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General Information

Salary
The national salary range is £35,335 - £37,847, London salary range is £40,014 - £42,859. Your salary will be dependent on your base location
Working Pattern
Full Time, Flexible Working
Vacancy Approach
Internal
Location
National
Region
National
Closing Date
04-Jun-2026
Post Type
Permanent
Civil Service Grade
HEO
Number of jobs available
3
Reserve List
12 Months
Job ID
17838

Descriptions & requirements

Job description

Job title: Commissioning Manager

Directorate: Chief Financial Officer

Workstream: Finance

About us

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales. Our roles support our service users and colleagues, where people and businesses access potentially life-changing justice.  We’re looking for individuals who are committed to public service and want to make a difference in people’s lives in delivering justice. If you’re interested in developing a career with a real purpose, please apply.

About the role

The HMCTS commissioning function oversees and leads procurement of complex and/or large-scale contracts, including those of a transformative and innovative nature. The function works closely with Change, Commercial, Operations, Finance and CSD contract management teams to procure complex out-sourced services for HMCTS and the wider MOJ when appropriate.

As part of the Contracted Services Division’s commissioning function, the commissioning manager reports to the Senior Commissioning Manager and will be responsible for supporting the Senior Commissioning Manager, and the wider team by leading specific work strands with a focus on supporting discovery and procurement activity for new contracts. You will help shape and futureproof business critical services within a complex environment. There is a strong focus on innovation and delivering service improvements.

Please refer to the attached role profile for a comprehensive overview of the role.

Who are we looking for? (Person Specification)

The ideal candidate for this position should demonstrate:

  • Support end-to-end commissioning and procurement activity, from discovery and pre-procurement through to contract management.
  • Identify risks, issues, and inefficiencies in existing contracts, driving continuous improvement and innovation.
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders across a complex delivery landscape.
  • Gather and analyse data and business intelligence to inform decision-making and future service design.
  • Support the design of future commissioned services and next-generation contract requirements.
  • Work collaboratively with project teams and lead working groups to deliver defined outcomes.
  • Provide clear reporting and insights to senior leadership on progress, risks and opportunities.
  • Lead and support colleagues through change, promoting inclusive and effective ways of working.

Essential Skills

  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to assess complex issues, identify risks, and evaluate options to inform decision-making.
  • Experience of improving services or contracts by identifying inefficiencies and implementing practical, innovative solutions.
  • Ability to work with a high degree of autonomy, managing priorities and delivering outcomes with minimal direction.
  • Experience of building and maintaining effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, influencing across organisational boundaries.
  • Strong communication skills, with the ability to present complex information clearly and provide advice to senior stakeholders.
  • Experience of supporting or contributing to procurement, commissioning, or service design activity (e.g. requirements gathering, pre-procurement, or delivery phases).
  • Ability to operate in ambiguity, developing new ways of working where processes or guidance may not yet exist.
  • Experience of managing or contributing to projects, working collaboratively to deliver objectives and outputs.
  • Ability to assess and manage risks appropriately, including escalation and protecting organisational reputation.

The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates 

Desirable Skills

  • Experience of working within a commissioning, procurement, or contract management environment (e.g. HMCTS, MoJ, or wider public sector).
  • Experience of defining or shaping future service models or next-generation contracts.
  • Experience of leading working groups or matrix managing staff across projects or programmes.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, or support others through change, fostering an inclusive and high-performing environment.
  • Knowledge of governance structures and decision-making frameworks within large organisations.
  • Experience of engaging with cross-government or external stakeholders to inform service delivery or procurement activity.
  • Awareness of innovation approaches, including the use of technology to improve service delivery

Application Stage

Please submit:

  • An anonymised CV. Please ensure your CV is uploaded in a simple format to prevent any formatting issues when it's downloaded or reviewed. 
Your CV should:
  • Be succinct and clear.
  • Be factually accurate – You must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application, is truthful and factually accurate. Please note that plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own. 
  • Include your qualifications, highlighting any modules or accreditation relevant to the role.
  • Include your relevant experience, providing dates. 
  • Provide detail – we are interested in how your knowledge, skills, and experience demonstrate the capabilities we are looking for in this role.

  • Statement of suitability demonstrating how you meet the essential criteria (up to 750 words).
Your Statement of Suitability should be no more than 750 words and should give us real life examples of how your skills and experience match those needed for this role. Consider addressing particular points in the person specification requirements and key responsibilities. We recommend following the STAR format. 

You must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note that plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.  

