Census Commercial Lead

Are you ready to help shape the future of the UK? Do you thrive in a fast-paced environment, enjoy working with a wide range of people, and want your work to have a lasting impact? If so, this is an opportunity to be part of one of the most important and influential programmes in the country.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK's largest producer of official statistics, employing over 5,000 colleagues who deliver the trusted data that informs decisions at every level of society. From measuring economic growth and understanding population change to shaping policies on housing, healthcare, education and public services, our work helps government, businesses and communities make informed decisions that affect millions of lives.

At the heart of this sits Census 2031 one of the UK's largest and most complex transformation and data collection programmes. Taking place once every decade, the Census provides a unique snapshot of everyone living in England and Wales, generating information that influences policy, funding decisions and public services for years to come. Building on the success of Census 2021, we're developing innovative approaches to ensure every person, household and community is represented, creating a richer and more inclusive picture of our nation.

These opportunities sit within the Census 2031 programme, spanning a number of key business areas including Design & Integration, Communications & Technology, and Field Collection & Follow Up. Together, these teams are responsible for designing and delivering the Census, developing the services and technology that support it, communicating and engaging with the public, and ensuring every household has the opportunity to take part.

This is an exciting time to join the programme. You'll play a key role in delivering work that will help shape how the UK understands its population for the next decade and beyond. Whether you're bringing established expertise or a fresh perspective, you'll be part of a collaborative and supportive team that values innovation, continuous improvement and diverse thinking.

Role Allowance

This is an exciting opportunity to lead a challenging and time-critical commercial portfolio within one of the UK's largest and most complex programmes. You will bring significant commercial expertise, a strong track record of delivering successful outcomes and the ability to operate confidently at a senior level.

Working closely with operational teams and key stakeholders, you will ensure commercial considerations are at the heart of planning and decision-making. You will lead the development and implementation of procurement and sourcing strategies that meet organisational requirements, deliver value for money and support programme objectives.

You will provide expert commercial advice across the procurement lifecycle, ensuring compliance with UK Statistics Authority governance requirements, UK procurement legislation and relevant regulations. The role requires strong stakeholder management skills, enabling you to influence decisions, manage risk and drive commercial outcomes that support successful delivery of Census 2031.

You will be accountable for all commercial activities within your area of responsibility, building and maintaining strong relationships with internal stakeholders, customers, suppliers and delivery partners. Through effective engagement and collaboration, you will secure value for money while supporting the delivery of organisational objectives.

You will use your commercial expertise to develop innovative sourcing strategies, applying knowledge of market conditions and commercial drivers to identify opportunities, manage risk and deliver effective solutions. This will include market research and supplier engagement activities to strengthen competition, understand supplier capability and maximise opportunities for ONS.

The role involves considering complex financial, legal and commercial issues and implementing robust contract and supplier performance management arrangements. You will lead the ongoing management of key contracts and strategic suppliers, ensuring that performance, delivery, risk, innovation and value-for-money commitments are actively managed throughout the contract lifecycle.

As a senior leader, you will identify the resources required to deliver the Census commercial pipeline and take responsibility for the performance, development and wellbeing of your team. You will provide leadership and direction, creating an environment where colleagues are empowered to deliver high-quality outcomes.

You will also work closely with other government departments and commercial professionals, sharing best practice and ensuring that ONS continues to adopt effective and innovative commercial approaches that support the successful delivery of Census 2031.

Responsibilities

• Provides Commercial protection, ensuring compliance to legal, regulatory and government requirements.
• Understands market and commercial drivers and motives in practice and executes strategies to exploit these. Make decisions and recommendations from a wide range of incomplete and complex evidence and data.
• Manages and forecasts demand, setting out the timeline, risks, mitigations and deliverables. involving other professionals and teams when needed.
• Provides effective leadership and guidance to a commercial team managing a large diverse supplier base, setting clear direction, engaging with staff to bring the vision to life, coaching and developing staff to improve personal/team effectiveness, dealing with difficult situations and championing new ways of working including flexibly and innovatively to drive and implement change.
• Demonstrating outstanding people skills, setting and holding to account individuals goals, supporting staff to be the best they can be through coaching and mentoring and sharing expertise and knowledge, promoting a culture of continuous improvement and succession planning of the commercial profession.
• Establishes a culture where commercial skills are valued and promotes commercial awareness across the organisation.

Essential Skills Criteria:

Candidates will need to demonstrate:

• Broad knowledge of public procurement regulations (including the procurement act, 2023) and their practical application, providing credible and authoritative commercial leadership that builds stakeholder confidence.
• Strong commercial acumen and demonstrable experience of managing contracts and supplier/partner relationships across a broad range of services.
• In depth knowledge and experience of negotiating with partners/suppliers and stakeholders to achieve satisfactory outcomes.
• Have strong interpersonal skills and demonstrate experience of working collaboratively with and influencing a range of diverse stakeholders through a range of communication channels.

Qualifications