Commercial Lead

Commercial Lead - 83133 This Commercial Lead will report to the Commercial Manager and will work within Capital Programme based in our London office. You will be a permanent employee in our UK Power Networks team. You will attract a salary of £99,127 + Inner London Allowance and a bonus of 3%. This role can also offer blended working after probationary period (6 months) - 3 days in the office and 2 remote Close Date: 25/11/2026 We also provide the following additional benefits 25 Days Annual Leave plus bank holidays. - (adjust dependant on T&C’s) Private Medical Cover Reservist Leave – Additional 18 days full pay and 22 unpaid Personal Pension Plan – Personal contribution rates of 4% or 5% (UK Power Networks will make a corresponding contribution of 8% or 10%) Tenancy Loan Deposit Scheme, Season Ticket Loan Tax efficient benefits: Cycle to Work, Home & Tech, and Green Car Leasing Schemes Occupational Health support Switched On – scheme providing discount on hundreds of retailers' products Discounted gym membership Employee Assistance Programme Fulfilling all commercial functions on alliance capital works contracts including; Providing essential NEC contract administration support to Project Managers using UKPN’s Contact Administration system called Unifier. Receiving and certifying contractor payments via UKPN’s Unifier system. Compiling monthly commercial dashboards reporting on project performance via UKPN’s Unifier system. Managing junior members of the commercial team in assisting with duties described herein. Raising accruals. Dealing with all internal and external contract and commercial queries on demand including claims. Overseeing Alliance Subcontracts and their administration by Alliance Delivery Members. Reviewing and agreeing ADP/Tender submissions from UKPN’s Contractors. Reviewing Tender Documentation produced by UKPN’s PM’s. Drafting of documents to allow the increase of Contractor’s Purchase Orders. Job Purpose To assist the Commercial Manager and the wider commercial team in providing competent and professional quantity surveying support to the Capital Programme and Procurement Delivery across a number of long term contracts. To manage commercial matters for those contracts and projects with regards to contract set-up, management, pricing, service delivery, scope change and dispute resolution to ensure contract requirements are compliant with standards and co-ordinated to maximise profit delivery. To proactively support a wider project team, variously comprising Programme Managers; Project Managers; Designers; P6 Planners; Consents Surveyors and Administrators. Key Responsibilities: To be commercial lead on a portfolio of client construction projects. To comply with all UKPN guidelines, business goals and procedures, identifying and reporting areas of non-conformance to the LPN Commercial Manager and wider commercial management team. Ensures that the project delivery team have acted in accordance with the Contract. Responsible for liaising with all external and internal stakeholders to enable the projects to progress without delay, ensuring that all reasonable requests are met in a timely efficient manner, under the guidance of the wider commercial team. To prepare pricing models from first principals for projects of moderate complexity, and obtain, extract and use existing CU data, together with obtaining cost data from industry recognised publications e.g. SPONS & BCIS to price schemes. Able to assist in the preparation of activity schedules based upon NEC3 and the presentation of tender documentation, attending interviews and carrying out full tender analysis and comparisons to fixed rates. Review and agree ADP/Tender submissions from UKPN’s Contractors and review Tender Documentation produced by UKPN’s Project Managers. Interfaces with the Portfolio Manager; Programme Managers, Senior Project Managers, Project Managers and P6 Planners to deliver professional and competent advice and support, to ensure that the projects are managed in accordance with the contract and meeting the required reporting deadlines. Manages a programme of current workload, in order that all contracts receive the relevant allocation of resource to manage them efficiently commercially. To assist the LPN Commercial Manager and Senior Quantity Surveyor in providing guidance to more junior members of staff, Demonstrates belief and understanding to the team and creates confidence even when faced with setbacks. Produce quality reports in a timely, professional and legible manner and follows instructions, questioning the recommendations and directions of others where necessary. Preparing and making project specific presentations to the business. Assess contractor applications and EWN’s and CE's, making recommendations to, raising payment certificates for and preparing general correspondence on behalf of the Project Managers to ensure that only legitimate monies are certified. Liaise with the Project Managers to review and update the risk registers and add in new risks arising from the aforementioned EWN’s and CE’s. Use of UKPN’s Contract Administration system called Unifier to agree/reject CEN’s and agree CEQ’s submitted by our Contractors including the use of a Cost Reporting system linked to UKPN’s Unifier system with produces a Work Order Tracker Dashboard for each project in the QS’s portfolio. Identify principal risks and opportunities, raises, addresses and resolves problems at a project level and supports the project delivery team, maintains a schedule of potential financial implications for the various projects. To advise others regarding the application and interpretation of the different forms of contract in use within UKPN, predominantly being NEC3 as well as other UKPN derived bespoke forms of contract. Responsible for managing and reporting change control procedures within each specific contract and ensuring that they are adhered to by all parties. Drafting of documents to allow the increase of Contractor’s Purchase Orders with support from UKPN’s Project Managers and supporting the Project Managers in drafting Governance documents. Become involved in the relevant Annual rate reviews. Reviews Principal / Main Contractors Subcontracts and identifies where clauses are in breach of Partner