Senior M&E Commercial Manager

James Lewis Recruitment; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading recruitment agency is seeking a Senior M&E Commercial Manager for a flagship data centre campus in Greater London. The role involves developing a commercial strategy, managing high-value contracts, and leading a capable commercial team to ensure project success. Candidates should have a background in commercial management within M&E or data centres, with a strong record of protecting margins and managing client relationships. This role offers a competitive salary of £120,000‑£140,000 plus additional benefits.

Benefits

Car allowance

Bonus

Private medical insurance (PMI)

Qualifications

• Deep knowledge of NEC and JCT contracts.
• Experience with M&E-intensive or data centre projects.
• Proven ability to manage change control and claims.

Responsibilities

• Develop a clear commercial strategy for a major data centre programme.
• Manage contract negotiations and build robust budgets.
• Oversee cashflow and forecasting to protect margins.

Skills

Commercial management

Contract negotiation

Risk management

Budget management

Stakeholder management

Education

Degree in engineering or commercial management

Job description

Senior M&E Commercial Manager – Data Centre Campus

£120,000‑£140,000 + car or allowance + bonus + PMI | M&E Design & Build | Hyperscale / AI Data Centres

We're recruiting a Senior M&E Commercial Manager to lead the commercial function on a flagship data centre campus — a multi-phase, high-density site delivering hyperscale/AI-ready facilities. You'll drive commercial strategy from pre-con through delivery and final account, protecting margin and managing risk across major M&E and fit-out packages, working closely with project leadership, client teams and a specialist supply chain.

What you are delivering

• A clear commercial strategy for a multi-£10m, multi-phase data centre programme.
• Robust contracts and subcontracts with balanced risk/reward and clear deliverables.
• Accurate CVRs, forecasting and cashflow that give the board and client confidence.
• Effective change management, claims and risk control to protect margin and programme.
• Strong client and supply-chain relationships built on transparency and consistency.
• A capable commercial team aligned to best-practice processes and project outcomes.

What you will run day to day

• Own commercial governance: procedures, reporting and approvals across the campus.
• Shape commercial input to bids and new phases — pricing strategies, contractual positions and risk registers.
• Lead contract and subcontract negotiation (typically NEC/JCT), ensuring scope clarity and fair risk allocation.
• Build and manage budgets for M&E plant, power, cooling, civils and commissioning packages.
• Oversee change control — capture, value and agree variations, EWNs and compensation events.
• Lead monthly CVRs, cashflow and forecast reviews with clear risk/opportunity commentary.
• Direct procurement strategies for major packages; negotiate terms and framework agreements.
• Maintain strong commercial records to avoid disputes and support entitlement where needed.
• Act as senior commercial point-of-contact for client and internal stakeholders.
• Line manage QSs / commercial managers — objectives, mentoring, appraisals and development.

What you need knowledge in

• Commercial management of large, M&E-intensive or data centre / mission-critical projects.
• NEC and JCT contracts (or similar), including target cost, lump sum and pain/gain mechanisms.
• Data centre cost drivers: power distribution, resilience, cooling, generators, UPS, security and controls.
• Change control, claims, risk management and value engineering on high-capex schemes.
• CVR methodology, cashflow forecasting and P&L management at project/programme level.

What you need experience in

• A senior commercial role (e.g. Senior M&E Commercial Manager / Commercial Lead / Lead QS) for a main contractor or M&E contractor.
• Leading commercial delivery on major projects or programmes (£50m+ total value).
• Negotiating high-value subcontracts and strategic supplier deals.
• Demonstrable success managing change, protecting margin and closing out final accounts.
• Confident operator with client-side commercial/procurement teams and internal boards.
• Track record of building and developing high-performing commercial teams.

Interested? Send your CV in confidence and we'll run you through the campus, role structure and progression in detail