Job description for Assistant Commercial Officer

Do you have a passion for customer service? Are excited by the opportunity to shape and define some of the biggest and complex defence programmes in the UK today? This may be the perfect opportunity for you.

You will be responsible for representing DE&S Deca Stafford business at meetings with customers and will be supported by the Customer Services Manager. Within this role you will also monitor contractual and delivery performance, hold internal reviews and customer reviews on and off Deca sites. As well as ensuring effective customer communications on contract or product issues and developing and maintaining relationships with the customer to develop and establish new products and services. You will also provide support to the Deca teams with input to business winning strategies, the demand plan and other initiatives; together with the customer, agree, then deliver and manage an accurate and realistic 3 year demand plan.

Other aspects of your role may include; delivering the customer service provision in accordance with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), carrying out agreed feedback interviews for annual customer confidence index survey, assisting the Commercial Management Team with Aged Debt recovery, consulting and informing the Deca Management teams on issues of compliance, delivery, government assets, import/export issues, ITAR and contractual risk and promoting and encouraging team working. This role will also involve travel on detached duty to other Business Units and customer sites.

Please note: At DE&S Deca, we champion flexible ways of working. Regular in-person attendance (this is expected to be a minimum of 60%) to promote the benefits of face-to-face collaboration alongside flexibility of hours to support work-life balance.

What you’ll be doing

• Determine the appropriate commercial actions for requirements including supply market analysis, draft strategy plans, contract management plans and facilitate key aspects of the delivery.
• Ensure all contracts adhere to procurement regulations and Government policy.
• Assist/Lead (depending on project value) in the portfolio management of requirements and contracts varying in risk and complexity ensuring contract obligations are met in line with the contract and business requirements.
• Support negotiation and contract placement above level of delegation when required and highlight novel and contentious issues to the Senior Commercial Officer (SCO) to ensure satisfactory resolution.
• Communicate in a timely manner with a range of internal and external stakeholders including suppliers and Subject Matter Experts.
• Provide support and assistance to commercial enabling teams to assist delivery of DE&S/SDA Business Improvement projects.
• Contribute to wider Commercial functional and DE&S/SDA initiatives as required.

Person specification

To be successful with your application, you’ll need to show that you meet the following essential criteria:

• Numerate and a competent user of IT systems, including MS Office applications.
• Able to demonstrate team working skills
• Self-motivated, willing to take responsibility for delivery of outcomes with minimum supervision and effectively work independently
• Tenacious with an ability to effectively organise, communicate, persuade, motivate, negotiate and influence and reasonably challenge others, including those of senior grade.

In addition to the responsibilities above, the following technical competences and behaviours will be assessed at interview:

• Tender and Bid Process Supervised Practitioner
• Contract Management Supervised Practitioner
• Communicating and Influencing CSBC 3
• Working Together CSBC 3

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £28,200, Ministry of Defence contributes £8,169 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• 25 days’ annual leave +1 day a year up to 30 days, 8 bank holidays and a day off for the King’s birthday
• Flexible and hybrid working options
• Market-leading average employer pension contribution of 28.97%
• Annual performance-based bonus and recognition awards
• Access to specialist training and funded qualifications
• Support for progression
• Huge range of discounts
• Volunteering days
• Enhanced parental leave schemes

Improving innovation and enriching our culture, diversity of thought is vital to our success. So whether you’re looking for a new opportunity, a next step, or a helping hand as you return from a career break, bring your experiences and help deliver for the defence of tomorrow. Here you’ll find a supportive, family-friendly organisation to be a part of – and if you need any assistance with your application, just let us know.

Further Information

• Candidate Information Pack: https://bit.ly/SDA-Candidate-Information-Pack
• Terms and Conditions: https://bit.ly/DES-SDA-Terms-and-Conditions

Selection process details

Your application will go through the following stages of assessment:

1. Pre-sift – We will check that you meet any essential or eligibility criteria that are listed in the Person Specification section of this advert. On your CV, please clearly show how you meet the essential criteria.
2. Sift – Your CV will be assessed against the following categories, using a simple numerical scoring system: Key Achievements; Relevant Experience; Applied Knowledge and Skills. Please follow our guidance on CV writing for best chance of success.
3. Interview – If you’re invited to interview, you’ll be assessed against the Sift categories listed above, as well as the Technical Competences and Behaviours listed in the Person Specification section of this advert. When two (or more) candidates are on equal interview scores, positions will be offered based on the scores assessed at interview, in this order – 1st) Technical competence, 2nd) CV Review, 3rd) Behaviour one, 4th) Behaviour two.

Offering at a lower level

If you’re not successful at interview, we may offer you a role at a lower level if this is a match for your skills and experience. If this applies to your application, you’ll be scored against criteria for the lower-level role and offers will be made in merit order. If you accept this position, you’ll be able to take advantage of opportunities to develop your career as part of our team.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.