Head of Commercial Operations

East West Rail Company; Milton Keynes; On-site; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A rail transport infrastructure company in Milton Keynes is seeking a Head of Commercial Operations to manage commercial governance, enhance procurement policies, and lead a diverse team. The role involves overseeing compliance with legislation, improving systems, and ensuring the capacity of staff. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of public sector procurement and exceptional leadership skills. An inclusive working environment with competitive benefits and work-life balance is offered.

Benefits

Competitive base salary

Up to 12% employer’s pension contribution

36 days holiday a year

Life assurance

Employee Assistance Programme

Access to benefits on Perkbox

On-the-spot and annual awards

Advanced learning and development programmes

Flexible working opportunities

Enhanced family-friendly policies

Exceptional IT tools

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of public sector procurement, governance, and approvals.
• Experience managing a commercial operations function in construction/infrastructure.
• Exceptional leadership with the ability to influence at all levels.

Responsibilities

• Manage commercial operations and governance processes.
• Develop and maintain procurement policies and standards.
• Ensure continuous improvement and compliance in commercial functions.

Skills

Understanding of public sector procurement

Commercial management systems

Leadership skills

Communication skills

Job description

Head of Commercial Operations

Application Deadline: 14 December 2025

Department: Commercial

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Milton Keynes

Reporting To: Strategy & Assurance Director

Description

East West Rail is an infrastructure programme linking communities between Oxford and Cambridge. The area is currently let down by a lack of transport choices, and we have a once in a generation opportunity to fix that – improving prosperity for people and places along the way.

East West Railway Company (that’s us) was created by the Department for Transport (DfT) to oversee the delivery of East West Rail from construction through to wheels in motion, making sure the railway comes together in the right way.

At East West Railway Company, we’re committed to building an inclusive railway for all. We believe that to do that, we must nurture a diverse team that represents the UK communities that we impact. Our approach is simple – to create an environment where everyone is welcome and able to be themselves. We celebrate diversity and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applications of all backgrounds and experiences.

The Commercial function provides commercial and procurement capability across the programme lifecycle, including strategy (setting the commercial strategy and advising risk allocation underpinning the delivery strategy), delivering procurement activities for the goods and services required to deliver the asset and run EWR Co, and delivering contract management services for the complex network of suppliers supporting EWR Co. Across all three of these domains the commercial function will run governance and reporting to measure compliance and provide commercial assurance.

This role will be responsible for managing the commercial operations, ensuring that commercial governance, policies, processes, systems and data are robust, fit for purpose and compliant with relevant legislation and regulation. The role will ensure that the commercial function is continuously improved, that lessons are learned and embedded into ways of working, and that the requisite organisational and staff capability exists in the function.

Key Responsibilities

• Senior point of contact for all commercial operation matters, including but limited to standard documents, tendering processes, reporting, and source to contract systems.
• Manage, maintain and continually improve the governance model in the commercial function to a high standard, including ownership of the governance and approvals matrix.
• Develop and own the standards of commercial documents, guidance, policies and processes.
• Ensure that standard contract terms and conditions are fit for purpose and are maintained and updated within a robust change control process.
• Ensure that procurement and commercial policies are maintained and embedded in commercial operations and aligned with Government commercial policy.
• Develop, implement and maintain a commercial continuous improvement function to increase organisational commercial capability.
• Develop, implement and maintain a commercial lessons learned function, ensuring that a feedback loop exists to improve commercial activity and operations.
• Own and maintain commercial systems that are fit for purpose, aligned with public procurement regulations, commercial policy, corporate and commercial governance and approvals, and ensure that commercial systems are continuously improved.
• Maintain and manage commercial data and management information, and deliver regular reporting on commercial performance that aligns with corporate reporting requirements.
• Manage a commercial capability approach which includes maintaining professional standards for commercial, procurement and contract management staff.
• Participate in and represent the organisation in cross government commercial forums as required, and create effective networks with other Arms’ Length Bodies.
• Coordinate commercial response and clearance of Freedom of Information requests.
• Manage a commercial operations team and support direct reports including: coaching and developing team members to drive individual growth and operational excellence.
• Leading continuous improvement, through regular performance management and ensuring compliance with organisation policies and updating relevant systems.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Strong understanding of public sector procurement, procurement and governance and approvals related to commercial activities.
• A good understanding of commercial and procurement management systems and processes
• Experience of managing a commercial operations function within a major construction/infrastructure programme
• Exceptional leadership and communication skills, with the ability to influence and engage at all levels of the organisation.

Benefits

What we offer:

• Competitive base salary
• Up to 12% employer’s pension contribution
• 36 days holiday a year (including bank holidays) + up to 2 days to buy
• Life assurance
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Access to a range of benefits on the Perkbox platform
• On-the-spot and annual awards
• Advanced learning and development programmes
• Great work-life balance and flexible working opportunities
• Enhanced family-friendly policies
• Exceptional IT tools

EWR Co strives to embrace a flexible working environment, where a degree of flexibility is maintained to accommodate both the needs and preferences of employees and what is required to achieve business objectives. EWR Co will always work with any individual to assess and accommodate an individual’s work life balance and style.

Diversity and Inclusion:

To discover the best solutions, it’s important we embrace diversity of thought. That’s why we aim to ensure our colleagues feel included, engaged and valued. Inclusiveness is not a buzzword, but a way of being. Our approach to diversity is simple – a workplace where everyone is welcome and everyone is encouraged to be themselves. It helps fuel our innovation and connects us with the customers and communities we serve.

We are open to secondments through the Rail Industry Talent Exchange Programme.