Commercial Change Portfolio & Transformation Lead

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP); Manchester; On-site; GBP 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in Manchester seeks a Commercial Change Portfolio & Transformation Lead to steer a central enabling team and deliver the Commercial Strategy. You will provide portfolio leadership, governance and strategic delivery across transformation, policy implementation and continuous improvement to achieve agreed outcomes.

You will lead the delivery of multiple strands of our commercial strategy, shape transformation communications, and coordinate with the Chief

Responsibilities

• Lead planning, coordinating and governing delivery of multiple strands of the commercial strategy and policy implementation.
• Develop and lead the transformation communications plan and support matrix management for the Chief Commercial Officer's Private Office.
• Deliver the commercial strands of the department's transformation and efficiency plans, embedding new strategies into delivery.

Job description

This is an exciting opportunity to lead a central enabling team and support the delivery of the DWP Commercial Strategy. Our strategy is fundamental to the achievement of departmental objectives priorities and delivery of government missions. The Commercial Change Portfolio & Transformation Lead is a pivotal role in our structure. The role holder will provide portfolio leadership, governance and strategic delivery of all transformation, policy implementation and continuous improvement activity across the Commercial Directorate, ensuring initiatives are prioritised, sequenced, resourced and communicated effectively to deliver agreed outcomes.

Leading a small team responsible for planning, coordinating, and governing the delivery multiple strands of our commercial strategy and policy implementation deliver. The post holder will also be responsible for developing and leading delivery of our transformation communications plan and supporting matrix management of the Chief Commercial Officers Private Office. They will own the delivery of the commercial strands of the departments transformation and efficiency plans, maximising the transformational opportunities presented through implementation and embedding of new strategies and policies into commercial delivery.

The post holder will work with commercial teams and wider stakeholders to transform our processes and ways of working, creating opportunity to reduce administrative burdens and embedding a culture of continuous improvement. The post holder will report to the Head of Commercial Operations and Strategy and will be supported by a small, dedicated team with access to relevant subject matter experts across the enabling functions. The post holder will also work closely with key stakeholders, including category and finance teams and Cabinet Office, and will act as the central commercial lead for the overall departmental transformation programme.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is one of the UK's biggest government departments, building services that make a real difference to the lives of millions of people. Commercial Directorate (CD) is one of the leading government procurement functions, is commercially unique and presents an attractive challenge for anyone wanting to advance their procurement career.

As a key part of DWP, CD shapes how services are delivered across hundreds of third-party contractual arrangements, with some of the largest industry suppliers. In 2026/26 CD managed a total spend of over £3.2bn and secured savings for the taxpayer of over £500m.

DWP's Commercial function is based across several Finance Group Hub locations and is divided into several categories aligned to areas of spend with a central enabling team leading on areas such as data, policy and systems. The team works with key stakeholders to design and deliver services to support some of DWP's biggest key policies and organisational priorities.