Job Description

On behalf of The Ministry of Justice, we are looking for a Commercial Manager Inside IR35 for a 12 month contract contract based Hybrid working (2/3 days per week in London office and remaining WFH)



The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) priorities include improving public safety and reducing reoffending by reforming prisons, probation and youth justice, and building a justice system which makes access to justice swifter and more certain for all citizens whatever their background. Project professionals in the MoJ help to improve the government's ability to protect the public and reduce reoffending, and to provide a more effective, transparent and responsive criminal justice system for victims and the public.

About the role:

The Ministry of Justice has one of the largest and most complex estates within Central Government with 150 prisons. Following the Government's manifesto commitment to put another 20,000 police on the streets and ongoing policy changes to sentencing significant investments is required in the prison estate. 2021 Spending Review confirmed 3.8bn funding over the next 3 years to support the construction of an additional 20,000 prison places by mid 2020s. The New Prison Capacity Portfolio incorporates a mix of new build, major refurbishments and expansions across the estate.



This is an exciting programme and forms a key element of Government's infrastructure strategy. In order to deliver these places, the team make use of a number of frameworks and contract forms including NEC3, NEC4 and PPC2000. Typical contract values range from 1m-300m. The team is supported by a range of professional service providers. The size and nature of this portfolio means that our schemes are recognised as 'Major Projects' by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA). We are working closely with IPA, Cabinet Office and HMT to drive the agenda to Transform Infrastructure and the policies set out in the Construction Playbook.



The New Prison Capacity Commercial Team is part of the larger Ministry of Justice Commercial and Contract Management Directorate, which employs over 200 commercial professionals managing over 4bn of contracted spend per annum across an impressive breadth of categories. The wider team is responsible for unique justice contracts such as prisoner escort services, electronic tagging and probation, whilst also providing services to maintain the wider department such as IT, uniforms, prison food and construction. Being part of a larger commercial team provides great opportunities for sharing best practice in addition to future career development opportunities.



These roles support the Commercial Lead with a range of supplier relationship management and post-contract activity to deliver the 20,000 new prison places, working across all stages of the contracting cycle across a large and diverse site portfolio, often undertaken in challenging operational environments.



The main duties responsibilities of the Commercial Manager would be to:

Post-contract award administration of a range of construction and professional service contracts Develop and manage variations/change control and other contract mechanisms. Support Senior Commercial Manager and where within experience provide commercial advice and support to relevant Stakeholders in developing commercial strategy. Analysis and Issue resolution - make effective decisions and risk mitigation, escalating to Senior Commercial Manager where necessary. Drive continuous improvement of processes. Support negotiations with suppliers to vary or change contracts, obtaining and managing input for operational colleagues and others as directed Comply with all Departmental controls relating to commercial practice and otherwise, including strict adherence to their delegated authorities, governance, legislation and policy as appropriate Support the operational project sponsors to delivery HMPPS business objectives Use contract management systems appropriately to ensure all commercial decisions are evidenced and auditable Leading conflict and issue resolution with suppliers and stakeholders, seeking support from the Senior Commercial Manager where appropriate. Develop and maintain positive relationships with relevant stakeholders, e.g. estates, operations and finance Proactively work with service providers to develop innovative commercial solutions and value -added proposals.

Essential:

A proven track record working in the infrastructure/construction or property environment Relevant contract, sourcing and/or commercial management experience with a solid understanding of procurement and/or contract management processes The ability to successfully influence senior internal and external stakeholders Excellent communication skills Demonstrable success working as both part of a team and independently (remote-working) Use of NEC3/NEC4 or PPC2000 forms of contract Client-side experience Regulated (Procurement Regs, OJEU) experience Experience working with projects of a similar scale and complexity (c.20m schemes as a minimum) Lifecycle experience; pre-contract strategy, managing procurement, post-contract experience (if possible) Good working knowledge and experience of Procurement systems (e.g. Oracle and/or Bravo) and file management systems (e.g. 4Projects) Member of the relevant professional body, e.g. RICS, CIBSE, BIFM, CIPS, IACCM;

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.



Disability Confident



As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, MOJ guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.



Armed Forces Covenant



The Ministry of Justice guarantees to interview?veterans or spouses / partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of exmilitary candidates / military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, we?will interview the best candidates from within that group. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.



In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following "this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different".