Commercial Lead

Commercial Lead
Department: Commercial/Procurement
Locations: Buckinghamshire, Cheltenham, London, Manchester
Salary: £64,575 - £70,762 London / £63,332 - £69,689 Buckinghamshire, Cheltenham, Manchester
Working pattern: Flexible Hours (flexi-time), Part-time, full -time, job share, compressed hours, depending on business need, requirement to travel to other national locations, as required. Minimum 3 days per week in any of our offices with flexibility to potentially WFH 1-2 days per week, subject to business requirements.

MI5 safeguards the UK against threats such as terrorism, espionage, cyber and sabotage. We investigate suspect individuals and organisations in the UK to obtain, collate, analyse and assess secret intelligence relating to these threats. Alongside our British Intelligence partners MI6 and GCHQ, we provide the UK government with the information they need to protect national security. At MI5 you’ll enjoy varied and rewarding work in a supportive and encouraging environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.

We’re heading into a period of development and organisational change - and we’re looking for a Commercial Lead to join us. The role could be in our customer-facing team, where you’ll be responsible for non-category procurement and the development of our commercial pipeline, or in the Commercial Delivery Team, where you’ll look after sub-category strategies for Estates, People & Professional Services and Technology. Whichever team you join, there has never been a more exciting time to progress your career at MI5.

Experienced in commercial, procurement or category management, you’ll help shape the commercial activity for key projects and business change initiatives, driving improvement, innovation and performance throughout your team. You’ll also be an empathetic and hands-on manager, sharing your expertise to build staff confidence and turn business goals into actions. Whilst you support your team, we’ll support you in a stimulating environment – that manages a unique portfolio of major procurement projects. 

A confident communicator, you’ll support cross-agency working and oversee the delivery of services to a wide range of participants, building relationships with customers, sponsors and suppliers as you draft and negotiate contracts. You’ll have experience developing sub-category strategies, in addition to managing significant spend. Crucially, you’re ready for the next step in your career, so you’ll already possess (or be working towards) a professional Commercial qualification, like the MCIPS or World Commerce and Contracting certificate.

One thing you can count on when you join MI5 is our dedication to your professional development, as you’ll have access to the Senior Leadership Programme to help you thrive in your role, alongside training for MCIPS or World Commerce and Contracting certification and GCF Contract Management. You could benefit from a wealth of in-house technical training programmes – and even funding for external training, where appropriate.  

Continuous development is at the heart of what we do, and we’ll work with you to help identify the skills and experience you need to lead, progress and flourish in a supportive workplace.

At MI5 diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds. Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website: www.MI5.gov.uk/careers/diversity

To find out more and apply, please visit our website.

To be eligible to apply, you must be a British Citizen. If you hold dual nationality, of which one component is British, you will nonetheless be considered. Candidates must normally have been resident in the UK for seven out of the last ten years. This is particularly important if you were born outside the UK. You can apply at the age of 17 years, if successful you will not be offered a start date prior to your 18th birthday. Full eligibility details can be found on our website: www.MI5.gov.uk/careers/applying-for-jobs