Head of Commercial

National Physical Laboratory (NPL); Teddington; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the United Kingdom is seeking a Head of Commercial for the Time & Frequency department. This senior role leads commercial strategy and governance for the National Timing Centre programme, shaping growth opportunities across telecoms, finance, transport and energy sectors.

You will work with government, partners and suppliers to ensure robust, compliant delivery and long-term impact.

Qualifications

• Experience leading commercial strategy for large programmes, products or services.
• Ability to develop and deliver commercial strategies that enable growth and value realization.
• Strong governance, procurement, supplier management and risk oversight.

Responsibilities

• Lead the commercial direction and performance of the National Timing Centre (NTC) Programme, ensuring commercial, procurement and financial activity supports successful delivery and long-term impact.
• Shape and deliver the Programme’s commercial and go-to-market strategy, identifying opportunities for growth, adoption and business development across key UK markets.
• Develop strong external relationships with government, industry, strategic partners and key stakeholders to support adoption of resilient time services and maximise the Programme’s national benefit.
• Oversee commercial governance, contractual arrangements, supplier relationships and supply chain activity, ensuring effective management of risk, value for money and delivery outcomes.
• Provide senior oversight of financial performance, commercial risk, procurement decisions and legal interface, ensuring the Programme remains commercially robust, compliant and well-positioned for future growth.
• Work as part of the NTC Senior Leadership Team, contributing beyond the commercial function to support Programme-wide decisions, collaboration and successful delivery.

Skills

Senior commercial leadership

Go-to-market strategy

Governance & procurement

Stakeholder management

Regulated security environments

Job description

Our world-leading Time & Frequency department is seeking a Head of Commercial.

This is an exceptional opportunity to join the global authority in precision timing at a defining moment for UK digital infrastructure.

Backed by a government investment of £180 million in the National Timing Centre (NTC) programme, we are developing a world-first resilient time distribution capability that will provide industry with a robust complement to satellite systems (such as GPS) – which are increasingly vulnerable to disruption from solar storms, jamming and spoofing. This will underpin essential services, including:

• Telecommunications,
• Online banking,
• Emergency response,
• Transport networks,
• Wider digital and data-driven operations.

Together, these services form the backbone of modern society - and your leadership will help ensure they remain secure, reliable and robust even if global navigation satellite systems fail.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the commercial direction and performance of the National Timing Centre (NTC) Programme, ensuring commercial, procurement and financial activity supports successful delivery and long-term impact.
• Shape and deliver the Programme’s commercial and go-to-market strategy, identifying opportunities for growth, adoption and business development across key UK markets including telecommunications, finance, transport, defence and energy.
• Develop strong external relationships with government, industry, strategic partners and key stakeholders to support adoption of resilient time services and maximise the Programme’s national benefit.
• Oversee commercial governance, contractual arrangements, supplier relationships and supply chain activity, ensuring effective management of risk, value for money and delivery outcomes.
• Provide senior oversight of financial performance, commercial risk, procurement decisions and legal interface, ensuring the Programme remains commercially robust, compliant and well‑positioned for future growth.
• Work as part of the NTC Senior Leadership Team, contributing beyond the commercial function to support Programme-wide decisions, collaboration and successful delivery.

About You

To be successful in this role, you will have the following skills, experience, and qualifications:

• Experience in senior commercial leadership within a programme, product, service or delivery environment.
• Proven ability to develop and deliver commercial strategies that support growth, adoption, value for money and successful delivery.
• Strong understanding of procurement, supplier management, contract management and commercial governance in a complex delivery environment.
• Able to use financial, commercial and risk information to support senior decision-making and maintain strong programme performance.
• Skilled at building effective relationships with senior stakeholders, including government, suppliers, customers, delivery partners and strategic partners.
• Demonstrable ability to identify commercial opportunities, risks and dependencies, translating them into practical plans that support growth, compliance and delivery.
• Confident leading, influencing and developing teams in a senior stakeholder environment.
• Experience working with government departments, public sector bodies or publicly funded programmes.
• Knowledge of CNI in telecommunications, finance, transport, defence, energy or resilient digital services.
• Experience developing go‑to‑market business development strategy for complex products, services or programmes.
• Experience in regulated, security‑conscious environments.

We actively recruit citizens of all backgrounds, but the nature of our work in specific departments means that nationality, residency and security requirements can be more tightly defined than others. You will be asked about this throughout the recruitment process. To work at NPL, you will need to obtain BPSS security clearance.

However, to work in this role in the Time and Frequency department, you will need to have an SC clearance with no restrictions, or you must have the ability to obtain an SC clearance.

About Us

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is a world-leading centre of excellence that provides cutting‑edge measurement science, engineering and technology to underpin prosperity and quality of life in the UK. Find out more about what it is like working here - The measure of us - Overview.

NPL and DSIT have strong commitments to diversity and equality of opportunity, and welcome applications from candidates irrespective of their background, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, or age, providing they meet the required criteria. Applications from women, disabled and black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates in particular are encouraged. All disabled candidates (as defined by the Equality Act 2010) who satisfy the minimum criteria for the role will be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme.

At NPL, we believe our success is a result of the diversity and talent of our people. We strive to nurture and respect individuals to ensure everyone feels valued by treating everyone on the basis of their own individual merits and abilities regardless of their own or perceived identity, as part of our commitment to diversity & inclusion, we ensure we’re creating an environment where all our colleagues feel supported and welcome. More about this on our Diversity & Inclusion page.

We are committed to the health and well‑being of our employees. Flexible working and social activities are embedded in our culture to create a positive work‑life balance, along with a broad range of rewards, benefits and recognition. Our values are at the heart of what we do, and they shape the way we interact, develop our people and celebrate success.

To ensure everyone has an equal chance, we’re always willing to make reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss, please contact us.