Commercial Lead

Bluelight Commercial; Birmingham; Remote; GBP 51,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a dynamic team as a Commercial Lead, where you will manage high-profile commercial activities across blue light services. This role offers the opportunity to influence commercial strategy and collaborate with diverse stakeholders while focusing on ICT contracts. You will play a key role in delivering maximum value through effective procurement and contract management, ensuring compliance with regulations. With a commitment to professional development and a flexible, remote working environment, this position is perfect for those looking to make a significant impact in a unique and collaborative setting.

Benefits

Quality remote working equipment

12% employer pension contribution

Life insurance 4 x salary

28 days annual leave

Birthday Leave

Paid bank holiday leave

Occupational sick pay

Employee Assistance Programme

Access to free training & e-learning

Qualifications

• CIPS qualified and experienced in procurement and contract management.
• Ability to manage complex commercial activities effectively.

Responsibilities

• Lead on commercial support for planning and implementation of initiatives.
• Manage stakeholder relationships and ensure adherence to procurement regulations.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Relationship management

Analytical skills

Risk management

Negotiation skills

Education

CIPS Level 4 qualification

3 years’ experience in commercial environment

Tools

Financial processes and tools

Job description

Commercial Lead

Reporting to: Head of Category

Dept/Pillar: ICT

Hours: 37 (flexible)

Grade/Salary: From £51,721 (dependent on experience)

Contract Type:

Vetting Level: NPPV 3 & SC

Role Overview

Commercial Leads have a portfolio covering multiple categories. Taking the lead on the management of high-profile and complex commercial activities across blue light services, initially ICT focused, e.g. ICT contracts for software, hardware, telecoms, and software as a service.

You will be responsible for delivering maximum value via commercial activities, influencing commercial strategy, and demonstrating positive stakeholder management. Collaborating with a variety of stakeholders, advising others as a commercial professional and procurement expert.

The role supports the wider BlueLight Commercial team with procurement and contract management activities which creates diversity and continuous professional development in this role. Also, closely supporting senior management with, or personally leading on, specific work streams, making data-led, evidence-based recommendations and decisions.

No two days will be the same, and the role offers scope for continuing professional development.

My Team and the BlueLight Team

You will be an integral part of the commercial team where all the Commercial Leads work across multiple categories in order to have equitable workload and enable the team to deliver. Your primary categories are likely to be ICT related in terms of software and services specifically required by policing.

We are intent on optimizing technology to plan and deliver work visibly, collaboratively, and efficiently. We are fully remote and agile, and being a team here is exciting and still a bit unique!

My Responsibilities and Accountabilities

• Providing on-the-ground overall commercial support for planning, implementation, and monitoring of BlueLight Commercial led initiatives and activities.
• Contributing to preparing strategic plans and facilitating, delivering, and making recommendations for action to stakeholders, ensuring adherence to any procurement regulations and Government policy.
• Leading contract and supplier management programmes including leading on supply chain improvement projects and supporting complex negotiations.
• Leading and evaluating complex competitive tenders and proposals for the supply of goods and services for blue light services.
• Working with stakeholders to identify issues and understand expectations to develop and deliver best commercial options, gaining commitment at each stage of the commercial lifecycle.
• Creating strong and effective relationships with key stakeholders and partners.
• Managing stakeholder relationships with professionalism and tact to facilitate the transition from old ways of working to adopt the new ones, mitigating risks, concerns, and issues.
• Working with financial processes and tools to evaluate options and ensure financial information and data are accurately reflected in commercial plans.
• Ensuring adherence to legal, regulatory, and security requirements in service delivery and building diversity, equality, and social value considerations into plans.
• Leading sourcing processes, ensuring that all stakeholder requirements are met within required timeframes and result in the most commercially attractive terms and conditions.
• Undertaking any other work as directed by your line manager in connection with your job as may be requested.

