Commercial Director

Overview

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Commercial Director to join our Roads senior leadership team (SLT) at Costain where you will be accountable for the commercial team and function across this £200m account, with plans to grow to £400m. You will be a dynamic leader who will be integral to shaping and delivering against a robust five year business plan to strengthen Costain’s position with National Highways, Local Authorities and Transport for London.

This Commercial Director role is a strategic leadership position within the roads portfolio. The successful candidate will report to the Commercial Director for Transportation Division and will work closely with the Roads Sector Director. Developing strong client relationships with client operational and commercial directors will be a key element of the role.

• Providing leadership, guidance and support to the commercial team including motivating, inspiring and developing the skills and competencies of commercial staff
• Working with the Sector Director to prepare, implement and closely monitor delivery of the business unit strategy
• Accountable for the implementation of effective commercial strategy, commercial management and optimal contract recovery and ensuring a consistent approach to commercial issues across the business unit in line with group requirements
• Delivering financial results in line with agreed targets and working with the SLT to develop and implement a strategy to enable stretch financial targets to be realised
• Accountable for the implementation of the company’s commercial assurance programme and ensuring compliance with company procedures and any contract specific requirements
• Overseeing and setting the commercial strategy in all work winning pursuits
• Overall accountability for the commercial elements of supply chain management (including supply chain contract administration) which should be consistent with group requirements
• Review of EIP submissions and ensuring the commercial robustness of tender offerings in accordance with the company’s commercial work winning process/governances
• Working with Finance to ensure that a cash management strategy is in place on every project/contract to maximise cash flow
• Accountable for ensuring appropriate commercial records are maintained in line with the contract requirements and oversee the resolution of any contractual issues, directly intervening as and when required
• Overall accountability for all matters relating to insurances relevant to the business unit in line with group requirements
• Accountable for interfacing with other disciplines to enable optimal solutions to be established
• Accountable for ensuring that commercial activities support the company’s strategic priorities
• Accountable for representing the company’s interests and, where applicable, either acting as the company’s representative, or ensuring that competent company personnel are appointed to represent the company’s interests, on joint venture management boards
• Accountable for ensuring that a robust succession plan is in place for commercial staff within the business unit, reflecting the wider group commercial resource requirements
• Accountable for satisfactory commercial close out of completed projects/contracts and capturing/sharing lessons learnt
• Collectively responsible as part of the leadership team for providing health, safety and wellbeing leadership across the highways sector in Costain
• Collectively responsible as part of the leadership team to lead by example in terms of the desired sector behaviours that underpin the Costain culture and core values

• Extensive and well documented post-graduate commercial experience in the construction industry with demonstrable and proven track record of achievement
• Demonstrable and proven financial and commercial acumen and a track record of resolving complicated commercial issues
• A strategic and assured approach, logical thought process and a methodical way of working
• The ability to influence/lead minds and to generally demonstrate leadership qualities
• A creative, strategic and innovative approach to problem-solving
• The ability to set…