Senior Commercial Manager

Shape high‑stakes deals, safeguard delivery and grow profitable outcomes.

As our Senior Commercial Manager, you’ll sit at the heart of complex bids and live delivery, balancing risk, margin and pace. You’ll bring sharp commercial judgement to scenario planning and resource modelling, translate policy into pragmatic choices, and ensure contractual compliance from bid through to service. Whether advising leaders or coaching the team, your decisions will directly influence profitability and strengthen the commercial integrity of everything we deliver.

We’re a people‑first organisation, recognised in the UK’s Best Workplaces™, where great work and purpose go hand in hand.

This role is hybrid, with the ideal candidate being based in the South East, with some travel to Portsmouth and London.

• Lead all commercial, contractual and supplier management activities across a complex portfolio, ensuring full compliance with Sopra Steria’s commercial frameworks and driving commercially sound decision‑making.
• Shape, assure and influence major bids and proposals, working with sales, delivery and finance to qualify opportunities, design commercial models, negotiate terms and protect margin.
• Build and maintain strong client relationships, representing the commercial function in governance forums, resolving issues swiftly and identifying opportunities to improve profitability and mitigate contractual or commercial risk.
• Oversee contract performance and service delivery alignment, ensuring obligations, service levels and commercial controls are met while driving continuous improvement and maintaining high client satisfaction.
• Proactively identify, assess and manage commercial and operational risks across bids and live contracts, implementing practical mitigation plans to minimise exposure to disputes, claims or financial loss.
• Lead and coach teams to deliver high‑quality commercial outcomes, providing expert guidance on financial modelling, forecasting, billing, cost control and scenario planning to ensure robust commercial health.

• Significant experience leading commercial, contract and supplier management across complex client environments, with strong knowledge of commercial frameworks and contractual compliance.
• Proven background supporting major bids and business development activity, including opportunity qualification, commercial modelling, negotiation and shaping large, high‑risk proposals.
• Strong client‑facing experience, with the ability to build relationships at senior levels, resolve disputes, and identify opportunities to improve margin and reduce commercial or contractual risk.
• Demonstrable experience assuring delivery performance against commercial plans, driving continuous improvement, and ensuring service levels, invoicing and compliance are met.
• Strong risk management capability, with a track record of identifying, assessing and mitigating commercial risks across both bids and live contracts.
• High level of financial literacy, including experience of forecasting, billing, cost control and interpreting complex financial models to support commercial decision‑making.

• Experience with in BPO, pensions payroll or defence environments would be highly advantageous.

If you are interested in this role but not sure if your skills and experience are exactly what we’re looking for, please do apply, we’d love to hear from you!

Employment Type
:
Full‑time

Location
:
London/South East

Security Clearance Level
: SC

Internal Recruiter
:
Amy

Salary
:
Up to £95k depending on experience

Benefits
:
Performance related bonus, £6,600 car allowance, 25 days annual leave with the option to buy additional days, private medical, life assurance, pension, and generous flexible benefits fund

Although this role is advertised as full‑time, we believe that flexibility at work can promote work/life balance, increase your motivation, reduce stress and improves performance and productivity. We support different ways of working and can offer a range of flexible working arrangements. So, if you’re interested and need to work flexibly, we encourage you to apply and talk to us about what might be…