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Closing Date
10/07/2025
Southern Water’s Commercial Management discipline leads the effective and efficient delivery and management of commercial operations and provides commercial assurance to infrastructure projects, including the tracking of variations and resolution of commercial risks and issues.
The Assistant Commercial Manager supports the Commercial Manager within a specified directorate to deliver pre and post contract processes for high value contracts. The Assistant Commercial Manager must act as a commercial business partner and be considered an expert and trusted advisor. The Assistant Commercial Manager will provide cost management services, commercial support pre-contract award, contractual compliance, and dispute resolution, enabling Southern Water to extract maximum value from its construction contracts.
Scope of role
Primary Scope Of This Role Would Be
- Support delivery of cost management services within a specified business directorate, providing commercial support and advice to the business including appraisal of options, feasibility studies, cost planning, procurement support, cost management, change management, and cost appraisals throughout the contract/project lifecycle
- Operate within a defined framework of commercial/cost management, control, and audit in line with procurement best practices and techniques
- Work closely with Project Managers to provide pre-contract capabilities, including support on contract strategy, contract creation, pre-contract assurance and agreement, and contract drafting and paperwork; utilise contract management Centre of Excellence to guide best practices and provide expertise as required
- Align commercial management activity with quality management and other audits undertaken, liaising with appropriate stakeholders to drive efficiency and ensure audit activity reflects contractual pricing, terms, conditions, and service delivery specification
- Support and implement standardised audit/site visit procedures, undertake targeted ad hoc audits, and support auditors on site visits, using expertise to drive value-add activities
- Assist with ensuring all commercial and cost activity is recorded using agreed processes, and that it is incorporated into the costs and budgets
- Support Commercial Manager to work with Project Managers and contractors to assist setting of target costs/fixed prices as appropriate for the contract form
- Work with Project Managers, Contract and Supplier Managers, Contract Owners, and contractors to identify business process/project/contract risks and implement appropriate mitigating actions
- Support the Commercial Manager to provide Project Managers with commercial guidance and advice, including managing contract difficulties/cost variance, inadequate contract performance, and emerging issues, minimising commercial impact to Southern Water
- Support Commercial Manager with contractual and commercial dispute resolution with suppliers/contractors, escalating to the Senior Commercial Manager where required
- Actively seek opportunities for continuous improvement, adopting improvements in ways of working to maximise value-add from commercial activities
- Translate innovation and continuous improvement ideas into comprehensive proposals and solutions
- Work with commercial colleagues to deliver robust commercial governance and cost control, ensuring cost and process compliance across portfolio of projects/contracts
- Support the Commercial Manager to monitor operational performance and delivery of benefits, addressing and risks and identifying mitigating actions.
- Support the Commercial Manager to deliver agreed annual savings and efficiency targets as set by Senior Commercial Manager
Major accountabilities of role
Approx. % of time spent in role
- Support the delivery of the commercial management strategies, through provision of pre and post contract capabilities in line with commercial and cost management best practice frameworks 30%
- Oversee delivery of site visits and audit activity, liaising with the business and reviewing results and outcomes of audits 20%
- Provide cost management support to the business, ensuring accurate and timely reporting of costs and budgets 20%
- Identify and address commercial risks and contract difficulties, supporting on dispute resolution where required 10%
- Drive a continuous improvement mentality in commercial management, actively seeking and adopting process improvements 10%
- Ensure compliance with commercial governance and cost control across projects/contracts and report on operational performance and delivery of benefits 10%
Knowledge/experience
Experience and capability requirements
- working towards a Bachelor’s degree in Quantity Surveying or a similar discipline
- Commercial management experience, preferably in a water or utilities industry
- Professional membership is desirable (e.g. ARICS), or the candidate should have a desire to achieve membership.
- Microsoft Office suite including advanced MS Word Excel and PowerPoint
- Experience/understanding of cost management and/or quantity surveying ideally for medium - large projects or framework arrangements
- Experience in administration of NEC standard forms of contract - desirable
- Understanding of risk identification and management
- Experience/understanding and knowledge of contract terms and conditions, project lifecycles and commercial models
- Excellent communication skills – including verbal, written and presenting to a group
- Ability to demonstrate a proactive/can do style of work
- Continuous improvement mindset
- Highly organised with the ability to multi-task
- Ability to build sustainable relationships as a trusted advisor
