Commercial lead, specialist role

Background to the role

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Commercial Function are responsible for delivering end-to-end commercial lifecycle management and supporting the wider business in working with third parties.

The MPS spends about £800 million each year on a diverse range of goods and services and we aim to procure them in the most cost effective and compliant way, while satisfying often urgent operational needs. We proactively manage thirty large complex and operationally critical outsourced service contracts, to ensure that we receive the quality services we are paying for and achieve value for money through the entire life of the contract.

This is an exciting time to be working in commercial management for the MPS. The MPS Commercial Function are in the middle of a large-scale transformation, working to deliver the following strategic aims:

• build a world class capability and team
• engage effectively with our markets and suppliers
• improving and simplifying how we work
• delivering outcomes through commercial policy

In addition to large-scale transformation within the Commercial team, there's the unique and ever-evolving challenge of policing London. This means that there are more opportunities for you to get involved with making London the safest global city in a time of unprecedented change within the UK's largest police service.

Role description

This role is an integral part of Commercial Services. In 2020, the MPS Commercial Function revised its operating model, establishing six Pillars which have overall accountability for activity covering the commercial life cycle, as well as relevant Business Partnering responsibilities across the wider business.

In this role you will be expected to lead on Category Management, contributing to delivering Commercial Excellence for the Met, providing a customer focused service, understanding the business need and stakeholder drivers, with the aim of becoming a trusted commercial advisor. You will also develop relationships with MPS’s key and strategic suppliers, driving value for money and risk management excellence across the category.

You will play an essential part in leading parts of the overall commercial life cycle, primarily focused on the key aspects of Category Management, including Strategy and Policy development, understanding needs and sourcing options, and the procurement process itself. This will be done through the development and execution of category management strategies, leading supplier negotiations, where needed, and delivering timely and effective support, guidance and expertise to the business. As a leader in the Commercial function, you will support rolling out commercial standards across the organisation.

The MPS Commercial Function is aligning its roles with the levels of the Government Commercial Organisation, which sits within the Government Commercial Function. The typical attributes of a commercial lead can be found in the Government Commercial Function People Standards.

A commercial lead is broadly defined as: Typically, a commercial manager who provides leadership and management to a small team and actively seeks to build their capability.

Key responsibilities

What does the average day look like? Your core duties will include (but are not limited to):

• Strategic delivery and management within a category
• Understands relevant sourcing options and analysis, and delivers positive outcomes through the procurement process
• Ensuring effective Commercial Contract and Supplier Management within the category
• Building and maintaining key relationships across the MPS and with important external stakeholders
• Enabling and developing the MPS
• Performance and day-to-day management of category team where applicable
• Deputise for Head of Category if required
• Working within a secure environment upon sensitive projects as required