Job summary
The role is to provide commercial oversight and support for projects during stages 5 and 6. The post holder will provide contract and cost management oversight for projects where there is Technical Advisor and Project Management services on school construction projects.
Their key responsibilities as follows:
- Support the Construction Commercial Lead to ensure that the Department for Education obtain maximum value for money from the Suppliers.
- Provide advice to project delivery teams and other Education Estates (EE) colleagues on the proper use of the Framework and any additional services that might be required, to support post-contract commercial matters.
- Provide specialist support on post-contract commercial matter that have been escalated by project delivery teams and other EE colleagues with appropriate and effective intervention.
- Co-ordinate with other team members on the development and implementation of a continuous improvement plan for contract management linked to quality outcomes.
Job description
Key Deliverables
Contract Management Service:
- Support delivery of the supplier contract management service to ensure a consistent and quality performance. Including supporting the development of policies for new delivery of projects working alongside internal colleagues across Education Estates Directorate (EED).
- Improve capability of project delivery teams in respect of contract management through development and implementation of a mandatory training programme.
- Lead on training sessions, engaging colleagues and other internal teams as required to ensure a sound understanding of contract management is held across EE delivery.
Cost management service:
- Act as intelligent client to support the commissioning of specific Technical Advisor (TA) services in support of complex and exceptional variations and claims. Providing support to project teams where issues on post contract commercial matters have been escalated.
- Work collaboratively with Cost Strategy to provide guidance on market conditions and benchmark rates.
- Lead on training sessions, engaging colleagues and other internal teams as required to ensure a sound understanding of contract management is held across EE.
- Lead the commercial forum with TA firms to ensure consistency of cost performance and drive improvements from lessons learnt. And delivering improvements to final account and project close out processes.
Person specification
Essential Criteria:
- Commercial acumen to be able to provide advice and support to project teams in ensuring the public purse is protected and delivery timescales are maintained.
- Strong cost and contract management skills within the construction sector.
- Working knowledge of JCT contracts.
- Ability to identify and lead internal and external stakeholder relationships and provide senior level support.
- Ability to stand by, promote and/ or defend own and team’s actions and decisions where needed.
- Provide strong, confident, visible leadership with authenticity.
- Excellent written and verbal communication and engagement skills, with the ability to persuade and influence others within and outside the organisation to achieve desired outcomes.
- Ability to adapt to changing priorities and work to tight deadlines.
- Experience of evidence-based decision making. Ability to analyse and accurately interpret data and information from various sources to support decisions.
Desirable Criteria:
- Ability to collaborate beyond their own area of responsibility within the Directorate, Group and across the Department ensuring that your actions have a positive impact on the whole organisation.
- Ability to initiate, encourage and accept innovative suggestions and challenge from others.
- Specialist knowledge, skills and understanding of the environment and context of the delivering educational projects.
Desirable criteria will only be assessed at interview, in the event of a tie break situation, to make an informed decision.
Memberships
MRICS (or demonstrable experience).
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Understanding of JCT contract and management claims
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £58,185, Department for Education contributes £16,856 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by the Department’s transfer / promotion policies.
As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK.
You will have 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years’ service. In addition, all staff receive the King’s Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days’ bank and public holidays.
We offer flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
Most DfE employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending at least 60% of their time in an office or work setting. Changes to these working arrangements are available in exceptional circumstances but must be agreed with the line manager and in line with the requirements of the role.
Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DfE, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.
As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities.
Things you need to know
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.
Application
At this stage, we will assess experience.
Candidates will be sifted through their CV and a personal statement.
- Your CV should include details of your employment history, the roles held and the skills and experience gained from those roles.
- Your personal statement should be no longer than 1000 words and display how your experience meets the essential criteria of the role (listed in the person specification section above).
The sift will be restricted to just assessing personal statements in the event of a large volume of applications. More guidance on personal statements can be found here – completing your application.
Interview
If successful at sift, candidates will be assessed via interview where we will ask you questions around the technical skills listed in the advert. We will also ask some Strength-based questions
Strengths are a way for Hiring Managers to understand what motivates you and what you enjoy doing, which helps the panel to understand your areas of strength. Evidence shows that people do better work when a job aligns well with what they enjoy and find motivating. We don’t advertise which strengths we are going to assess you on as we want to be able to assess your first, natural response to the questions.
For more information on the selection process, including guidance on how to write a personal statement, answer behaviour and strength-based interview questions, and the STAR approach click here: Top tips for acing the application.
Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
Other Information
Interviews may be via Microsoft teams or face to face; the vacancy manager will confirm prior to the Interview.
In your application, please don’t include personal information that identifies you.
This means we can recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - it's called name blind recruitment (opens in a new window).
Please ensure that you remove from your application, all references to your:
- nationality/immigration status
We reserve the right to raise the minimum pass mark in the event of a high volume or strong field of candidates.
Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK from the location options provided and not from overseas.
The government is committed to supporting apprenticeships, enabling people to learn and progress in a role whilst earning. We want to monitor the number of people who have completed apprenticeships who are now applying to progress further in their career and are asking this question to all candidates, on all vacancies. You will be asked a question as part of the application process about any previous apprenticeships you have completed. Your response to this question will not affect your application and it is not a requirement of the role to have completed a previous apprenticeship.
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check maybe carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstance some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Department of Education of your intention by emailing Pre-Employment.Checks.DFE@education.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
Department for Education do not cover the cost of travel to your interview/assessment unless otherwise stated.
A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.
Candidates will be posted in merit order based upon location preference. Where more than one location is advertised you will be asked to state your preferred location.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
Terms and conditions of candidates transferring from ALBs and NDPBs
Bodies that are not accredited by the Civil Service Commission and are not able to advertise at Across Government on Civil Service jobs will be treated as external new starters and will come into DfE on modernised terms and conditions with a salary at the band minimum.
Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission but do not have civil service status will be offered modernised terms and will not have continuous service recognised for leave or sickness benefits. Salaries should be offered at band minimum, but there is some flexibility where this would cause a detriment to the individual.
Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission and do have Civil Service status will be treated as OGD transfers. Staff appointed on lateral transfer will move on to pre-modernised DfE terms (unless they were on modernised terms in their previous organisation). Staff appointed on promotion will move on to modernised DfE terms. Staff will transfer over on their existing salary (on lateral transfer) and any pay above the DfE pay band maximum will be paid as a mark time allowance. Staff moving on promotion will have their salaries calculated using the principles set out in the attached OGD transfer supplementary information.
Reasonable adjustment
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
Contact Department of Education via centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
Please refer to the attached ‘Reasonable Adjustments Guide 05_2025 – accessible version’ at the bottom of the advert, for further information.
Childcare Vouchers
Any move to Department for Education (DfE) will mean you will no longer be able to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Philip Slater
- Email : Philip.SLATER@education.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : Centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk
Further information
The Department for Education’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the Civil Service Commissioners Recruitment Principles, which outlines that selection for appointment is made on merit based on fair and open competition. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly with the department concerned via CentralRecruitment.Operations@education.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages
Attachments
Reasonable Adjustments guide 05_2025 - accessible version (10) Opens in new window (pdf, 723kB)OGD Transfer Supplementary information - accessible version Opens in new window (pdf, 327kB)DFE Terms & Conditions - accessible version (5) Opens in new window (pdf, 215kB)
