At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead commercial management for high-value highways and transport projects.
- Company: Join Cambridgeshire County Council, a diverse and inclusive workplace.
- Benefits: Enjoy flexible holidays, wellbeing packages, and professional development opportunities.
- Other info: Be part of a supportive team that values diversity and inclusion.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on infrastructure while developing your leadership skills.
- Qualifications: Experience in NEC contract management and strong analytical skills required.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.
This is a rare opportunity for an experienced NEC Commercial Manager to take strategic ownership of commercial outcomes across complex, high-value highways and transport infrastructure programmes. We are seeking an experienced NEC Commercial Manager to lead commercial, contractual, and financial assurance activities across a portfolio of Highways & Transport projects. You’ll bring expertise in effective NEC contract management under both NEC3 and NEC forms of contract, business analysis and commercial assurance, helping to drive improved value, robust contract performance and smarter delivery models across our Highways programmes.
This is a pivotal role supporting the delivery of technically complex programmes within our Highways & Transportation service, ensuring strong commercial governance and high-quality cost assurance. This role also carries significant influence, working collaboratively with senior leaders, partners and stakeholders to ensure consistency, transparency and strong commercial outcomes across the directorate. You will act as a senior commercial advisor to project teams, internal stakeholders, and supply chain partners, supporting the successful delivery of high-value, multifaceted infrastructure works.
What will you be doing?
- NEC Contract & Commercial Management: Demonstrate full understanding of the NEC suite of contracts, including pricing mechanisms, secondary options, payment provisions, early warning processes, and risk allocation strategies. Lead the assessment and assurance of target costs, defined cost, disallowed cost, compensation events, and quantum, ensuring robust financial governance across all projects.
- Financial & Cost Assurance: Assure complex project cost submissions from contractors, verifying build-ups, productivity assumptions, and contract compliance. Oversee commercial reporting, ensuring accuracy in forecasting, budget monitoring, cost verification and value for money analysis. Support challenge and negotiation of high-value commercial submissions and variations. Provide trusted advice on delivery models, commercial approaches and contract structures, ensuring risks, levers and opportunities are fully understood.
- People Development & Knowledge Sharing: Champion continuous improvement, culture change and skills development across the Highways & Transportation service. Lead, motivate and develop a high-performing commercial team, ensuring capability remains at the forefront of industry best practice. Lead regular commercial and contract management workshops, upskilling officers and embedding strong commercial awareness across service areas. Work closely with senior leaders to embed a commercially astute culture that improves efficiency, performance and outcomes.
- Resource & Stakeholder Management: Maintain a structured approach to resource planning, task allocation, and workflow management, ensuring efficient and transparent delivery across the team. Establish effective communication channels between client stakeholders, delivery partners, and supply chain organisations. Support collaborative working practices that strengthen relationships and improve project outcomes.
About you
You will be a commercially minded professional with strong experience in NEC3/NEC4 contract management and a deep understanding of commercial practices within highways or infrastructure based environments. We are looking for someone who can demonstrate:
- Proven experience managing NEC contracts within a local authority or similar public sector environment.
- Strong analytical capability with experience assuring technically complex project finances.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence decisions at senior levels.
- Strong leadership skills with collaborative mindset and enthusiasm for coaching, developing, and uplifting commercial capability across multidisciplinary teams.
- A proactive, structured, and solutions-focused approach to delivering commercial excellence.
Our benefits
We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage:
- A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family.
- Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro-rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme.
- Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances.
- Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings.
- Access to development opportunities, apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support your personal and professional growth.
- Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day.
- Access to Peer Support Groups through our IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network.
- Opportunities to nominate and receive Employee Recognition Awards.
- An Our Cambs Rewards account, giving you access to in-store and online discounts as well as our Car Lease and Cycle to Work schemes.
Take a look at our Employment Benefits Brochure attached to this advert to find out more.
About us
Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes. Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do. We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities.
If you don’t meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please don’t be put off. We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager, whose details can be found in the advert, to discuss any adjustment needs. Through a Guaranteed Interview Scheme, we will offer an interview to all applicants who disclose a disability and meet the essential criteria for a job vacancy. On your application form you can indicate you are disabled. Some examples of reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.
NEC Commercial Manager in Cambridge employer: ICE Recruit
ICE Recruit is an excellent employer, offering a dynamic work culture that fosters collaboration and innovation in the engineering sector. With a focus on high-value projects in Derby, employees benefit from competitive rates and the chance to work on prestigious assignments, while also enjoying opportunities for professional growth and development within a supportive environment.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land NEC Commercial Manager in Cambridge
✨Join Construction Networks
Get yourself involved in local construction networks or industry events. They often have job boards, and networking can lead to unadvertised positions. Plus, it’s a great way to meet potential future colleagues!
✨Show Off Your Skills on Site
If you’ve done any hands-on work, whether it's through internships or personal projects, make sure you can showcase it. Consider volunteering for local construction projects or getting involved in community build days; it’s a solid way to demonstrate your skills and build connections.
✨Utilise Construction Job Sites
Don't just rely on the big job boards. Look at niche construction job sites—many companies prioritise these for full-time roles. Apply through these sites, but don’t forget to reach out directly to companies you admire, like ICE Recruit, to express your interest!
✨Tailor Your Application for Full-Time Roles
Make your application stand out by tailoring it specifically for full-time positions. Highlight how your previous projects align with the company's work. At StudySmarter, we encourage you to demonstrate your commitment and long-term interest in the industry when applying for roles like NEC Commercial Manager at ICE Recruit.
We think you need these skills to ace NEC Commercial Manager in Cambridge
Some tips for your application 🫡
Showcase Your Relevant Experience:In the construction industry, it's essential to highlight any hands-on experience you have. Whether it’s past projects you've worked on or specific roles you've held, make sure your CV emphasises your practical skills and contributions to construction sites.
Include Certifications and Qualifications:Don’t forget to list any certifications relevant to construction, like CSCS cards or other safety qualifications. These can really set you apart from other candidates and show that you’re serious about health and safety on-site.
Tailor Your Cover Letter to Construction:When writing your cover letter for a construction role, focus on your problem-solving capabilities and teamwork. Construction relies heavily on collaboration, so mention how you’ve worked successfully with others to complete projects on time and within budget.
Adapt Your CV Format to the Field:Ensure your CV is clear and easy to read, with sections dedicated to skills such as project management, technical abilities, and site supervision. Construction roles often require a blend of technical know-how and soft skills, so make sure both are highlighted effectively.
How to prepare for a job interview at ICE Recruit
✨Brush Up on Technical Knowledge
For a construction role, it's crucial we have a solid grasp of industry standards, safety protocols, and specific tools used on-site. Make sure you're familiar with relevant regulations and can talk confidently about them, as these often come up in interviews.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Since this is a full-time position, be ready to discuss any previous construction projects you've worked on. Bring a portfolio or have detailed descriptions that highlight your role, the challenges you faced, and how you overcame them—this’ll show you’re not just book-smart but also practically savvy.
✨Understand the Team Dynamics
Construction is all about teamwork, so prepare to discuss how you interact with different stakeholders like architects, engineers, and contractors. Maybe think of examples from past experiences to illustrate your ability to communicate and collaborate effectively.
✨Prepare for On-the-Spot Problem Solving
Be ready for some practical questions or scenarios where you'll need to demonstrate your problem-solving skills. Interviewers might present you with a hypothetical construction issue to solve, so practice articulating your thought process clearly and logically—this could really set you apart!
