Lead Commercial Manager

Job Title Lead Commercial

Manager

Salary Range Range 6

• PSC

Depot / Department Procurement

and Supply Chain

Section / Team Supplier

Management

Reports to (job title) Head of

Commercial Management

Direct reports (job title(s) Commercial

Managers

Commercial Assistants

• Overall Purpose of job
• The overall purpose of this
• role is to provide strategic leadership and commercial management across
• SGN’s Supplier Management function, ensuring effective governance,
• performance and value delivery from strategic suppliers and contractors.
• The key responsibilities of
• the role are:
• Leading and developing a team of commercial and
• supplier management professionals.
• Providing commercial leadership across SGN’s
• strategic and long-term contracts.
• Developing and implementing commercial strategies
• to support business objectives and operational delivery.
• Driving value engineering and continuous
• improvement initiatives across the supply chain.
• Ensuring robust commercial governance, contract
• administration and risk management.
• Managing complex contractual matters including
• change control, disputes and supplier performance.
• Supporting procurement activities, tender
• development and onboarding of new contracts.
• Developing commercial policies, processes and
• standards across the function.
• Providing commercial advice and support to senior
• business stakeholders.
• Supporting business performance through effective
• supplier relationship management and contract management practices.

Expertise

The

• technical skills and job knowledge/experience essential in this role are:
• Extensive experience in commercial management,
• contract management, procurement or quantity surveying environments.
• Strong understanding of NEC3/NEC4 contracts and
• bespoke commercial agreements.
• Significant experience managing strategic
• suppliers and high-value contracts.
• Strong commercial, financial and risk management
• capability.

Experience leading and developing high-performing

• teams.
• Ability to manage complex commercial negotiations
• and dispute resolution activities.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing
• skills.
• Experience operating within regulated,
• infrastructure, utility or construction environments.
• Strong understanding of commercial governance,
• contract administration and supplier performance management.
• Strong IT skills, including Microsoft Office and
• commercial management systems.
• The following
• qualifications and experience are desirable:
• Degree qualification in Quantity Surveying,
• Commercial Management, Procurement, Law or related discipline.
• Professional membership or accreditation such as
• CIPS, RICS or NEC accreditation.

Experience within utilities, infrastructure or

regulated industries.

Complexity

• The typical problems
• encountered in this role range from strategic commercial decisions through to
• complex contractual, supplier and operational issues requiring significant
• judgement and leadership.

Examples include

• Developing and implementing commercial and
• supplier management strategies.
• Managing commercial risk across strategic
• contracts and supplier portfolios.
• Resolving complex contractual disputes and
• commercial escalations.
• Balancing commercial, operational, regulatory and
• customer requirements.
• Leading value engineering and cost optimisation
• initiatives.
• Supporting procurement and tendering activities
• for major projects and frameworks.
• Driving organisational change and process
• improvement initiatives.
• Providing commercial leadership on high-value and
• business-critical projects.

The role requires strategic

thinking, commercial judgement, leadership capability and the ability to

influence senior stakeholders whilst managing competing priorities.

Impact

The role has significant

• impact on SGN's commercial performance, operational delivery, supplier
• relationships and risk exposure.
• Decisions made within the
• role can influence:
• Multi-million-pound contract expenditure and
• value creation.
• Supplier and contractor performance.
• Operational continuity and delivery performance.
• Regulatory compliance and governance.
• Commercial risk and dispute exposure.
• Business efficiency and value for money outcomes.
• Reputation and stakeholder confidence.

The role directly

• contributes to SGN's strategic objectives through effective supplier
• management, commercial governance and delivery of sustainable commercial
• outcomes.

Influence

The job holder interacts

regularly with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders including:

Business Directors

Operations Leadership Teams

Procurement

Finance

Legal

Health & Safety

Engineering and Network Teams

Contractors and Suppliers

External Industry Bodies

The role requires the

• ability to:
• Influence senior stakeholders and business
• leaders.
• Build effective supplier and stakeholder
• relationships.
• Lead complex commercial negotiations.
• Challenge constructively and drive decision
• making.
• Communicate commercial and contractual matters
• clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Represent SGN professionally in strategic
• supplier and stakeholder engagements.

Resource

The job holder leads the

Supplier Management team and is responsible for

• Team leadership and development.
• Work allocation and resource planning.
• Performance and capability management.
• Recruitment, onboarding and succession planning.
• Coaching and mentoring commercial professionals.
• Driving consistency, governance and continuous
• improvement.
• Developing commercial capability, standards and
• best practice across the wider function.

The role holder is

accountable for ensuring the Supplier Management function delivers effective

commercial governance, supplier performance and value outcomes for SGN.