Commercial Manager

Werfenlife SA.; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company car

Generous contributory pension scheme

Private Medical Insurance

Employee Assistance Program

Job summary

Werfen UK is seeking a Commercial Manager to lead and develop the UK commercial operations, driving profitable growth and ensuring governance across contracts and tenders. The role interfaces with Sales, Finance, Operations and Legal to deliver complex commercial solutions across Biz Units.

You will oversee contracts, bids, pricing strategies and supplier relationships while aligning to the 3-year plan, managing risk, and enhancing profitability. Strong UK procurement experience is essential.

Qualifications

• BSc in Science or Business, 8–10 years' experience.
• Proficient in UK procurement legislation and NHS frameworks.
• Strong commercial acumen with proven revenue and profitability impact.
• Experience in cross-functional leadership and stakeholder management.

Responsibilities

• Lead a centralized UK commercial function aligned to the 3-year strategic plan.
• Oversee tender lifecycle management, bid submissions, negotiations, and contracts.
• Manage distributor relationships and external partners across the UK.
• Ensure governance, risk management, and contract compliance.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Sales, Finance, Marketing, and IT.

Skills

Commercial leadership

Cross-functional leadership

Stakeholder management

Contract negotiation

Contract management

UK procurement legislation

NHS frameworks

Financial analysis

Presentation skills

Microsoft Office

Education

BSc in Science or Business or related field

Tools

SAP

Microsoft Excel/Office

Job description

Werfen is a growing, family-owned, innovative company founded in 1966 in Barcelona, Spain. We are a worldwide leader in specialized diagnostics in the areas of Hemostasis, Acute Care Diagnostics, Transfusion, Autoimmunity, and Transplant. Through our Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) business line, we research, develop, and manufacture customized assays and biomaterials. We operate directly in 30 countries, and in more than 100 territories through distributors. Our Headquarters and Technology Centers are located in the US and Europe, and our workforce is more than 7,000 strong.

Overview

The Commercial Manager holds a critical, cross-functional role within the organisation, reporting directly to the General Manager. This position leads and develops Werfen UK’s commercial operation functions, driving profitable growth, strengthening contractual governance, and enabling cross‑functional delivery of complex commercial solutions across all business units. The role combines strategic leadership, operational excellence, and market influence to support long‑term business performance and customer success.

Responsibilities

Key Accountabilities

Commercial Leadership & Strategy

• A key role within the Werfen Senior Leadership Team, collaborating with colleagues to shape strategic direction, drive organisational success, and promote a culture of trust, teamwork, and mutual respect
• Lead a centralised commercial function aligned to the UK 3‑year strategic plan, directly impacting revenue growth and P&L performance.
• Act as the primary commercial interface across all business units, ensuring alignment between sales strategy, operational delivery, and financial objectives.

Provide expert guidance on UK procurement frameworks and legislation, general market changes and pathology network dynamics to inform strategic decision making.

• Lead a high‑performing Contracts team responsible for end‑to‑end tender lifecycle management, including bid submission, negotiation, and contract award.
• Ensure all tender submissions are compliant, commercially robust, and delivered to a high standard across multi‑business unit opportunities.
• Develop and embed contractual governance frameworks, improving risk management, consistency, and commercial outcomes.
• Oversee price increase management to protect and enhance profitability across the portfolio with Customer Support.
• Responsible for resolving all contractual and procurement disputes as a point of escalation from the contracts team with customer contracts alongside selected legal partners.
• Identify new procurement avenues and mechanisms for customers to take Werfen solutions through to contract.

Write and amend contractual documents where applicable including the distributor agreements.

Operational Excellence & Commercial Performance

• Strengthen delivery of Managed Service and Cost‑Per‑Reportable contracts, ensuring clear accountability, escalation pathways, and operational control.
• Drive continuous process improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency, quality, and commercial performance across teams.

Improve forecasting accuracy and budget planning through enhanced cross‑functional collaboration and data insight.

Distributor & External Partner Management

• Lead all UK distributor relationships, including negotiation of high‑value agreements and ongoing contractual performance management.

Strengthen partnerships with key stakeholders across Primary Contractors, NHS procurement organisations, and industry bodies to enhance commercial positioning.

Cross‑Functional Leadership

• Act as the central coordination point across Sales, Service, Finance, Quality, IT, Supply Chain, and Marketing functions.
• Enable seamless transition from contract award to business‑as‑usual operations, ensuring delivery against customer commitments.
• Support resource planning, risk mitigation, and integrated delivery across complex projects and national accounts.
• Provide education and training where required on Contracts, Tenders, Procurement and Legal

Responsible for driving the relationship, tasks and the cross collaboration intitiatives between Werfen UK and GBS.

Implementation & Project Delivery Oversight

• Oversee the end‑to‑end implementation lifecycle, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within scope, and aligned to both customer and business requirements.

Strengthen governance frameworks across implementations, improving risk management and operational profitability per deployment.

Marketing, Brand & Market Engagement

• Direct marketing communications strategy to improve market visibility, customer engagement, and alignment of messaging across the UK.
• Responsible for guiding the marketing communications manager in increasing communication internally within Werfen UK

Support delivery of events, digital engagement, and analytics to strengthen Werfen’s external positioning.

Industry Influence & Thought Leadership

• Represent Werfen at national level through engagement with industry bodies (e.g. BIVDA) and procurement forums.

Deliver and support presentations on NHS procurement at external and internal meetings, strengthening customer understanding and market positioning.

Sustainability & Social Value

• Lead UK social value and sustainability initiatives, embedding them into commercial strategies and public sector tender responses.

Knowledge of all social value and sustainability legislation, policy notes and the requirements for tenders and contracts.

• Lead and evolve a high‑performing, empowered teams across Contracts, Customer Support, Marketing Communications, and Implementation.
• Embed structured management practices, including performance oversight, development planning, and continuous improvement culture.
• Drive organisational capability through onboarding, training, and workload planning.
• Lead innovative initiatives to drive performance and efficiencies for operations such as AI‑enabled bid development, increasing speed, consistency, and win rates

Qualifications

Minimum Knowledge & Experience required for the position

Min knowledge

• BSc in Science or Business or related field. A minimum of 8-10 years business or related experience with people or stakeholder management experience. Proficient computer skills, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SAP and other corporate tools.

Skills & Capabilities

• Deep expertise in UK procurement legislation, NHS frameworks, and regulatory requirements.
• Strong commercial acumen with demonstrated impact on revenue, efficency, profitability within the commercial operations
• As one of the few roles that actively touches on all areas of the business the candidate must have experience in cross‑functional leadership and strong evidence of stakeholder management.
• A strong understanding of the current Pathology market place, suppliers and NHS networks in the UK and Ireland
• Experience in supplier management, high level negotiation, contract management and contractual change management within a healthcare setting
• Ability to negotiate and use sound contractual documentation
• An understanding of internal and external marketing communication
• Strong presentation skills and ability to present to a variety of audiences
• Sound financial analysis capabilities
• Knowledge of managed services in a diagnostics environment
• High level of Microsoft systems
• Full clean UK driving licence
• Flexibility to travel across the UK

Travel Requirements

UK Wide as required to fulfil the role; typically 40%

International Mobility required to attend Werfen local / global meetings and training as required

What we offer

Company car

Generous contributory pension scheme

Private Medical Insurance

Employee Assistance Program

If you are interested in constantly learning and being challenged on a daily basis, we encourage you to submit your resume or CV.

Werfen appreciates and values diversity. We are an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer M/F/D/V.