Job summary
- Main area
- Contract management
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8c
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Job share
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 990-NHP-EC5261-E
- Employer
- NHS England
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Wellington House
- Town
- London
- Salary
- £88,250 - £100,355 per annum (inclusive of London Weighting)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 07/10/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Senior Commercial Lead - Contract Management
NHS AfC: Band 8c
Our Organisation
We share the core values set out in the NHS Constitution, which all colleagues are expected to demonstrate.
We support you to work in a way that is best for the NHS, our patients and you and your colleagues. Talk to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement, whether that’s a job share, part time, hybrid working or another flexible pattern.
Job overview
The New Hospital Programme is more than building hospitals, it’s a once in a generation opportunity to shape the future of healthcare in England. We’re delivering over 40 new hospitals that will be modern, sustainable and built around the needs of patients and staff. We’re looking for people who care about purpose, who thrive in complex environments and who want to help deliver change at scale for future generations.
Main duties of the job
We are looking for an experienced Senior Commercial Lead to play a pivotal role in the successful delivery of the NHP programme. This leadership position will oversee contract negotiations and post-contract commercial management across a range of complex and high-value projects, including professional services, hospital schemes, and major capital developments.
We are looking for someone with:
- Significant experience in commercial and contract management within complex programmes.
- Strong negotiation, influencing and stakeholder management skills.
- A track record of delivering commercial value, operational efficiencies and risk mitigation.
- Experience developing and implementing strategic commercial approaches.
- Proven leadership experience, including line management and team development.
Working for our organisation
NHS England has a wide range of statutory functions, responsibilities and regulatory powers. These are focused on supporting the wider NHS to deliver high quality care, as well as doing those things that are best done once for the whole NHS.
Our staff bring expertise across clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial specialisms — enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.
In March 2025, the Government announced that NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care will increasingly merge functions, ultimately leading to NHS England being fully integrated into the department.
If you currently work within the NHS and if successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the process.
Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in our offices.
Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band.
We cannot offer visa sponsorship for any vacancies.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You can find further details about the role, including key responsibilities and accountabilities, alongside the organisational structure and person specification in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.
For more information on the NHP programme
Due to ongoing organisational change and developments, aspects of this role may be subject to change.
By applying for this position, you acknowledge and understand that NHS England is currently undergoing a consultation process to finalise its structure, which may impact this role.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Educated to degree level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level in specialist areas
Desirable criteria
- Supported by professional qualifications e.g. MRICS, MCIPS, IACCM, CMCP, NEC4 ECC PM
Experience
Essential criteria
- Evidence of a minimum of 10 years' experience in commercial management, ideally within a complex construction or infrastructure environment
- Demonstrable experience of working in a large infrastructure programme with complex governance structures, interfacing with project managers, planners, risk managers and project controls teams
- Demonstrable experience leading commercial resources, agreeing objectives, managing performance and development to ensure staff have the necessary skills and support to deliver in their roles.
- Experience of working in an integrated project team involving supplier partnering organisations.
- Experience of delivering against competing priorities and deadlines while also directing the work of teams/individuals.
Desirable criteria
- Extensive experience in a variety of Procurement and Contracting models and specifically in Construction and Professional Services NEC based contracting environments, using a range of reimbursement models.
Skills
Essential criteria
- Provide and receive highly complex, sensitive and contentious information, negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues, and present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups.
- Be able to persuade board and senior managers of the respective merits of different options, innovation and new market opportunities
- Strategic thinking – ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise
- Takes decisions on difficult and contentious issues where there may be several courses of action
- Demonstrable ability to deliver at pace in a complex environment
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- NHP People
- Job title
- Resourcing Team
- Email address
- [email protected]
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