Senior Commercial Manager

Rail (Telecoms, M&E and Signalling) - London Underground / Claims Exp.

To lead and direct the delivery of commercial activities, processes and systems for a large major project (circa £100m) within the Capital Programmes Directorate. Manage and orchestrate all the commercial stakeholder parties to develop and maintain commercial control. Must have a background in managing NEC3 and bespoke forms of contract. Previous experience of managing Target Price contracts is preferable. Must be a natural leader.

Responsibilities:

• *Responsible and accountable for the commercial management of a complex depot upgrade programme. A large proportion of the scope is delivered under a NEC3 Option C Target Price contract. In addition you will be commercially accountable for legacy signalling works required in support of the upgrade programme. The total value for the depot upgrade and legacy works is circa £100m. The depot upgrade will involve upgrading multiple assets, including but not limited to civils, M&E, track, power and signalling.
• *Leadership: strong commercial leadership qualities are essential to this Senior Commercial role
• *Direct the management of the commercial activities and their integration on major work-streams, projects and programmes to deliver commercial control
• *Direct the preparation of detailed analysis of variances and explanations, and understanding of concept of, and ability to calculate earned value.
• *Lead complex contract negotiations, including the formulation of negotiation parameters, analysis and interpretation of commercial data and demonstration of flexibility whilst achieving negotiation objectives.
• *Management of claims, mitigation and advising on defence of claims, including analysis of the various parties' positions.
• *Identify and assesses potential risks to commercial agreements and supplier performance.
• *Development of commercial strategies which can be approved by the LUL Executive.
• *Supporting and directing where appropriate risk and value management activities.
• *Manages appointment and development of staff
• *Resource planning and forecasting based on business plans and forecasts
• *Supervision of a commercial team of 10 - 15 people
• Main Working Relationships
• *Reports to Head of Commercial Procurement Line Upgrades
• *The commercial team will consist of Commercial Managers, Assistant Commercial Managers, Cost Managers, Assistant Cost Managers, Procurement Specialists/Agents.
• *LU: Internal customers range across all directorates, the Managing Director, Directors, General Managers, Business Managers, Legal, Audit, Risk Managers and Finance. You will also be expected to mentor assistant commercial managers and/or assistant cost managers in developing these relationships, and leading and directing pan-TfL commercial and procurement strategies.
• *External: Managing relationships across a range of suppliers up to managing director level.
• Financial Impact & Authority
• *Responsible and accountable for commercial activities in line with delegated authorities, and up to an annual programme or project value of £35m per annum

Skills / Experience Required
Expert level knowledge and experience of:

• *NEC and other forms of contract - their differences, and the ability to manage contract administration, including contract communications, change control, variation/compensation event assessment, valuation/certification; contract remedies and contract close out.
• *Strong negotiation skills, with an understanding of different negotiation strategies and techniques
• *Interpretation of market information and deploy it effectively in estimating, cost planning and strategy development.
• *Producing estimates and cost plans for major schemes appropriate for all design stages, understanding the limitations of each and applicable levels of optimisation bias, risk and contingency and apply cost checks to emerging designs.
• *Construction and Case Law in relation to Claims Management, and ability to undertake analysis of claims
• *Planning and delivering cost management to meet periodic reporting cycles and ability to maintain deliverables within required timescales.
• *Applicable commercial regulations and legislation
• *Risk and value management and their application in developing strategies, estimates and cost plans
• *Managing complex customer and supplier relationships and expectations in a multi-million pound projects environment.
• In depth understanding of and how they inter relate to commercial activities:
• *Project management including Programme and Project Management (PPM) methods and practices to manage and resolve threats to delivery.
• *Project controls
• *Planning and programming, including cost loading of programmes and calculation of SPI and CPI
• *Signalling and engineering technology

General Skills:

• *Strong oral and written communication skills.
• *Strong people management skills.
• *Well developed listening skills, tact and diplomacy, and the ability to manage stakeholders.
• *Excellent numeracy and data analysis skills
• *Stakeholder and supplier relationship management skills

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