Commercial Core Policy and Controls Lead

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is one of the UK's biggest government departments, building services that make a real difference to the lives of millions of people. Commercial Directorate (CD) is one of the leading government procurement functions and has an overarching Commercial Operations and Strategy (COS) team, providing critical input to DWP's successful commercial delivery. Commercial policy sits within COS and is there to develop expert knowledge, advice and guidance on commercial policy and control areas.

This is an exciting opportunity in enabling the DWP Commercial Strategy. Our strategy is fundamental to the achievement of departmental objectives priorities and delivery of government missions, including the National Procurement Policy Statement.

The Commercial Policy and Process Lead is a key role in our structure. The post holder will be implementing government policy through procurement to secure additional value from the annual commercial spend in DWP. The policies support ministerial priorities and better outcomes from our suppliers, including sustainability with social value.

Policy is also vital to creating a collaborative and innovative environment in the commercial function by embedding the new Procurement Act and reforms working with commercial teams and stakeholders to drive maximum value through adoption of new regulations. The post holder will also work with other teams and wider stakeholders across DWP and government to continuously improve processes and ways of working, creating opportunity to streamline and automate processes, facilitating the use of system-based tools in the end-to-end procurement process where appropriate.

The post holder will report to the senior Commercial Policy Lead and will be supported by a small, dedicated team with access to relevant subject matter experts across the enabling functions. The post holder will also work closely with key stakeholders, including Category Teams, Finance, Legal and Cabinet Office and will act as the cen