Head of Commercial

£80-100k plus exec package
North-West

This forward-thinking infrastructure consultancy is redefining how commercial services are delivered across major programmes.

Operating across sectors including rail, utilities, highways, housing, and local government, the business combines deep domain expertise in quantity surveying, commercial management, auditing, and project delivery with a growing digital capability that enhances client outcomes.

This has positioned the organisation as a fast-growing SME with a strong trajectory, driven by both consultancy excellence and an evolving, technology-enabled service offering.

As part of this growth, the business is seeking a Head of Commercial, a newly created leadership role with the opportunity to shape client delivery and influence the future direction of the consultancy.

The Opportunity

This is not a pure oversight role, nor is it purely delivery. It sits deliberately across the two.

You will take ownership of the commercial function across a portfolio of projects and clients, ensuring consistent, high-quality delivery, while shaping how commercial capability evolves as the business scales.

You will operate at three levels simultaneously:

• Strategic, contributing to the direction of the consultancy offering
• Portfolio, overseeing performance, risk and commercial outcomes across multiple programmes
• Delivery, maintaining technical credibility and supporting complex project environments

You will be a visible, credible leader to clients, a driver of standards internally, and a key voice in how the business grows.

The Role

The Head of Commercial is responsible for leading the commercial function across consultancy operations, ensuring strong financial, contractual and delivery performance across all projects and client accounts.

From bid stage through to final account, you will ensure that commercial governance is robust, consistent and value-driven, balancing cost control, risk management and contractual compliance with a pragmatic, solutions-led approach.

You will work closely with senior leadership to shape commercial strategy, while also engaging with internal digital and data teams to ensure alignment between consultancy delivery and evolving platform capabilities.

This is as much about building capability as it is about managing performance.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial Leadership & Strategy

• Lead the commercial function across a diverse portfolio, aligning delivery with wider business objectives
• Support senior leadership in defining commercial strategy, bid approach and growth initiatives
• Identify opportunities to enhance revenue, margin and client value through insight and innovation
• Embed consistent standards, governance and ways of working across the business

Project & Financial Oversight

• Oversee cost estimation, budgeting, forecasting and financial control across all engagements
• Ensure accurate, timely reporting of performance, including cash flow, cost to complete and profitability
• Strengthen reporting frameworks and improve data visibility across the portfolio
• Drive value engineering and cost optimisation without compromising delivery quality

Contract & Risk Management

• Provide strategic oversight of contract administration and compliance
• Lead on complex negotiations, claims and dispute resolution where required
• Identify and manage commercial risks across the full project lifecycle
• Ensure best practice across procurement, subcontractor management and governance

Client & Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as a senior, trusted advisor to key clients across major infrastructure programmes
• Build long-term relationships grounded in credibility and delivery
• Support business development activity, including bids and client growth
• Work collaboratively across internal teams to align delivery with evolving client needs

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor and develop commercial and quantity surveying teams
• Provide technical oversight and guidance on complex commercial issues
• Build a high-performance culture centred on accountability and collaboration
• Support progression, capability development and succession planning

Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement

• Ensure compliance with legal, regulatory and industry standards
• Promote ethical, best-practice commercial delivery
• Drive continuous improvement across processes, systems and ways of working
• Contribute to the integration of data-led approaches into commercial operations

Skills & Capabilities

Essential

• Deep commercial expertise across cost management, financial control and contract administration
• Strong analytical capability, with the ability to interpret complex data and translate it into insight
• Proven leadership experience, with the ability to build and develop high-performing teams
• Excellent stakeholder management and negotiation skills
• Comfortable operating at both strategic and delivery levels
• Highly organised, adaptable and effective in a fast-paced, evolving environment

Desirable

• Experience with cost benchmarking, analytics or value optimisation
• Exposure to technology-enabled or multi-offering consultancy environments

Experience & Qualifications

Essential

• Minimum of 5 years experience as a QS, preferably as a senior QS
• Degree in Quantity Surveying, Construction Management or a related discipline
• Significant experience in commercial management within infrastructure
• Track record of managing commercial performance across multiple projects or portfolios
• Experience leading and developing teams
• Strong client-facing experience across complex programmes

Desirable

• Chartered status (e.g. MRICS) or working towards
• Experience within a consultancy or growth-stage SME
• Exposure to digital or data-driven commercial systems

The Proposition

If the Senior Quantity Surveyor is the technical engine, and the Commercial Manager is the portfolio driver, then the Head of Commercial sets the direction, ensuring the engine runs efficiently, the journey is commercially sound, and the destination aligns with the broader ambitions of a business in motion.

This is an opportunity to step into a role with real influence, not just over projects and clients, but over how a consultancy evolves, scales and defines its next chapter.

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