Commercial Assurance Manager

About DFT Operator

Join Our Team at DFTO

DFTO is the government’s public sector rail owning group. Its purpose is to bring all currently privately-owned train operators into public ownership in advance of the creation of Great British Railways in 2027 - and deliver improvements in the here and now by unifying and integrating train operations under common public ownership.

DFTO has over 30,000 employees, runs over 11,000 services a day and delivers over 930 million customer journeys across its networks every year. 7,000 people joined the railway family in the last year

Major improvements are being delivered by DFTO train operators (TOCs) that are already under public ownership - these are LNER, Northern, TransPennine Express (TPE), Southeast... and others.

We work closely with the DfT but operate independently with our own governance and leadership teams. Our priority is ensuring efficient, dependable rail services for everyone.

Primary Purpose of Job:

The Commercial Assurance Manager is responsible for supporting and leading, when appropriate, effective and independent commercial assurance, governance oversight and procurement assurance support across DfTO's portfolio. The role ensures commercial activities are compliant, robust, transparent and deliver value whilst supporting strategic objectives across Train Operating Companies (TOCs).

The postholder will support and lead, when appropriate, assurance activities, support commercial governance frameworks, conduct reviews, provide commercial insight and work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders to strengthen controls, improve processes and drive continuous improvement across DfTO's portfolio.

The Commercial Assurance Manager will also contribute to the development of Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) and supply-chain risk management strategies, working across their full lifecycle and supporting the delivery of associated activities and objectives, as required.

Key Responsibilities:

Commercial Assurance & Governance

• Support and lead, as and when appropriate, commercial assurance reviews across rail procurements, commercial projects, contract management activities and governance processes.
• Support and provide, when appropriate, independent challenge to ensure commercial decisions are compliant, evidence-based and aligned with organisational objectives.
• Support the development and maintenance of commercial assurance frameworks, governance controls and reporting mechanisms.
• Support governance boards through preparation of assurance reports, assessments and recommendations.
• Monitor implementation of assurance actions and continuous improvement initiatives.

Procurement Assurance

• Review procurement strategies, sourcing approaches and award recommendations to ensure compliance with organisational policies and relevant procurement legislation.
• Support assurance of TOCs procurement activities.
• Review procurement documentation, governance submissions and commercial evaluation approaches.
• Ensure procurement processes are transparent, auditable and deliver value.
• Support the development and maintenance of assurance document library (including templates for sourcing strategies, contract award, goods and services agreements d procurement and evaluation templates).

Commercial Risk & Controls

• Support the identification, assessment and monitoring of commercial, contractual and supply chain risks when appropriate.
• Maintain assurance oversight of commercial controls and risk mitigation activities as required.

Rail Commercial Analysis & Insight

• Support commercial strategy development through analysis of market, supplier and contract data.
• Support and provide, when appropriate, assurance input into TOCs procurements activities using lesson learnt and ongoing continuous development of commercial and assurance processes.

Process Improvement & Policy Development

• Support development and continuous improvement of commercial policies, procedures and templates.
• Review commercial processes against relevant legislation and Government standards and processes.
• Promote best practice across procurement, contract management and supplier governance activities.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Build effective relationships across DfTO, TOCs, suppliers and wider rail industry stakeholders.
• Collaborate with procurement, legal, finance, operations and wider governance teams.
• Provide support in and commercial advice and guidance to senior managers and programme teams.
• Represent Commercial Assurance at internal governance forums and project boards.

Supplier Relationship Management

• Contribute to the development of Supplier Relationship Management strategies and work throughout the strategies’ lifecycles.

Knowledge, Skills, Experience & Technical Qualifications:

Commercial Assurance & Governance

• Knowledge of commercial assurance, governance controls and compliance activities.
• Ability to support and provide independent challenge and constructive scrutiny of commercial decisions.
• Experience in supporting and developing assurance and governance processes.

