Economic Sustainability & Policy Lead

Position description

Building a strong Commercial Function in Government, and with it the right commercial capability, is at the heart of a far-reaching programme of Civil Service reform. We are building a cadre of commercial talent in all Government departments; people who can manage our commercial portfolios, who can lead our most complex and novel programmes and projects, people who have the gravitas and depth of experience to work alongside our policy and operational leaders to develop innovative commercial arrangements, whether through joint ventures, outsourcing or best-in-class contracts. The Government Commercial Organisation is an employer which is truly committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive workplace where all our people are able to bring their whole selves to work and are able to perform to their potential. We understand the importance of diversity and inclusion and strive for a workplace that reflects the communities which we serve. We especially welcome applications from underrepresented groups including Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates, candidates with a disability and candidates with gender-diverse identities. Appointments will be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. We have already made significant progress through the establishment of the Government Commercial Organisation (GCO), our single employer of senior commercial talent across government. This role will sit within the GCO, but based in our BEIS commercial team delivering departmental objectives.

Job description

The Economic Sustainability & Policy Lead will be responsible for delivering BEIS’ three-year plan to reduce barriers to entry for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), enabling them to compete more effectively for BEIS contracts and subcontracts. They will engage relevant stakeholder groups to gather feedback and to take action that makes our commercial processes more effective at tapping into the talent and innovation that SMEs have.

The post holder will also be responsible for setting and implementing an action plan to improve BEIS’ prompt payment performance. We are committed to paying out suppliers on time, and the post holder will work with stakeholders in BEIS Finance, our shared services business partner, and our community of requisitioners and contract managers to identify and address issues that could cause late payment.

As the Economic Sustainability & Policy Lead, the post holder will work with the BEIS Counter Fraud team to identify fraud risks in the commercial lifecycle, and will take proactive steps to mitigate those risks to ensure BEIS’ Commercial function and our supply chains operate to the highest standards.

We are looking for an individual with an understanding of the commercial process and current commercial policy relating to SMEs and prompt payment. The successful candidate will be an effective communicator and will bring relevant people together to make positive change happen.

Person specification

• Lead the implementation of BEIS’ SME Action Plan, including its periodic review and updates to it where appropriate, increasing SME representation in BEIS’ value chain.
• Lead the development and implementation of a prompt payment action plan that seeks to continuously improve BEIS’ payment performance.
• Lead the development and implementation of a counter fraud action plan that identifies and addresses risks in the commercial lifecycle.
• Be a single point of contact within BEIS Commercial for all matters relating to Economic Sustainability & Policy, reprioritising your remit as necessary to ensure BEIS and wider Government priorities are addressed.
• Collaborate with other Government Departments and BEIS Partner Organisations to achieve common and consistent approaches to your portfolio of work.
• Support the wider Commercial Sustainability & Policy team, deputising where necessary, to deliver a seamless service for key stakeholder groups.

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Risk Mindset - Is able to effectively prioritise a complex landscape and to take a risk-based approach to improving standards and outcomes for social sustainability and policy issues
• Manages Complexity - Is able to progress multiple streams of work, across multiple high priority topics, while balancing the needs of commercial delivery teams who need to deliver time sensitive programmes of work
• Builds Relationships - Is able to build relationships across BEIS commercial, Partner Organisations, and Other Government Departments to share insight and best practice
• Coaching Manager - Is able to coach and support commercial colleagues to help them learn and develop, and to adopt new ways of working that enhance social sustainability and policy outcomes
• Procurement Process - Has a thorough understanding of the procurement process, able to provide social sustainability and policy coaching to commercial practitioners, and to develop relevant and appropriate interventions

Benefits

As a valued employee of the Government Commercial Organisation (GCO), you will have access to all the benefits the centre has to offer; including flexible working, generous benefits, Career Coaches, Mentors, L&D, a Commercial College, active talent management and, most importantly, access to commercial projects that will far exceed the scale and complexity on offer elsewhere in the UK. For existing Civil Servants: For full details of the impact on any move across the civil service on your existing terms and conditions, please read the candidate pack. Please note that any move across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to continue to claim childcare vouchers.

Application instructions

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