Overview
This is a rare opportunity for an experienced NEC Commercial Manager to take strategic ownership of commercial outcomes across complex, high-value highways and transport infrastructure programmes. We are seeking an experienced NEC Commercial Manager to lead commercial, contractual, and financial assurance activities across a portfolio of Highways & Transport projects. You’ll bring expertise in effective NEC contract management under both NEC3 and NEC forms of contract, business analysis and commercial assurance, helping to drive improved value, robust contract performance and smarter delivery models across our Highways programmes. This is a pivotal role supporting the delivery of technically complex programmes within our Highways & Transportation service, ensuring strong commercial governance and high-quality cost assurance. This role also carries significant influence, working collaboratively with senior leaders, partners and stakeholders to ensure consistency, transparency and strong commercial outcomes across the directorate. You will act as a senior commercial advisor to project teams, internal stakeholders, and supply chain partners, supporting the successful delivery of high-value, multifaceted infrastructure works.
Key Responsibilities
* Demonstrate full understanding of the NEC suite of contracts, including pricing mechanisms, secondary options, payment provisions, early warning processes, and risk allocation strategies.
* Lead the assessment and assurance of target costs, defined cost, disallowed cost, compensation events, and quantum, ensuring robust financial governance across all projects.
* Assure complex project cost submissions from contractors, verifying build‑ups, productivity assumptions, and contract compliance.
* Oversee commercial reporting, ensuring accuracy in forecasting, budget monitoring, cost verification and value for money analysis.
* Support challenge and negotiation of high-value commercial submissions and variations.
* Provide trusted advice on delivery models, commercial approaches and contract structures, ensuring risks, levers and opportunities are fully understood.
* Champion continuous improvement, culture change and skills development across the Highways & Transportation service.
* Lead, motivate and develop a high‑performing commercial team, ensuring capability remains at the forefront of industry best practice.
* Lead regular commercial and contract management workshops, upskilling officers and embedding strong commercial awareness across service areas.
* Work closely with senior leaders to embed a commercially astute culture that improves efficiency, performance and outcomes.
* Maintain a structured approach to resource planning, task allocation, and workflow management, ensuring efficient and transparent delivery across the team.
* Establish effective communication channels between client stakeholders, delivery partners and supply chain organisations.
* Support collaborative working practices that strengthen relationships and improve project outcomes.
Qualifications
* Proven experience managing NEC contracts within a local authority or similar public sector environment.
* Strong analytical capability with experience assuring technically complex project finances.
* Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence decisions at senior levels.
* Strong leadership skills with a collaborative mindset and enthusiasm for coaching, developing, and uplifting commercial capability across multidisciplinary teams.
* A proactive, structured, and solutions‑focused approach to delivering commercial excellence.
Benefits
* Annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage.
* A comprehensive wellbeing package covering all aspects of wellbeing, with access for family.
* Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro‑rata) through a salary‑sacrifice scheme.
* Flexible bank‑holiday usage.
* Additional Voluntary Contributions to pension with tax and National Insurance savings.
* Access to development opportunities, apprenticeships and qualified coaches.
* Paid volunteering hours each year.
* Access to peer support groups through IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network.
* Opportunities to nominate and receive Employee Recognition Awards.
* An Our Cambs Rewards account offering in‑store and online discounts and access to Car Lease and Cycle‑to‑Work schemes.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network ‘IDEAL’ and self‑organised peer support groups help us foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.
We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job.
Location
Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.
#J-18808-Ljbffr