Procurement & Contract Management

• Understanding of procurement principles, strategy and sourcing approaches and commercial contract management.
• Experience in reviewing sourcing strategies, tenders, supplier evaluations and contract awards.
• Understanding of supplier governance and contract performance monitoring.
• Experience in developing, implementing and functioning procurement strategies and lifecycles.

Risk Management

• Ability to identify, assess, monitor and support commercial, contractual and procurement risks.
• Experience operating within regulated and highly scrutinised environments.
• Understanding of assurance methodologies, requirements and internal controls.

• Ability to identify, assess, monitor and support commercial, contractual and procurement risks.
• Experience operating within regulated and highly scrutinised environments.
• Understanding of assurance methodologies, requirements and internal controls.

Commercial Analysis & Reporting

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex commercial information.
• Experience using data to identify trends, risks and opportunities.
• Ability to prepare quality reports and briefing materials for senior stakeholders.

Communication & Influencing

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to communicate complex commercial issues clearly and credibly.
• Stakeholder engagement and influencing capability.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Ability to lead assurance reviews and cross-functional work and workstreams.
• Experience working collaboratively with diverse stakeholder groups.
• Commitment to continuous improvement and professional development.

Supplier Relationship Management

• Experience in developing, implementing procurement strategies and Supplier Relationship Management strategies.

DFTO Behaviours/ Competencies – You will need to demonstrate the following behaviours which align with our DFTO Cultural Pillars:

Commercial Assurance & Governance

• Knowledge of commercial assurance frameworks, governance controls and compliance activities.
• Ability to challenge and provide constructive scrutiny of commercial decisions.
• Experience in supporting assurance and governance processes and policies.

Procurement & Contract Management

• Understanding of public procurement principles and commercial contract management.
• Understanding of sourcing strategies, tenders, supplier evaluations and contract awards.
• Understanding of supplier governance and contract performance monitoring.

Risk Management

• Ability to identify, assess and mitigate commercial and procurement risks.
• Experience in operating within regulated and highly scrutinised environments.
• Understanding of assurance methodologies, audit requirements and internal controls.

Data Analysis & Reporting

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex commercial information.
• Experience using data to identify trends, risks and opportunities.
• Ability to prepare quality reports and briefing materials for stakeholders.

Communication & Influencing

• Good written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to communicate complex commercial issues clearly and credibly.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing capability.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Ability to lead routine and support more complex assurance reviews and cross-functional work and workstreams.
• Experience working collaboratively with diverse stakeholder groups.
• Commitment to continuous improvement and professional development.

Supplier Relationship Management

• Experience in development, implementation and lifecycles of procurement strategies and strategic Supplier Relationship Management. (Desirable but not essential)

Vacancy Details:

Duration: Fixed Term up to 29th October 2027 contract/secondmentLocation: We currently have officesin London Waterloo, York or ManchesterSalary from: £63,600 to £69,600
Closing date: 7th October2026

DFTO Location:

DFTO currently have office locations in London, Birmingham and Leeds and individuals can be based from any of the three locations. Whilst we do offer hybrid working there are sometimes demands to travel to the other office locations.

DFTO Benefits:

Annual Leave: Starting at 25 days and rising to an additional day per year of service completed within the first 5 completed years up to a maximum of 5 additional (30 days)

DC Pension Scheme: 10% Employer contribution, 5% Employee contribution

Opportunities to learn and network across the wider industry

Additional Information…

Disclaimer: Candidates applying for this position on a secondment basis must inform their line manager prior to submitting their application. This is to ensure transparency and facilitate any necessary discussions regarding workload and responsibilities.

About our people and the recruitment process - We're an inclusive employer of choice and we welcome applications from everyone! We encourage our colleagues to work flexibly, as we know traditional working patterns don't always fit. If you want to consider working flexibly, just let us know and we'll do our best to help and invest in your career with us, whilst you have a healthy work life balance.

Contact: If you have any questions or reasonable adjustments, please contact Dean.palmer@dftoperator.co.uk