Interview Stage

If successful at sift, you will be invited to attend a remote interview, via Microsoft teams. During your interview, you will be assessed against the following Civil Service Success Profiles which will include:

  • Behaviour Question(s) in relation to:

  • Working Together
  • Delivering at Pace
  • Communicating and Influencing

  • Strengths will also be assessed however these are not shared in advance

Further details

The post is eligible for an accountancy allowance, currently £2000, for fully qualified CCAB accountants for both National and London base locations. This specialist allowance is non-contractual and subject to annual review. 

Travel requirements

There will be a requirement to travel occasionally in any HMCTS site in line with business needs.

Your preferred base location within your region with your line manager at onboarding stage

About our benefits

We reward our people for their hard work and commitment. We have a number of family

friendly and flexible working polices that will help you achieve a healthy work-life balance. In addition, we offer a range of employee benefits which include generous annual leave, a highly competitive contributory pension scheme, childcare benefits, season ticket and bicycle loans.

Proud to Serve. Proud to keep justice going.

Additional Information

Working Arrangements & Further Information

The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.

For nationally advertised roles, the successful candidate(s) will be appointed to a MoJ office location, which may include their nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. This will be discussed and agreed on the completion of pre-employment checks.

Some of MoJ’s terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.

Standard full time working hours are 37 hours per week excluding breaks which are unpaid. HMPPS welcomes part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns, where they meet the demands of the role and business needs. All applications for part-time, flexible and job-sharing working patterns will be considered in accordance with the HMPPS’ Flexible Working policy.

If you are a current NPS employee, this vacancy may be available on a Loan basis for up to 2 years. Applications are invited from suitable qualified staff.

The Loan/Secondment is subject to the approval of the selected candidate's Business Unit, which should be obtained before confirmation of appointment.

Benefits

Annual Leave

-The holiday year runs from 1 March. If you work a non standard work pattern your leave entitlement may be expressed in either hours or days as appropriate. Leave entitlement is calculated on a pro-rata basis and you will be advised of your actual entitlement on appointment. If you were appointed internally and your leave was previously calculated in days, this will continue to be the case.

Bank, Public and Privilege Holidays

-You are entitled to 9 days (66 hours 36 minutes) in recognition of bank, public and privilege holidays. These hours are added to your annual leave allowance. There is a requirement to work some public and bank holidays subject to your shift pattern and the operational needs of the establishment

Pension

-The Civil Service offers a choice of two pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Work Life Balance

HM Prison & Probation Service  (HMPPS) is keen to encourage alternative working arrangements. Work life balance provides greater opportunities for staff to work more flexibly wherever managers and establishments can accommodate requests to do so. HMPPS offers flexible working subject to completion of a satisfactory probationary period and NVQ

Season Ticket Advance

-After two months’ service, you’ll be eligible to apply for a season ticket advance to purchase a quarterly or longer-period season ticket for travel between home and your place of work

Childcare Vouchers

For any moves across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to carry on claiming childcare vouchers

Training

HMPPS is committed to staff development and offers a range of training and development opportunities, including areas such as Equality and Diversity, Dealing with Challenging Behaviour, Suicide Prevention and Anti Bullying Programmes

-There are opportunities to access promotion programmes and HMPPS provides a variety of training appropriate to individual posts

-All staff receive security and diversity training and an individual induction programme into their new roles

Eligibility

-All candidates are subject to security and identity checks prior to taking up post

-All external candidates are subject to 6 months probation. Internal candidates are subject to probation if they have not already served a probationary period within HMPPS

-All staff are required to declare whether they are a member of a group or organisation which the HMPPS considers to be racist

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order

As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns.

You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the TBS Recruitment Enquiries Team.

For more information on applying for a role as a candidate with a disability or long-term condition, please watch our animated videos.

Diversity & Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces.
For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans

Redeployment Interview Scheme

Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ is committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.

MoJ is able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidates will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.

Civil Service Nationality Rules

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

  • UK nationals
  • nationals of the Republic of Ireland
  • nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
  • individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
  • Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

Reserve list

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles.

Contact Information

MoJ:

If you require any assistance please call 0345 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Please quote the job reference: 17838

HMPPS

If you require any assistance please call 0345 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Please quote the job reference: 17838

Allowance

The post is eligible for an accountancy allowance, currently £2000, for fully qualified CCAB accountants for both National and London base locations. This specialist allowance is non-contractual and subject to annual review. 

Application form stage assessments

Experience
We will assess your experience for this role via the following methods
CV or Work History, Statement of Suitability
Evidence of Experience
CV or Work History, Statement of Suitability

Interview stage assessments

Interview Dates
Interviews expected w/c 6th July but this could be subject to change.
Behaviours
Working Together
Delivering at Pace
Communicating and Influencing
Strengths
Strengths will be assessed but these are not shared in advance. To learn more about Strengths and how they are assessed please click here.
Level of security checks required
DBS Basic

Use of Artificial Intelligence (Al)

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.  Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.