Commercial Manager

Who We Are

Network Rail operates and maintains the railway infrastructure 24/7, 365 days a year. Our purpose is to connect people and goods with where they need to be, and our vision is for a simpler, better, greener railway.

We're proud to be named as one of the Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equity for the fourth year running. Find out more from our people here.

Our North West route covers Cheshire to Cumbria, including key cities such as Liverpool and Manchester, and destinations such as Blackpool and the Lake District. Major stations include Crewe, Liverpool Lime Street, Preston, and Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria.

This busy region sees 1.3 million daily passengers and moves 700,000 tonnes of freight weekly, with 571 stations making up a quarter of Britain’s rail network.

In the North West & Central Region, we’re proud to be building a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We know that inclusive teams make better decisions, drive innovation, and help us create a safer, more accessible railway for everyone. Even if you don’t meet every single requirement, we encourage you to apply.

We are looking for a commercially driven and detail‑oriented professional to play a vital role in ensuring the financial and contractual success of major projects across Network Rail. In this role, you will provide expert oversight of project costs and commercial performance, delivering robust forecasting, reporting and analysis that supports confident decision‑making at every stage.

Working closely with project and programme teams, you will identify risks and opportunities early, challenge assumptions, and help shape commercially sound outcomes. You’ll take the lead in managing contractor relationships, from contract valuations and payments through to negotiations, change control and final account settlements, ensuring everything is delivered in line with governance, contractual obligations and best practice.

Alongside this, you will offer proactive advice, support continuous improvement, and contribute to smarter, more efficient ways of working. This is a fantastic opportunity to make a real impact by driving value, strengthening commercial discipline and helping deliver projects that matter.

Safe behaviour is a requirement of working for Network Rail. Applicants should be able to demonstrate their awareness of our safety vision.

• Salary:
  Starting at £43,588 and increasing to £53,167
• 28‑day annual leave with the option to buy and sell days (contract dependant)
• 5 days paid volunteer or carers leave
• My Benefits platform – giving national and local retail discount
• A range of discounted offers including childcare vouchers, healthcare offers, cycle‑to‑work, healthcare club discounted membership and other benefits
• Subsidies of up to 75% on rail and underground season tickets
• 75% discount on leisure travel (discretionary)
• A choice of contributory pension schemes

In order to be successful in this role, we would like you to have/to be:

• Demonstrable experience in commercially managing investment projects
• Demonstrable relevant experience
• Good understanding of railway and construction industry forms of contract
• Good understanding of the construction/railway industry
• Good negotiation skills

We would also like but it isn’t crucial to have/to be:

• Educated to degree standard in a related subject
• Membership of a relevant professional institute, chartered status
• Significant experience of working within a generalist commercial environment
• Awareness of industry issues

Network Rail adheres to a structured pay framework; any salary offered will be within the pay range advertised.

Network Rail is a Disability Confident Leader and wants to make the most of the skills and talents disabled people bring to the workplace.

All offers of employment are conditional upon satisfactory completion of pre‑employment checks.