Commercial & Operations Assistant

Valley Water Services LTD; Cardiff; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 34,000; Full time

Job summary

Valley Water Services LTD is seeking an experienced Operations & Commercial Assistant to support our operational, commercial and administrative workload. The role focuses on costing water industry works, preparing AFPs and ensuring costs are captured from start to finish.

You will work closely with the team to monitor applications, update records, and coordinate with site teams, clients and suppliers. Strong IT skills, attention to detail and the ability to meet tight deadlines are essential.

Qualifications

• Experience costing water industry works.
• Experience preparing AFPs / Applications for Payment.
• Understanding of works carried out under water industry contracts.
• Experience dealing with job costs, quantities, rates and supporting documentation.
• Excellent IT skills, particularly Microsoft Excel and Microsoft 365.
• Experience working with business management or job costing systems.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to work accurately under pressure and meet strict deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Costing water industry works accurately and efficiently.
• Preparing and submitting AFPs (Applications for Payment).
• Reviewing completed works and ensuring all applicable costs and items are captured.
• Checking quantities, rates, labour, plant, materials and subcontractor costs.
• Supporting the commercial management of ongoing works.
• Maintaining accurate commercial and operational records.
• Monitoring applications, costs and outstanding information.
• Identifying discrepancies and resolving issues promptly.
• Supporting the operational planning and coordination of works.
• Liaising with site teams, clients, subcontractors and suppliers.
• Preparing Excel spreadsheets, reports and commercial information.
• Managing deadlines and ensuring information is submitted within required timescales.
• Maintaining and updating internal systems.
• Supporting general administration across the business.
• Working closely with the existing operations and commercial team to ensure workloads are managed effectively.

Skills

Costing water industry works

AFP preparation

Attention to detail

Working under pressure

Team collaboration

Independent with ownership

Organisational & time-management

Excel proficiency

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft 365

Job costing systems

Job description

We are looking for an experienced Operations & Commercial Assistant to join our team and provide additional support across our operational, commercial and administrative workload.

This is a bespoke role within the water industry, working closely with the existing team to ensure works are accurately costed, commercially managed, planned and administered from start to finish.

The successful candidate will need to be highly organised, commercially aware and exceptionally detail-focused, with previous experience of water-based works, costing and preparing AFPs.

Key Responsibilities

• - Costing water industry works accurately and efficiently
• - Preparing and submitting AFPs (Applications for Payment)
• - Reviewing completed works and ensuring all applicable costs and items are captured
• - Checking quantities, rates, labour, plant, materials and subcontractor costs
• - Supporting the commercial management of ongoing works
• - Maintaining accurate commercial and operational records
• - Monitoring applications, costs and outstanding information
• - Identifying discrepancies and resolving issues promptly
• - Supporting the operational planning and coordination of works
• - Liaising with site teams, clients, subcontractors and suppliers
• - Preparing Excel spreadsheets, reports and commercial information
• - Managing deadlines and ensuring information is submitted within required timescales
• - Maintaining and updating internal systems
• - Supporting general administration across the business
• - Working closely with the existing operations and commercial team to ensure workloads are managed effectively

The successful candidate must have experience within the water industry or a closely related environment, with a good understanding of water-based works.

Essential experience includes:

• - Experience costing water industry works
• - Experience preparing AFPs / Applications for Payment
• - Understanding of works carried out under water industry contracts
• - Experience dealing with job costs, quantities, rates and supporting documentation
• - Excellent IT skills, particularly Microsoft Excel and Microsoft 365
• - Experience working with business management or job costing systems
• - Excellent attention to detail
• - Ability to work accurately under pressure and meet strict deadlines
• - Ability to react quickly when priorities change
• - Ability to work effectively as part of a team
• - Ability to work independently and take ownership of tasks
• - Strong organisational and time-management skills

The Person

We are looking for someone who is proactive, reliable and commercially minded, with the ability to manage a varied workload without losing attention to detail.

You will be working across several areas of the business, so the ability to switch between commercial, operational and administrative tasks is essential.

The successful candidate will need to be comfortable working to tight deadlines, reacting to changing priorities and communicating effectively with different areas of the business.

Most importantly, we are looking for someone who takes ownership, checks their own work and doesn't simply pass problems on. If something doesn't look right, we expect you to investigate it, raise it and help find a solution.

This is an opportunity for the right person to become an important part of the team and develop a detailed understanding of the company's operations and commercial processes.