Senior Commercial Manager (OFTO)

The offshore transmission sector is changing rapidly to work towards the government's ambitions to deliver up to 50GW of offshore wind generation by 2030 and be net-zero by 2050. The way in which Ofgem runs competitive tenders for Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO) licences needs to be developed to account for these changes, but also to ensure that the regulatory regime that has been extremely successful in driving down consumer costs continues to deliver good competition that benefits electricity consumers.

The successful candidate will join at an exciting and pivotal time for offshore wind. The successful candidate will have ownership and responsibility for multiple offshore transmission projects and ensure key milestones within the tender and transaction process are successfully delivered. The successful candidate will also be expected to contribute to the development of policy for the competitive tender process of projects.

The post holder will draw on their experience in a commercial, finance or public sector policy role, to ensure that the tendering and transaction processes successfully achieve Ofgem’s purpose of ensuring strong competition in the award of OFTO licences to licensees with robust long-term asset management plans, at low cost to electricity consumers. Highly developed organisational skills are required to work across a range of activities, identifying priorities and risks, and addressing these directly.

The Major Projects Directorate’s work plays a key role in ensuring that appropriate regulatory arrangements are in place to facilitate the timely move to a low carbon energy sector whilst continuing to provide safe, secure, high quality network services at value for money to existing and future consumers. The OFTO team sits in the Offshore Network Regulation part of the Major Projects Directorate. These are fast-moving and high-profile areas with network costs, and competition that brings value for consumers is increasingly part of political debates regarding energy costs.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the commercial responsibilities of the delivery of existing tender processes and developing future tender policy, including:
• Considered analysis of current tendering and transaction approaches against Ofgem’s goals for effective competition;
• Delivery of tender processes, including the design and preparation of tender documentation;
• Acting as a point of contact and the lead of commercial elements of tenders and transactions phase of multiple projects;
• Identifying risks, issues and concerns and developing effective solutions to address these;
• Maintain existing relationships with internal and external stakeholders (such as offshore transmission licensees);
• Building new lasting relationships, particularly with equity investors and the wider finance community.
• Ensure stakeholder views are understood and taken into account in the continued development and implementation of robust regulatory policy outcomes, for the ultimate benefit of current and future consumers;
• Coordination with other teams within Ofgem and other government departments, who are also working on related and interdependent workstreams to achieve common goals;
• Produce clear, relevant and concise internal management papers, briefings and presentations in order to support Ofgem senior management in making effective and timely decisions;
• Delivering oral and written briefings to management on key issues;
• Representing Ofgem at relevant industry events, seminars and working groups, as well as developing links internally with other teams in the division, and across Ofgem.

Key Outputs and Deliverables

• Drafting clear and concise management papers and public documents (e.g. consultations) to communicate policy proposals and decisions to external stakeholders;
• Identifying and where necessary implementing changes to legislative and regulatory frameworks, including supporting the development of specific OFTO licence terms;
• Commercial and policy analysis of situations and the provision recommendations to resolve project them;
• Liaise with bidders to ensure a robust and competitive process are followed for projects;
• Lead in the development, management and coordination of tender and evaluation processes for offshore transmission projects;
• Preparation and production of reports relating to the evaluation outcome recommendations for use in the decision-making process;
• Lead engagements with preferred bidders, developers and other third parties during transaction stages;
• Work closely with colleagues to foster a diverse culture of high performance and continuous personal and professional development;
• Leading project teams and external contractors and advisers;
• Oral and written briefings or presentations to senior management.

Key Stakeholder Relationships

• Internal Director, Deputy Director and Head of teams in the Major Projects directorate;
• Internal legal advisers;
• Internal engineering and regulatory finance support.
• External Wind Generators, system operator (NESO), existing licensees, investor and financing community;
• Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and other relevant government departments and agencies, such as HMRC, Marine Regulators, The Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland;
• Other European regulators and regulatory bodies for legislative and policy matters;
• Future project developers and potential bidders in electricity transmission;
• Ofgem’s external legal, technical and financial advisers.

Person specification

ESSENTIAL:

• Experience of being the commercial lead on projects, managing commercial process (including but not limited to tender processes and contract management), and making key commercial decisions (LEAD CRITERIA).
• Good project management skills with experience of leading complex workstreams and a strong track record of delivery against challenging deadlines (LEAD CRITERIA).
• Ability to take initiative, think strategically and develop policy underpinned by strong analytical skills with proven ability to synthesise complex issues clearly and make clear recommendations on commercial matters.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with experience of working within a dynamic team and with a diverse range of stakeholders, deploying excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability represent Ofgem in external meetings and use effective influencing skills.
• Chartered or working towards obtaining a relevant professional membership in a relevant field (e.g. Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS)) or relevant industry experience.

DESIRABLE:

• Excellent understanding of economics, procurement regulation, or commercial considerations relating to infrastructure investment and delivery;
• Working knowledge of project finance and how debt instruments and products work.

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process: Please refer to the Candidate Pack and Role Profile attached for full details.

Alongside your salary, OFGEM contributes towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. Ofgem can offer you a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes; 30 days annual leave after 2 years; Excellent training and development opportunities; The opportunity to join the generous Civil Service pension which also includes a valuable range of benefits; Hybrid working, flexible working hours and family friendly policies. Plus lots of other benefits including clean and bright offices based centrally, engaged networks and teams and an opportunity to contribute to our ambitious and important targets of establishing a Net Zero energy system by 2050. This exciting blend of professional challenge and personal reward identifies career opportunities at Ofgem as something to get excited about.

Things you need to know

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills. When you press the ‘Apply now’ button, you will be asked to complete personal details (not seen by the sift panel), your career history and qualifications. You will then be asked to provide a 1250 word ‘personal statement’ evidencing how you meet the essential and desirable skills and capabilities listed in the role profile. Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your supporting statement, how you meet each of the essential and desirable skills and capabilities. The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expect all candidates to abide by these principles. Ofgem take any incidences of cheating very seriously. Please ensure all examples provided are of your own experience. Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant applications will be withdrawn from the process. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.