Head of Commercial Water Alliance

Welsh Water; Wales; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Welsh Water is seeking a senior commercial manager to oversee the financial and commercial activities of the Water Network Alliance, managing a substantial budget and delivering key infrastructure projects. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in a senior role within construction or engineering, with proven skills in contract management and stakeholder engagement. This position promises competitive compensation and a diverse benefits package in a not-for-profit environment striving for equality and inclusion.

Benefits

Market competitive salary

Employer pension scheme up to 11%

Flexible working

Relocation considered

Private healthcare

Generous employee benefits

28 days annual leave plus public holidays

Qualifications

• Experience at a senior level within construction or engineering, ideally in utilities.
• Proven experience with NEC conditions of contract.
• Track record of leading a commercial team of quantity surveyors or estimators.

Responsibilities

• Manage commercial and financial activities up to £150m per annum.
• Lead the commercial team and set annual target costs.
• Drive value through efficient commercial controls and stakeholder engagement.

Skills

Commercial acumen

Leadership

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

Education

Degree or equivalent professional qualification in a commercial or engineering discipline

Job description

Job Requisition Number 7584 Work TypePermanentJob FunctionCommercial/SalesSalary RangeCirca £100,000BaseClydach, SwanseaClosing Date23:59 on 07/07/2025

Please apply ASAP - we will review applications on a weekly basis until the role is filled with a suitable match.

For an informal discussion about this role, please contact:

What you’ll be responsible for

This role will report to the Director of the Water Network Alliance and will be responsible for all the commercial and financial activities within the business unit delivering up to £150m per annum of water network maintenance activities. The role will include responsibility for managing the commercial and financial aspects of projects, particularly those utilising the New Engineering Contract (NEC) suite of contracts including Term Service Contracts.

Key Responsibilities

• Working with the Director of Network Alliance and multiple suppliers to deliver the water network alliance business plan covering the delivery of capital investment schemes, repair and maintenance, new connections, metering and pipeline activities to financial and programme targets.
• Leading the commercial team for the Network Alliance undertaking but not limited to the setting of annual target costs, weekly cost value reporting, early warnings, change controls, estimating of construction activity schedules and production of final accounts.
• Financial responsibility for the Network Alliance managing a budget of up to £150m per annum including developing and reporting management information around key commercial and financial information.
• Driving value through efficient commercial controls and application of incentive and disincentive key performance indicators and proactively managing commercial risk across the contracts by engaging with key stakeholders from both DCWW and Contractors.
• Managing a fully flexible field and office-based team of commercial accountants, quantity surveyors and estimators providing the commercial controls on low-value, high-volume based activities through to small and medium sized construction contracts ranging from between £1m and £20m.
• Providing expert commercial knowledge and experience to the Water Network Alliance, negotiating and agreeing contracts, target costs and undertaking dispute resolution.
• Providing oversight of cost value information and commercial systems provided by multiple contractors delivering services activities through alliance arrangements.
• Provide mentoring and continued professional development for commercial team as part of our commercial academy.
  

  
  Budget and People Accountability
  • Financials
  o Annual Budget – £80m to £150m per annum

  • People
  o 15+ internal team of commercial accountants and quantity surveyors
  o Equivalent in the Supply Chain

  • Main partners
  o New arrangements being procured for commencement in November 2025.
  

Who you’ll work with

Internal
• Dwr Cymru Executive Team
• Leadership teams across the business
• Legal & Compliance team
• Data Protection Officer

External
• Contract Partners
• Industry Regulators
• Customers

About you

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Degree level or equivalent appropriate professional body qualification in a commercial or engineering discipline
• Operated at a Senior level within a Construction or Engineering discipline, ideally within the utilities sector
• Proven experience of working with the suite of NEC conditions of contract, experience of alliance contracts and contractor relationship management
• Strong commercial experience leading major contracts within a multi-stakeholder and regulated environment. Equipped with a commercial understanding of civils works associated with utility or pipework design and maintenance techniques
• Demonstrable track record of leading a commercial team of quantity surveyors or estimators
• Contract administration and dispute management and experience of chairing senior management meetings and delivery of presentations to executive level meetings
• Excellent people management and motivational leadership with a track record of delivering outcomes and achievement of key targets
• Ability to manage effective relationships with a variety of internal and external stakeholders including non-executive Boards and Executive teams to achieve business results
• Experienced manager of various NEC contract forms including Target Cost arrangements
• Skilled negotiator with successful track record of managing works of similar value and scale
• Ability to produce clear, well-structured commercial and financial reports to allow effective decision making

Benefits

We know that if our employees are happy, our customers are happy. That’s why we offer a great benefits package. As one of the biggest companies in Wales, our reward and benefits package includes:

• Market competitive salary
• Employer pension scheme up to 11%
• Flexible working considered
• Relocation considered
• Onsite carpark
• 28 days annual leave plus public holidays
• Private healthcare
• Generous range of employee benefits and discounts
• And many, many more.

Whilst also working for a not-for profit company that truly cares about earning the trust of customers everyday, and about looking after our beautiful environment


Please note, we may close this role sooner if required. We may also extend the original closing date depending on interest.

Due to the nature of the industry, we require satisfactory references, post offer medical clearance, and a criminal records Basic Disclosure check on all new employees joining the business. For some roles there may be additional checks and security clearance required, and this offer is subject all checks being satisfied. You will receive further information on how to complete these checks via email once you have accepted this offer.

Who we are

Dwr Cymru Welsh Water keep 3 million people healthy each day with safe, reliable water, and take away wastewater to clean, before returning it safely to our beautiful rivers and seas.

To be able to deliver high quality, essential services which help to protect the health of our customers, colleagues and our environment, we need the right people to deliver on our vision. This is achieved by living our core values and demonstrating the core behaviours that underpin them. The security of our people, assets and information is key to us, so we are looking for people who understand and comply with the company’s required security objectives.

We know that the most successful teams are the most diverse teams. Equality, diversity and inclusion provide the very foundation to our culture at Welsh Water. We want every individual to feel confident, proud and able to bring their whole selves to work.

To ensure an improved representation in our workforce, applications are particularly welcome from minority groups including Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people, Females, LGBT+, Non-binary and people with disabilities. Together we continue to build a workplace that not only celebrates the diverse voices of our colleagues but also represents each customer we serve.

In essence, ours is a company based on trust, openness, respect, commitment and honesty. A company that our colleagues are proud to work for.

Dwr Cymru Cyf, a limited company registered in Wales No. 2366777. Registered office: Linea, Fortran Road, St. Mellons, Cardiff CF3 0LT

Dwr Cymru Cyf 2019.