Commercial Contracts Manager in London

Are you looking for a career where you can make a real difference in people's day? We are seeking a Commercial Contracts Manager to join our team based from our Head Office in London Bridge (hybrid working). The Commercial Contracts Manager is responsible for managing Southeastern's Ancillary Revenue contracts, ensuring suppliers deliver against contractual commitments while supporting revenue growth and a positive customer experience. Reporting to the Ancillary Revenue Manager, the role provides expert contract management, commercial oversight and supplier relationship management across a varied portfolio.

Working closely with internal stakeholders and external suppliers, the post holder will support tendering, contract mobilisation and in-life performance management, optimise existing arrangements and help deliver new commercial initiatives. The role ensures ancillary contracts contribute effectively to Southeastern's Delivery Plan and wider Commercial Strategy.

What you'll do:

• Manage agreed contracts in life to ensure suppliers meet contractual obligations, deliver agreed service levels and provide the value secured through the procurement process.
• Support the Ancillary Revenue Manager in delivering the ancillary revenue strategy by ensuring that relevant contracts, supplier arrangements and performance regimes are aligned to agreed objectives, priorities and business outcomes.
• Provide expert contract management and commercial advice across the contract lifecycle, including as needed mobilization, performance management, governance, variation control, extension activity, renewal planning and exit management.
• Lead regular contract and service review meetings, monitor KPIs and SLAs, track action plans and ensure timely escalation and resolution of supplier performance issues.
• Identify and highlight opportunities for improvement in service, financial performance etc to the Ancillary Revenue Manager.
• Ensure compliance with relevant legislation, internal governance and procurement requirements, including the Procurement Act 2023, audit expectations and any contractual reporting obligations.
• Assess, validate and challenge supplier payment applications, invoices and commercial submissions to ensure accuracy, transparency and value for money.

The experience you'll need:

To be considered for this role we recommend you demonstrate the below in your application:

• Required: Significant experience of contract management, supplier performance management and commercial negotiation in a complex commercial, regulated or public-sector environment.
• Experience of managing suppliers within in-life contracts and delivering measurable improvements in performance, value and compliance.
• Experience of supporting tender processes, contract mobilisation, service reviews, contract changes and business case development.
• Working knowledge of contract law, public procurement principles and the Procurement Act 2023.
• Experience of working with cross-functional stakeholders, including Procurement, Finance, IT and operational teams.
• Experience of managing budgets, validating payments and using commercial and performance data to support decisions.
• Desirable: Knowledge of ancillary revenue supply chain, including car parking and advertising operations.
• Degree in business, procurement, law, economics/related discipline.
• Professional qualification from the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), such as Level 4 Diploma or above / MCIPS.
• Experience of using reporting and analysis tools such as Excel, Power BI, Tableau or equivalent.
• Exposure to rail sector in a TOC, Network Rail or the rail supply chain.

As proud members of the Armed Forces Covenant and Disability Confident Scheme, we will offer you an interview if you apply under these schemes and meet the minimum criteria for the role.

Other things to know:

This vacancy may close early if we receive a large number of applications. So, make sure you get yours in early. All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references, a right to work verification, a basic criminal record check, and a pre-employment medical assessment. Work visa sponsorship isn't available for this role.

If you applied but weren't successful in getting a similar role at Southeastern, please wait six months before applying again. Find out more about our recruitment process and get tips to help you apply.

What you'll get in return:

Along with your salary, the rewards you'll get include: a final salary pension, 25 days annual leave allowance (plus bank holidays), free rail travel across our networks.

A bit about Southeastern: We're one of Britain's busiest train operators, serving London, Kent and parts of East Sussex. We run over 1,700 trains a day, carrying more than 500,000 passengers and serving 180 stations. However, working on our railway is more than getting passengers from A to B. It's about all the little moments that make a difference to their journey. It's also about making our railway a great place to work. With a team that represents the communities we serve. This is a journey we're fully committed to and we're proud to have been named a Great Place to Work at the 2023 National Rail Awards and endorsed as a WORK180 Employer for Women.

Our ways of working are what we expect of everyone at Southeastern. They are powerful. Tiny moments, every day, from every one of us, add up to massive, positive change. Improving how it feels to work here and how it feels to travel with us. At the heart of everything we do, our Safeguarding Team works to keep our customers, colleagues, and the public safe by improving safeguarding measures and knowledge making sure everyone gets home safe, every day.