Manager (Business Contracts), Contract Management

National Grid; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading energy infrastructure company in the United Kingdom is seeking a Contracts and Commercial Manager to oversee large and complex infrastructure projects. This role involves leading a team of Quantity Surveyors, ensuring compliance with contracts, and managing risks. The ideal candidate will have experience in commercial roles within infrastructure projects and be adept at influencing stakeholders. This position offers a competitive salary and benefits within a dynamic work environment focused on energy transition.

Benefits

Bonus of up to 30%

Competitive contributory pension scheme

Flexible benefits package

Qualifications

• Experience in a corporate infrastructure project environment using NEC3 or NEC4 contracts.
• Strong analytical mindset with a commercial approach.
• Ability to manage relationships with key stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of Quantity Surveyors on complex infrastructure projects.
• Ensure compliance with contractual terms and mitigate risks.
• Manage contractor performance and oversee project budgets.

Skills

Experience in a commercial or financial role

Strong understanding of contract and risk management

Able to manage and support a team

Good influencing skills

Job description

About the role

To help drive efficiency in the green energy transition

As owners of Wales and England’s electricity transmission network, we take green energy seriously. Between now and 2026 we’re investing £29 billion into the decarbonisation of energy systems.

Would you like to be involved in this vital transition? If you have a strong commercial background in contract and project delivery and are looking for more responsibility and the chance to work on high‑value, complex schemes, we’d like to hear from you.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in the UK’s transition to clean energy within the Strategic Infrastructure team as a Contracts and Commercial Manager, where you support the development and delivery of very large and complex infrastructure projects safely, on time and within budget by providing contract and commercial guidance to the project teams.

Our customers include everyone who uses electricity in England and Wales. Acting on behalf of these people, you’ll help ensure that we deliver our projects in the most commercially effective way.

You’ll be welcomed into our diverse, inclusive organisation that has recently won an Institution of Engineering and Technology silver award for our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programme. If this sounds like something you’d like to be part of, we look forward to talking to you very soon.

Leading a team of Quantity Surveyors, you will be responsible for optimising the commercial value of our construction projects, with a consideration of the regulatory framework and increasing value for money for the consumer.

You will ensure compliance with contractual terms and conditions, mitigating risk, building and maintaining important relationships with key stakeholders and shaping our contracting strategy to deliver major infrastructure projects into 2030 and beyond.

We are currently recruiting for two projects, one in the East of England, another in London area. You will be required to travel to site / office 3 days a week.

About you

What we do isn’t just important – it’s essential. That’s why we look to recruit experts in their field. In this case we’re looking for someone who has;

• Experience in a commercial or financial role within a corporate environment with a solid understanding of working on infrastructure projects using NEC3 or NEC4 contract terms and conditions.
• Strong understanding of contract and risk management, with a focused commercial approach supported by your analytical mindset.
• An interest and ability to manage and support a team of QS’s with colleagues spread across the UK.
• Knowledge working with a regulated/semi‑regulated environment to define strategy and commercial modelling.
• Additionally, you will be great at influencing stakeholders internally and externally, driven by your passion to get Britain ready for Net Zero.
• As a manager at National Grid, you are expected to live and exemplify the company values. You will continually develop your leadership skills and create a sense of belonging, set direction, help drive change, deliver results and develop others.
• It would be highly beneficial but not essential to understand the energy market, in relation to cables, substations, overhead lines and civils.
• It would also be beneficial to understand the procurement and regulatory environment in which we operate. That is, we have regulatory obligations which impact what we do and how we do it.
• You have the flexibility to sometimes travel to remote UK locations.

What you’ll do

Commercial

• From a contract placement perspective we have a number of Enterprise Partnership Agreements in place to support the delivery of the projects. Working with the Enterprise Partners and the wider team you will use your experience of the major construction project delivery to support in the development and placement of the call‑off contracts in line with an appropriate lotting strategy for delivery of the projects and the submission of the ASTI Project Assessment to Ofgem.
• You will support and influence meetings with a range of different stakeholders including internal procurement, delivery, regulation, and legal teams, as well as external transmission system owners, customers, contractors, enterprise partners and DNO’s.

Contract management

• You’ll be working on projects from start to finish. Supporting the transition from the commercial (pre‑contract) to the contract (delivery) phase will be a key responsibility. This will also involve helping internal delivery teams understand the terms of the contract.
• You’ll need experience in NEC3 or NEC4 Contracts, including cost assurance and relationship management, working proactively with the contractors to identify value, as well as working through dispute resolution and mitigation.
• You’ll regularly report on commercial issues such as the value of work completed to date, and key milestones.
• Contractor performance monitoring will be another key accountability. You will be engaging regularly with our contractors/Enterprise Partners and drive improvement through feedback and stakeholder management.
• You will also need to be experienced at risk management within a contract management context too, as you work with the Project teams and our PMO team to manage identified risk within the delivery phase.

Leadership

• You will coach, guide and lead a team of Quantity Surveying professionals with a diverse range of experience.
• Whether you’re working with an experienced or a newly qualified Quantity Surveyor, you will take the time to discover their individual career aspirations and use your understanding of the profession to help them develop their capabilities.
• Because creating an inclusive, open working environment is key to the success of National Grid, it is especially important that communication is consistent, open and honest.
• You operate from the perspective that everyone brings a different experience that can benefit a project. You are committed to facilitating an inclusive environment where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and challenge.
• Performance management will be another accountability and you’re comfortable holding people to account for what they’re expected to deliver.
• As an organisation we are driven by safety. We have an industry‑leading ‘Safe to Say’ policy which encourages colleagues to speak up and take ownership of safety issues. You will drive a strong safety culture across your team and foster an environment where everyone, regardless of seniority, feels able to share their concerns.

What you’ll get

A competitive salary between £70,000 – £75,000 dependent on capability.

As well as your base salary, you will receive a bonus of up to 30% and a competitive contributory pension scheme where we will double match your contribution to a maximum company contribution of 12%. You will also have access to a number of flexible benefits such as a share incentive plan, salary‑sacrifice car and technology schemes, support via employee assistance lines and matched charity giving to name a few.

More Information

This role closes on 4th January 2025, however we encourage candidates to submit their application as early as possible and not wait until the published closing date as this can vary.

We work towards the highest standards in everything we do, including how we support, value and develop our people. Our aim is to encourage and support employees to thrive and be the best they can be. We celebrate the difference people can bring into our organisation, and welcome and encourage applicants with diverse experiences and backgrounds, and offer flexible and tailored support, at home and in the office.

We’re committed to building a workforce that represents the communities we serve, and a working environment in which each individual feels valued, respected, fairly treated, and able to reach their full potential.

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About us

The British Energy Security Strategy set out the Government’s ambition to connect up to 50GW of offshore generation to the electricity network by 2030. Facilitating this ambition will require significant reinforcements to the onshore electricity transmission network. National Grid Strategic Infrastructure will make this happen.

Here at National Grid, we connect homes and businesses to power, making sure supply and demand match each other. We make sure the lights are on in schools, operating theatres, and sporting arenas; we’re thousands of people working on behalf of millions of people.

Our investment in Strategic Infrastructure via the Great Grid Upgrade will mean more home‑grown power, greater energy security and a cleaner future.

Whatever your role, wherever you work with us, you’ll help us hit stretching targets and achieve our far‑reaching goal: to secure, clean energy that supports our world far into the future. Here, you will be at the heart of energy.