Senior Commercial Manager

Southern Water group; Worthing; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Southern Water is seeking a Senior Commercial Manager to lead its commercial strategy for the AMP8 programme. This role involves optimizing costs, managing contracts, and ensuring the successful delivery of major infrastructure projects. The ideal candidate will possess strong financial analysis skills and experience in contract management, with a focus on delivering cost-effective solutions.

Benefits

Company and performance-related bonus

Generous pension up to 11% company contribution

25 days annual leave

Life assurance equal to 4x salary

Salary sacrifice electric car scheme

Health Cash Plan

Fully funded eye tests

Two paid volunteering days a year

Occupational health service

Discounts with over 800 popular retailers

Qualifications

• Deep understanding of financial analysis and budgeting.
• Strong contract practice skills with experience in large-scale contracts.
• Proven ability to build relationships with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead commercial management and contract administration practices.
• Identify cost efficiencies across the programme.
• Manage a team of Quantity Surveyors.

Skills

Financial analysis

Cost management

Contract practice

Leadership

Risk assessment

Job description

Senior Commercial Manager page is loaded

Senior Commercial Manager

Apply locations FALMER CHICHESTER CHATHAM Worthing time type Full time posted on Posted Yesterday time left to apply End Date: June 6, 2025 (12 days left to apply) job requisition id JR4805

Closing Date

2025-06-06

Job Title: Senior Commercial Manager

Location: Falmer (Hybrid Working)

Salary: Salary and package are to be discussed at the screening stage.

Job Overview

At Southern Water, we’re embarking on a transformative journey with the launch of our AMP8 programme—one of our most ambitious infrastructure projects to date. To drive its success, we’re looking for a Senior Commercial Manager to join our team and play a key role in shaping our commercial strategy, optimising costs, and ensuring the successful delivery of major programmes.

The Senior Commercial Manager is responsible for leading commercial management and contract administration practices alongside programme delivery colleagues. This role creates and delivers commercial challenge down the supply-chain, leading a team of Quantity Surveyors to assure and audit contractor payments, claims and change items. The role is pre and post contract focussed but is focussed on distinct Programmes of work.

Responsibilities will include:

You will be responsible for identifying opportunities for both budget impacting and cost assurance efficiencies across the programme, working with Stakeholders to ensure the supply-chain are optimally challenged to deliver cost-effective solutions. Please see below an overview of some of the responsibilities for this role:

• Leading and managing qualified commercial and quantity surveying experts in support of programme delivery objectives.
• Collaborating with all stakeholders to achieve efficient AMP8 ways of working including the administration of NEC contracts.
• Acting as the contractual and commercial conscious in delivery of largescale programmes of work.
• Identify opportunities for cost efficiencies across the programme, working with delivery teams to ensure monthly applications are verified in complete accordance with the contract and eliminating cost leakage.
• Ensures supply chain payments are administered in accordance with the Construction Act. Transaction are delivered on time alongside senior stakeholders governance. Leadership is provided to the business in respect of Construction Act notification and timescales.
• Governs and assures post contract change such as Compensation Events and Variations. Particularly focussed on lump sum options and major incentive affecting change items. Contract expertise is provided to the contract administrator via expert knowledge of the law of obligations and quantum knowledge.
• Enact delivery of a strategic strategy to close out capital projects, and particularly the established strategic approach to final accounts. Protecting Southern Water’s commercial and cost position in the leadership and administration of the incentive mechanisms associated with our NEC framework agreements.
• Proactively overseas the administration of major NEC contracts from conception to completion. As the leading internal expert relating to all NEC 4 contract models this role ensures both the competent drafting of NEC contracts and that post contract NEC communications are administered on time

About You

• You will have a deep understanding of financial analysis, budgeting, and cost management to drive commercial success. Ability to interpret financial models and forecasts to ensure the commercial strategy is implemented and maximises value.
• Strong contract practice skills with experience in drafting large-scale contracts, ensuring favourable terms, and managing contract compliance throughout the project lifecycle.
• Proven ability to build and maintain strong relationships with internal delivery stakeholders, and external suppliers while fostering competitive tension to ensure efficient management of costs and commercial equilibrium.
• Expertise in identifying, assessing, and mitigating commercial risks, including market risks, supplier performance risks, and financial uncertainties, with the ability to develop contingency plans.
• Strong leadership skills, with experience leading cross-functional teams to deliver on commercial strategies and managing the performance of commercial staff and external consultants, specifically Professional Services and the Cost Intelligence Team.
• Experience working with legal teams to support state of the art contract drafting.
• Previous leadership skills associated with managing Quantity Surveyors aligned to NEC forms of contract

Package

This role will be full time Monday to Friday 37 hours a week.

Southern Water operate a hybrid approach to working between our Durrington office and home.

We are offering a salary of up to TBC per annum depending on skills and experience as well as other benefits including:

• Company and performance-related bonus

• Generous pension up to 11% company contribution

• 25 days annual leave

• Life assurance equal to 4x salary

• Salary sacrifice electric car scheme (after 6 months service)

• Health Cash Plan

• Full funded eye tests

• Two paid volunteering days a year

• Occupational health service

• Discounts with over 800 popular retailers

• Digital GP service

• Study support may be available for job-related qualifications

• Competitive maternity leave and flexible return to work options

• Cycle to work scheme

Does this opportunity excite you but you’re not 100% sure if you meet all the requirements for the role? Or are you concerned that ‘normal’ office hours aren’t possible given your personal circumstances? Whilst we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we’ll try to find a practical solution. So why not engage with us and find out more about this role?

Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, because delivering water for life is our core purpose. To achieve this, we need 24/7 support in place to resolve incidents quickly and efficiently. All our employees understand the importance of out-of-hours incident support – because when problems appear, fixing them is our top priority. That’s why our people join together and support when and however needed to make sure our customers get the service they deserve. Joining the Southern Water family means you’ll become part of our incident support team. During your interview, your manager will speak to you about any incident support rotas that apply to your position.

Privacy Statement:

Please note: If you are an existing Southern Water employee, you will need to confirm within your application that your Manager is aware of your application.

All applicants must be eligible to live and work in the UK. You will need to provide evidence of eligibility (e.g. a passport or long birth certificate and proof of NI) and current proof of address (dated within the last 3 months), will be required as part of the recruitment process. If you do not meet these criteria, your application will not be considered.

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