Head of Commercial

Lanes Group is a leading nationwide utility services provider with over 4,500 dedicated employees. Our diverse subsidiaries drive our success across various sectors, contributing to a remarkable turnover of over £500 million. We are committed to excellence and innovation, ensuring we provide industry leading services to our clients and stakeholders.

We are seeking an experienced and commercially driven Head of Commercial to lead commercial performance across our Yorkshire Water Contract.

As a Senior Leader, you will be responsible for setting the commercial strategy, driving financial performance and ensuring robust governance across contracts, programmes and operational activities. Working closely with Yorkshire Water and internal stakeholders, you will provide strategic commercial leadership to maximise value, manage risk and support the successful delivery of business objectives.

You will be responsible for protecting commercial entitlement, enhancing profitability, strengthening client relationships and embedding commercial best practice across the portfolio.

As a key member of the senior leadership team, you will play a critical role in supporting the successful delivery of Yorkshire Water's investment programmes, fostering collaborative client relationships and developing commercial capability across the organisation. You will lead and mentor commercial teams, driving a culture of commercial excellence, accountability and continuous improvement.

• Lead the commercial strategy across the Yorkshire Water framework(s), ensuring alignment with client objectives, contractual requirements and business goals.
• Drive commercial performance, profitability and sustainable business growth.
• Support the successful delivery of AMP investment programmes through effective commercial leadership and governance.
• Develop and implement commercial processes, controls and governance standards.
• Support strategic planning, budgeting, forecasting and investment decisions.
• Identify opportunities to drive efficiency, value creation and continuous improvement across the portfolio.
• Provide commercial leadership and direction to operational, delivery and finance teams.
• Promote a culture of accountability, commercial awareness and continuous improvement.

• Establish and maintain robust commercial governance across all areas of delivery.
• Lead commercial reviews, CVRs and performance meetings.
• Ensure accurate reporting of revenue, costs, margin, cash flow, risk and opportunities.
• Drive commercial compliance, audit readiness and contractual best practice.
• Monitor commercial performance against budgets, forecasts and strategic targets.
• Identify trends and implement improvement initiatives to enhance commercial outcomes.
• Support business-wide commercial risk management and governance initiatives.

• Provide senior leadership on NEC3 and NEC4 contract management and administration.
• Ensure contractual obligations, entitlements and risks are effectively managed across the portfolio.
• Oversee change management, Compensation Events, Early Warnings and commercial negotiations.
• Support dispute avoidance and resolution through proactive contract management.
• Drive best practice in commercial governance, record keeping and contract administration.
• Support procurement strategies, subcontract management and supply chain performance.
• Provide strategic guidance on complex commercial matters and contractual issues.
• Lead the commercial management of profitability, cash performance and financial risk.
• Oversee forecasting, budgeting, revenue recognition and cost management activities.
• Drive cash recovery, margin improvement and value creation initiatives.
• Provide strategic commercial analysis to support business and operational decision-making.
• Support growth opportunities, framework development and mobilisation activities.
• Identify and implement opportunities to improve commercial performance and long-term value.

• Act as the senior commercial representative for Lanes Group on our Yorkshire Water Frameworks.
• Develop and maintain strong strategic relationships with Yorkshire Water commercial, programme and operational stakeholders.
• Lead commercial negotiations, performance reviews and commercial governance meetings.
• Support collaborative working and long-term partnership objectives.
• Act as the senior escalation point for complex commercial matters where required.
• Work closely with Operations, Delivery, Finance, Procurement and Senior Leadership teams.
• Influence and challenge stakeholders to achieve positive commercial outcomes while maintaining strong client relationships.

• Lead, mentor and develop a high-performing commercial function.
• Provide leadership and support to Commercial Managers, Quantity Surveyors and Assistant Quantity Surveyors.
• Set clear objectives, performance expectations and development…