policies and guidelines, making recommendations to achieve compliance. Working with the Senior Project Managers, Project Managers other commercial staff and the LPN Commercial Manager to resolve any contract issues, and in the event of a dispute arising to assist in the preparation of the required documentation to fully justify and reinforce our contractual position. Consider alternative strategies for dispute resolution of moderate complexity and prepare written arguments from a claimant or defendant perspective, making recommendations to key UKPN stakeholders on the preferred option. Liaise with internal and external legal advisors. Dimensions Annual Budget: circa £88m p.a. of Capital Expenditure within LPN across APP and Connection projects. Line Management of between 1 and 3 members of staff at trainee or assistant/intermediate level. Nature and Scope To spearhead the development of a sustainable internal commercial capability within CP&P reducing UKPN’s reliance on external providers procured from the Professional Services Framework or Morson. Implement and apply the commercial management process inherent in the ED2 Alliance and NEC contract agreements and ensure, through that the commercial activities are executed effectively and efficiently Ensure that appropriate input is provided by the Project Manager and other individuals within the sub-programme team Interface with the appropriate internal and external stakeholders, resolve any issues arising and propose / agree relevant solutions Support the Head of Commercial and the SMT (where appropriate) in monitoring and reporting on the Alliance performance and risks. Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications and Experience: Significant quantity surveying experience and business acumen, a demonstrable track record in managing complex, high value and varied contracts from a quantity surveying perspective. Degree qualified in quantity surveying or other relevant business discipline, with extensive experience in Quantity Surveying. Non degree holders may be considered if they have a demonstrable record of success with extensive experience in similar roles. Professional qualification and/or membership of the RICS, CIOB, ICES or other relevant Chartered Institute would be an additional advantage. Experienced in using Word, Excel, PowerPoint to an intermediate / advanced level and SAP. A seasoned quantity surveying professional who has excellent communication, negotiation and presentation skills. Has the ability to communicate with all levels of Senior Management and can provide clear and concise communication in all formats. Professional analytical skills to make informed, balanced business decisions and reporting findings back to Clients and Internal Stakeholders. Proven ability of developing and maintaining professional relationships with both service providers and internal stakeholders – including the confidence and stature to work alongside executives and other senior managers. Exceptional team working skills. Institution of Occupational Safety & Health (IOSH) Certificate would be advantageous, although specific Health & Safety training will be given. Should you not have the full range of essential skills, qualifications and competencies listed below, there may be an opportunity for further training to equip you. If you do not have all relevant competencies for the core grade, it will be appropriate to appoint at a lower grade until you have developed the required competencies. Health & Safety Responsibilities Managers and supervisors carry both legal and company responsibilities for ensuring the health and safety of their employees, those under their control and those who might be affected by the work undertaken, i.e. public, visitors and employees of other organisations. This includes briefing individuals working for them and ensuring there is the necessary understanding, competence and application of requirements to work safely and without harming the environment. Employees will ensure they fully understand the health and safety risks involved in their work activities and their responsibility to apply the controls needed to manage those risks to acceptable levels. Similarly where work activities can have an adverse impact upon the environment, and particularly where there are legal requirements, employees will understand those impacts and the controls they must ensure are applied. Employees need to be aware that for some craft and operational roles that work at height, or use fall arrest devices, there is an upper weight limit of 116Kg due to maximum safe working load of the safety equipment that is used. If in doubt ask! We’re committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels welcome, valued and able to be themselves. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. If you meet the essential criteria and believe your skills, experience or transferable strengths could make you a great fit for the role, we’d love to hear from you. If you need any adjustments or support during the recruitment process, please let us know and we’ll be happy to help. We may use AI-enabled tools to support elements of our recruitment process. These tools help us manage applications more efficiently and consistently, but they do not make hiring decisions. All recruitment decisions are made by trained employees using human judgement and oversight. We are committed to using AI responsibly, fairly and transparently, in line with our legal, regulatory and ethical obligations. Your data will be hosted within a secure environment and will only be used by UK Power Networks for the purpose of which it is intended. The data is used only as an input to provide insights for the screening process and is not retained by the model or by UK Power Networks’ contractor, shared with the contractor’s other customers or with OpenAI, or used to train or improve AI models. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. Where applicable, this role is subject to safer recruitment processes and robust pre‑employment checks If you have any queries in connection to this vacancy or your application, please contact us at careers@ukpowernetworks.co.uk quoting the vacancy reference number and a member of the team will get in touch with you as soon as possible.