Principal Commercial Partner

If you’d like to be considered for this opportunity we encourage you to apply promptly to avoid disappointment as if applications are high the role will close before the closing date given.

As part of the Commercial Partnering team, AWE is seeking a Principal Commercial Partner to act as the primary interface between the Commercial function and a Business Unit, Programme, or Enabling Function, providing commercial leadership and guidance throughout business case development, including Make Team Buy inputs, and develops commercial strategies aligned with Category Strategies to secure value, manage risk, and deliver business objectives.

Commercial Partnering works closely with Business Units to shape demand at the earliest stages, maintaining an integrated forward pipeline of requirements and ensuring future product and service needs are translated into clear commercial strategies and sourcing requirements.

Package: £63,270 to £90,000 (depending on experience)

Location: Reading, with free onsite parking. Visits to Aldermaston and/or Burghfield.

Working pattern: AWE operates a 9-day working fortnight, with every other Friday as a non-working day. This role is eligible for hybrid working, meaning employees typically spend three days on site in a long week and two days on site in a short week.

Ready to play your part?

At AWE, it’s not just a job, it’s far more than that. Our shared purpose is to help keep the nation safe. Could this role be the opportunity for you to play your part?

The Principal Commercial Partner will provide leadership, people management and serve as the Commercial function’s primary interface with the Business Unit, Programme or Enabling Function. They will strengthen commercial awareness, position Commercial as a strategic partner and collaborate with stakeholders to develop solutions that inform the commercial strategy delivered by the Commercial Delivery Towers.

They will agree demand plans for Commercial and understand & constructively challenge business requirements to ensure effective and often complex commercially viable solutions are implemented. 

They also play a pivotal role in ensuring that the Business Unit, Programme or Enabling Function understands the role of Commercial in developing and implementing supply chain solutions which deliver most value for the Business Unit or Programme.    

The role will report into the Head of Commercial Partnering.

Key Accountabilities: 

• Ensures alignment and collaboration between Commercial and the Business Unit, Programme or Enabling Function to identify the demand plan and drive value for money though effective commercial strategy and prioritisation planning. Ensure an effective handshake between the programme and the Commercial function on the pipeline of activity to be delivered.    
• Leads commercial solutioning for the Business Unit, Programme or Enabling Function, including Make Team, Buy recommendations, total cost of ownership considerations etc., with early involvement in all key commercial decisions, working closely with the Business Unit or Programme Director and their senior leadership team. 
• Ensures alignment and collaboration between Commercial and the Business Unit, Programme or Enabling Function to identify the demand plan and drive value for money though effective commercial strategy and prioritisation planning. Ensure an effective handshake between the programme and the Commercial function on the pipeline of activity to be delivered. 
• Leads commercial solutioning for the Business Unit, Programme or Enabling Function, including Make Team, Buy recommendations, total cost of ownership considerations etc., with early involvement in all key commercial decisions, working closely with the Business Unit or Programme Director and their senior leadership team. 

Who are we looking for?

We are ideally seeking an individual with a high level of commercial acumen, seven to ten years of Commercial and Procurement experience, Category Management, Strategic Sourcing and Supplier Relationship Management, with excellent stakeholder management skills and a resilient approach to driving change. You should be able to demonstrate an innovative approach to problem solving.

Whilst not to be considered a tick list, we’d like you to have experience in some of the following

• Compliance with relevant legislation and regulations. 

• Must have proven professional experience. 

• Track record of developing commercial strategy in highly complex environments. 

• Experience of working in collaboration and influencing senior business stakeholders. 

• Experience of mitigating project risks and issues. 

• Evidence of leading teams in transformational change. 

• Experience and understanding of delivering procurement and contract management strategies. 

• Highly skilled commercial thinker, with high levels of financial literacy, adept at developing and presenting a range of commercial options to address specific business challenges. 

• Articulate and persuasive, with exceptional influencing skills.  

• Able to relay commercial strategy to a non-specialist audience and garner support for difficult or complex commercial decisions.  

• A natural analytical thinker with ability to align business priorities to commercial outcomes.   

• Highly skilled in stakeholder management, with ability to deploy effective tools and strategies to create business alignment and influence decision making. 

• Comfortable with a degree of ambiguity and changing priorities. 

• Natural public speaker, confident in presenting key messages at conferences and symposiums. 

• Capable of working highly collaboratively in cross-functional teams. 

• Ability to work under pressure, with personal resilience to resolve stakeholder conflict and seek collaborative business solutions. 

• Capable of creating project controls environment to ensure activities are delivered to time, cost, and quality. 

Work hard, be rewarded:

We ask a lot and set the bar high because our work truly matters. In return we offer balance, with award winning benefits including:

• 9-day working fortnight – meaning you get every other Friday off work, in addition to 270 hours of annual leave.
• Market leading contributory pension scheme (we will pay between 9% and 13% of your pensionable pay depending on your contributions).
• Family friendly policies: Maternity Leave - 39 Weeks Full Pay and Paternity Leave - 4 Weeks Full Pay.
• Opportunities for Professional Career Development including funding for annual membership of a relevant professional body.
• Employee Assistance Programme and Occupational Health Services.
• Life Assurance (4 x annual salary).
• Discounts – access to savings on a wide range of everyday spending.
• Special Leave Policy including paid time off for volunteering, public service (including reserve forces) and caring.

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Next steps:

Everyone who works at AWE brings unique skills and perspectives to the table. We recognise that great people don’t always ‘tick every box’. That’s why we focus on your potential, your fit with our values, your transferable skills as well as your experience. Even if you don’t meet every point above, but you feel that this role and AWE are a great fit for you, please go ahead and apply, we’d love to receive your application.

Important things you need to know:

• We encourage you to apply promptly to avoid disappointment if applications are high and the role therefore closes.
• You will need to obtain and maintain the necessary security clearance for the role. This will be funded by AWE. The nature of our work does mean you need to be a British Citizen who has been resident in the UK for the past 5 years in order to apply for SC clearance and 10 years for DV. 
• We want you to feel comfortable and able to shine during our recruitment process. Please let us know on your application form if you need any adjustments/accommodations during the process.
• Our interviews typically take place over Teams and for most roles are a 1 stage process.

Our ambition is to create workplaces where we recognise and celebrate differences, encourage diverse contributions and our employees feel able to be themselves at work. We strive to create a genuine culture of openness and inclusion and encourage diverse applicants. Any inclusion information you provide will be stored in accordance with GDPR and kept separate from your application form and CV, and the information will not be shared with anyone involved in interviewing or making hiring decisions.

Please note that you must be a British Citizen to apply for a role with us.