Commercial Manager

Overview

Talent Acquisition Lead at Affinity Water is seeking a highly motivated Quantity Surveyor with a strong Commercial Assurance focus to join our Commercial team.

About Us

Affinity Water is the UKs largest water-only supplier, providing sustainable, high-quality water to 3.85million customers across the Southeast of England. We are on a mission to redefine the way water companies connect with their customers and communities, and to make better use of water and safeguard the local environment now and in the future.

The role

You will provide commercial support and oversight across a portfolio of projects, with a particular focus on River Restoration and Above Ground Assets though your remit will extend across other programmes and delivery areas as required.

You will work collaboratively with internal stakeholders and delivery partners to ensure robust commercial governance, value for money, and effective contract management across the lifecycle of capital and operational projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the commercial point of contact for River Restoration and Above Ground Assets workstreams.
• Provide end-to-end commercial assurance across the project lifecycle—from procurement strategy through to final account.
• Support the development, monitoring, and assurance of project budgets, forecasts, and performance metrics.
• Review and validate applications for payment, compensation events, variations, and contractual claims in accordance with relevant contracts (e.g., NEC3/4).
• Conduct commercial audits and deep dives to ensure compliance with contract terms, procurement policies, and best practice.
• Work closely with project managers, delivery partners, and finance teams to maintain accurate cost tracking and risk management.
• Promote early identification of commercial risks and opportunities, proposing mitigations and improvements.
• Provide commercial input into procurement exercises, contract negotiations, and strategic supplier engagement.
• Assist in producing regular commercial reporting and presenting key insights to internal governance boards.

Skills and Experience Required

• Proven experience as a Quantity Surveyor or Commercial Manager within infrastructure, utilities, or construction sectors.
• Strong understanding of contract management principles, especially NEC suite of contracts.
• Experience in commercial assurance, auditing, or financial governance.
• Proficiency in cost control, forecasting, and commercial reporting tools.
• Ability to interpret and apply commercial and contractual obligations objectively and fairly.
• Salary £30-35,000 dependant on skills and experience
• Hybrid – two days onsite in Hatfield
• Learning and development opportunities, including mentoring and a range of formal courses and open learning resources.
• Entry into the company annual bonus scheme.
• Annual leave from 23-27 days rising with length of service, and the option to purchase up to 5 extra days.
• A ‘Celebration Day’ in addition to public holidays that people can use to celebrate a religious festival or other occasion that is important to them.
• A generous \’double match pension scheme\’ that doubles the contributions you make (company contribution capped at 12%)
• We offer a range of family benefits including enhanced Maternity, Adoption, Paternity, Shared Parental Leave, Fertility Support Leave and up to 5 full or 10 half days of paid Carers Leave.
• Menopause policy and Reasonable Adjustment policy to help everyone perform at their best.
• Access to our Wellbeing Centre with support for looking after your physical and mental health.
• Discounts at a Range of Retail Outlets and on Dental and Medical Insurance through our Tap4Perks scheme.
• Up to 4 Affinity days a year to volunteer in the community.
• Life Assurance.
• Disability confident: if you need to apply in a different format, please contact us

EEO and Inclusion

Disability Confident Employer. As a Disability Confident employer, we commit to offering interviews to disabled candidates who evidence that they meet the essential criteria for the role and who opt in on the application form. We also provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure an inclusive recruitment process.

Please note that in some situations with very high volumes of applications, it may not be practical to offer interviews to everyone; we commit to a fair and proportionate approach.

Contact and Additional Information

You can find out what it’s like to work at Affinity Water through our career site. Note: URLs are not included here to maintain formatting integrity.