Head Of Commercial

Carrington West; Horam; On-site; GBP 111,000 - 166,000; Full time

Job summary

Carrington West is seeking a Head of Commercial in East Sussex to lead the commercial strategy for major National Highways contracts. The role demands senior leadership, P&L oversight, and risk management across large teams and complex supply chains.

You will drive procurement, governance and profitability while ensuring NEC4 contract compliance, stakeholder alignment, and delivery performance across UK programmes.

Qualifications

• Proven management of large-scale contracts and commercial teams.
• Strong financial and contractual oversight, including P&L management and risk mitigation.
• Experience managing subcontractors and complex supply chains.
• Excellent stakeholder management and negotiation skills.
• Experience working with NEC4 contracts is essential.

Responsibilities

• Lead commercial strategy and performance across major highways contracts.
• Manage procurement, negotiations, contract governance, and commercial risk.
• Monitor financial performance, budgets, KPIs, and delivery outcomes.
• Build strong relationships with clients, subcontractors, and delivery partners.
• Lead and support commercial teams to achieve business objectives.
• Drive continuous improvement, process optimisation, and contract profitability.
• Ensure compliance with contractual, regulatory, safety, and environmental requirements.

Skills

Contract management

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

Risk mitigation

P&L management

Supply chain management

NEC4 contracts

Highways experience

Job description

Head of Commercial

Location: East Sussex

Rate: £(Apply online only)/day Outside IR35

We are working with a leading infrastructure services organisation to appoint an experienced Head of Commercial to support the delivery of major National Highways contracts across the UK. This is a senior commercial leadership role responsible for driving contract performance, improving profitability, managing risk, and strengthening relationships with clients, Local Delivery Partners (LDPs), and supply chain partners. The successful candidate will provide strategic commercial direction across complex highways programmes, ensuring financial, operational, and customer objectives are achieved.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead commercial strategy and performance across major highways contracts.
• Manage procurement, negotiations, contract governance, and commercial risk.
• Monitor financial performance, budgets, KPIs, and delivery outcomes.
• Build strong relationships with clients, subcontractors, and delivery partners.
• Lead and support commercial teams to achieve business objectives.
• Drive continuous improvement, process optimisation, and contract profitability.
• Ensure compliance with contractual, regulatory, safety, and environmental requirements.

About You

You will be an experienced commercial leader with a strong background in highways, infrastructure, construction, or utilities environments.

Essential experience includes:

• Proven management of large-scale contracts and commercial teams.
• Strong financial and contractual oversight, including P&L management and risk mitigation.
• Experience managing subcontractors and complex supply chains.
• Excellent stakeholder management and negotiation skills.
• Experience working with NEC4 contracts is essential.

Desirable: Experience delivering National Highways programmes and/or RICS qualification.

This is an excellent opportunity for a commercially driven professional to influence major infrastructure projects, drive performance improvement, and play a key role in delivering critical highways services.