Qualifications & Accreditations

You are someone who has attained:

• CIPS qualified to Level 4 and/or a minimum of 3 years’ experience within a commercial environment i.e. commissioning, procurement, contract management.
• Willing to work towards achieving Government Commercial Function (GCF) accreditation to Commercial Lead level.

Experience & Knowledge

You are someone who has:

• Either previous experience pertinent to the role, e.g. working within the public sector and a working knowledge of Public Procurement regulations, Equality Act 2010, and Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012; or demonstrable private sector procurement experience together with a desire to gain public sector experience.
• Experience in sourcing, implementing, and managing new contracts and ways of working, including change management models.
• Experience of ICT contracts for software, hardware, telecoms, and software as services.
• Proven success in leading the full end-to-end commercial cycle.

Skills

You are someone who is:

• Excellent interpersonal & communication skills with the ability to influence in a collaborative manner.
• Demonstrable relationship management skills, creating trusted relationships with partners and stakeholders.
• Persuasive and capable of presenting different options and recommendations to achieve innovation and new market opportunities.
• Highly numerate and analytical, able to assimilate and apply new techniques and knowledge quickly to deliver insights and solve problems.
• Able to identify risks and understand risk management, anticipate issues and create innovative, commercially astute solutions, and to resolve problems in relation to project or service delivery.

Personal Qualities

You are:

• Resilient, proven ability to successfully manage multiple projects across categories that on occasion have competing timelines.
• Good commercial and financial acumen.
• Committed to professional development.
• Collaborative and team-oriented.
• Agile and flexible.

Our Values

Our values guide our behaviour. They inform how we act, the decisions we make, and how we collaborate with each other and the organisations we work with. They were shaped by our Teams purposefully designed to ‘inter-connect’. They remind us of ‘how to be’ in all we do and strive to achieve as a diverse and agile company.

• Be the best.
• Be responsible.
• Be a team.
• Be open.
• Be the difference.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We foster a work environment that is inclusive as well as diverse, where our people can be themselves. We value every idea and perspective towards helping us to evolve and innovate.

What We Offer - Total Rewards Package

• Starting salary £51,721 p.a. (DOE) (dependent on experience)
• Quality equipment for successful remote working, laptop, mobile phone, monitor, chair & desk and a Welcome ‘kit box’.
• 12% employer pension contribution.
• Support for your development for your role and future career development (a framework to achieve this).
• Pension salary sacrifice scheme.
• Life insurance 4 x salary.
• 28 days annual leave (rising on service).
• Birthday Leave (1 x extra day per year to be used in birthday month).
• Paid bank holiday leave.
• Occupational sick pay.
• Wellness – free vouchers for eye test and flu jab.
• Employee Assistance Programme for health and wellbeing.
• 1 x annual professional subscription.
• Learning Management System – access to free training & e-learning (more than 80,000 learning resources).

CLOSING DATE: 14th February 2025

POTENTIAL INTERVIEWS: week of 24th February & 3rd March 2025

*Please let us know confidentially if you require any adjustments in order to participate fully in our recruitment experience, this can be prior to applying or when you apply.

“The legal bit”

The successful applicant will be subject to pre-employment checks including medical screening and vetting (carried out externally NPPV3) due to the nature of our business this is important. As standard you will need to satisfy:

• Employment eligibility check (right to work in the UK).

• Residency qualification (meaning you must have a 5 year 'checkable history' in the UK, ideally you have been and you are a resident in England or Wales for the last 5 years).

• Employment references (last 3 years or educational/personal reference where applicable).

*NPPV3: Vetting process | Warwickshire Police

This level of vetting grants the applicant to have unsupervised, unrestricted access to police premises and systems and could include those working in areas where the police roles have been identified as designated posts. NPPV3 allows access to classified police material or information up to SECRET and occasional access to TOP SECRET.

Clearance at SC level, sits alongside NPPV3 allows applicants access to a higher level of secure information and systems.