Commercial & Procurement Manager

Arguile; Greater London; Remote; GBP 111,000 - 185,000; Full time

Job summary

Arguile is seeking a Commercial & Procurement Manager for Defence & Government on a 15-month, fully remote contract outside IR35. You will own end-to-end procurement activities, engage senior stakeholders, and help define new processes to accelerate government acquisition.

Experience in the defence sector and active UK security clearance (SC or above) are essential. You will operate in a dynamic, forward-thinking team within a major UK Government department, delivering hands-on work while

Qualifications

• Defence sector experience in commercial or procurement.
• Experience across the full procurement lifecycle.
• Knowledge of public sector procurement regulations and compliance.
• Ability to define new processes and operate with ambiguity.
• Strong stakeholder engagement with senior-level credibility.

Responsibilities

• Own commercial delivery end to end from early market engagement to contract management and benefits realisation.
• Build relationships with programme stakeholders and advise on commercial strategy and routes to market.
• Identify, manage and resolve commercial risks, issues and dependencies.
• Maintain compliance with procurement regulations and approvals.
• Complete monthly MI reporting and track financial and non-financial benefits.
• Feed back on improvements to commercial ways of working.

Skills

Defence background

Procurement lifecycle

Public sector regulations

Ambiguity handling

Stakeholder engagement

Agile approaches

UK security clearance

Outside IR35 remote

Job description

Commercial & Procurement Manager – Defence & Government (Outside IR35)

Contract | Fully remote | Outside IR35

Duration: 15 Months | Start: January 2027

About the role

We're recruiting on behalf of an agile, forward-thinking commercial function within a major UK Government department. The team was set up to make public sector acquisition faster, more user-centric, and more accessible to smaller and emerging suppliers. It is a genuinely disruptive team, with real freedom to work differently from traditional long-cycle procurement.

As a Commercial Pathfinder, you'll have a dual remit: delivering hands-on commercial and procurement work on live programmes, while helping to shape and improve how the team itself operates. This is as much about building the model as it is about working within it.

What you'll be doing

• Owning commercial delivery end to end, from early market engagement and sourcing strategy through to contract management and benefits realisation
• Building strong working relationships with programme stakeholders and advising on commercial and procurement strategy and routes to market
• Identifying, managing and resolving commercial risks, issues and dependencies
• Maintaining compliance with procurement regulations and approvals throughout
• Completing monthly MI reporting and tracking financial and non-financial benefits across your portfolio
• Feeding back on, and helping implement, improvements to commercial ways of working

What we're looking for

• A defence background is essential. You must have commercial or procurement experience in the defence sector
• Solid commercial and procurement experience across the full acquisition lifecycle
• Working knowledge of public sector procurement regulations and compliance
• Comfort operating with ambiguity and helping define new processes, rather than following a fixed playbook
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to build credibility quickly at a senior level
• A genuine interest in faster, more agile approaches to public sector acquisition
• Active UK security clearance (SC or above)
• Comfortable working as an outside-IR35 contractor, fully remote