboration

Time management

Organisational skills

Tools

Excel

MS Office

Job description

Commercial Capability Manager - Reading

Date: 2026-09-26T00:00:00

Location: Sulhamstead, Berkshire, RG7 4

Country: GB

Postcode: RG7 4

Application Deadline: 2026-12-26T03:02:43.987

Job Overview

Commercial Capability Manager - Reading, Berkshire, RG2 6UA

Job Type: Full-Time

Salary: Additional benefits

Package: 47,760 to 60k (depending on experience)

Location: Reading, with free onsite parking

Working Pattern: AWE operates a 9-day working fortnight, with every other Friday as a non-working day. This role is eligible for hybrid working, meaning employees typically spend three days on site in a long week and two days on site in a short week. We support flexible working where possible, including part-time and varied working hours, so please let us know if you would like us to consider an alternative working arrangement when you apply.

Introduction

Ready to play your part? At AWE, it's not just a job, it's far more than that. Our shared purpose is to help keep the nation safe. Could this role be the opportunity for you to play your part?

As the Commercial Capability Manager, your primary responsibility is to develop and embed a full capability framework covering competencies, training, development, and mentoring. You will need to identify and evaluate skill gaps within Commercial and implement training programmes to bridge those gaps. You will work closely with department heads to understand the specific knowledge and expertise required for each role and develop tailored development plans. This role will report into the Senior Capability Manager.

Key Accountabilities

• Managing and fostering effective relationships with external governing bodies providing visibility and influence of any change (MOD, DNO, CAB) and identifying opportunities for collaboration across government commercial skills and development.
• Defining the Commercial competency framework and career pathways.
• Managing Commercial training plans and associated training providers, ensuring full leverage of AWE training providers.
• Collaborating with wider AWE HR and talent teams to ensure alignment with employee development processes, tools, and procedures.
• Overseeing the Commercial skills and development programme and budget.
• Understanding capability development demand and market trends across people development to define Commercial requirements.
• Analyzing skills gaps and developing plans to bridge them across Commercial.
• Rolling out a Commercial mentoring programme to nurture and develop internal talent.

Desired Experience and Skills

• Proven professional experience in a related field.
• Experience working in a Procurement / Commercial function.
• Experience within HR or other people-related functions with focus on skills and development.
• Highly skilled in stakeholder management, with effective tools and strategies to create business alignment and influence decision making.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and changing priorities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong management and analytical skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, including Excel.
• Good organizational and time management skills.
• Ability to maintain accurate records and documentation.
• Attention to detail.
• Ability to engage colleagues across different teams and levels of seniority.
• Collaborative working style.

Benefits

• 9-day working fortnight, with every other Friday off, plus 270 hours of annual leave.
• Market-leading contributory pension scheme (matching contributions between 9% and 13%).
• Family-friendly policies: Maternity Leave (39 weeks full pay), Paternity Leave (4 weeks full pay).
• Professional development opportunities, including funding for relevant memberships.
• Employee Assistance Programme and Occupational Health Services.
• Life Assurance (4x annual salary).
• Discounts on everyday spending.
• Special Leave Policy for volunteering, public service, and caring responsibilities.

#LI-ZB1

#s1-Gen Commercial Capability Manager - Reading, Berkshire,RG2 6UA Job Type:Full-TimeSalary: Additional benefits Commercial Capability Manager Package: 47,760 to 60k (depending on experience) Location: Reading, with free onsite parking. Working pattern: AWE operates a 9-day working fortnight, with every other Friday as a non-working day. This role is eligible for hybrid working, meaning employees typically spend three days on site in a long week and two days on site in a short week. We support flexible working where possible, including part-time and varied working hours, so please let us know if you would like us to consider an alternative working arrangement when you apply. Ready to play your part? At AWE, it's not just a job, it's far more than that. Our shared purpose is to help keep the nation safe. Could this role be the opportunity for you to play your part? As theCommercial Capability Manager, your primary responsibility is to develop and embed a full capability framework covering competencies, training, development and mentoring. As part of this you will need toidentify and evaluate skill gapswithin Commercial and implement training programmes to bridge those gaps. You will work closely with department heads to understand the specific knowledge and expertise required for each role and develop tailored development plans. This role will report into the Senior Capability Manager. Key Accountabilities: Accountable for managing and fostering effective relationships with external governing bodies providing visibility and influence of any change (MOD, DNO, CAB) and identifying opportunities for collaboration across government Commercial skills and development. Accountable for defining the Commercial competency framework and career pathways. Accountable for Commercial training plans and management of associated Commercial training providers, ensuring that AWE training providers are fully leveraged. Accountable for working in collaboration with wider AWE HR and talent teams to ensure full alignment with the wider AWE employee development processes, tools and procedures. Accountable for the Commercial skills and development programme and budget. Accountable for understanding capability development demand. Accountable for understanding market trends across people development and capability and define Commercial requirements to ensure best in class capability development. Accountable for analysing and understanding skills gaps and developing and implementing a plan to bridge these gaps across Commercial. Accountable for rolling out a Commercial mentoring programme in order to nurture and develop internal talent. Whilst not to be considered a tick list, we'd like you to have experience in some of the following: Must have proven professional experience. Experience of working in a Procurement / Commercial function. Experience within HR or other people related functions with specific experience in skills and development. Highly skilled in stakeholder management, with ability to deploy effective tools and strategies to create business alignment and influence decision making. Comfortable with a degree of ambiguity and changing priorities. Excellent written and verbal communication and stakeholder management skills. Strong management skills. Good analytical skills. Strong proficiency within the Microsoft suite including excel. Comfortable with a degree of ambiguity and changing priorities. Strong organisational and time management skills. Ability to maintain accurate records and documentation. Attention to detail. Comfortable engaging colleagues across different teams and levels of seniority. Ability to work collaboratively . Work hard, be rewarded: We ask a lot and set the bar high because our work truly matters. In return we offer balance, with award winning benefits including: 9-day working fortnight - meaning you get every other Friday off work, in addition to 270 hours of annual leave. Market leading contributory pension scheme (we will pay between 9% and 13% of your pensionable pay depending on your contributions). Family friendly policies: Maternity Leave - 39 Weeks Full Pay and Paternity Leave - 4 Weeks Full Pay. Opportunities for Professional Career Development including funding for annual membership of a relevant professional body. Employee Assistance Programme and Occupational Health Services. Life Assurance (4 x annual salary). Discounts - access to savings on a wide range of everyday spending. Special Leave Policy including paid time off for volunteering, public service (including reserve forces) and caring. #LI-ZB1