Commercial Manager - Major Projects

Location: Durrington

Contract Type: Permanent

Hours: 37 hours per week

Salary: c.£65,000

About the role

Reporting to the Head of Commercial, and working alongside Commercial Leads, you’ll support the successful delivery of strategically important projects across the Major Projects portfolio. You’ll work across project, finance, legal, regulatory and technical teams to develop and implement commercial strategies for major infrastructure projects. A key focus of the role is supporting alternative financing and delivery arrangements, including competitively procured infrastructure and privately financed delivery models. The role spans project development, procurement, delivery and operational readiness, ensuring commercial structures, contractual arrangements and risk allocation frameworks support successful outcomes for customers, investors and the business.

What you will be responsible for:

• Supporting the design and implementation of competitively procured and privately financed infrastructure solutions.
• Developing commercial and contractual arrangements that appropriately allocate risk and incentivise performance.
• Supporting complex procurement processes, commercial evaluations and bidder engagement activities.
• Undertaking commercial, contractual and financial analysis to support investment decisions, business cases and project development.
• Analysing financial and commercial information to provide recommendations and support decision-making.
• Building effective relationships with investors, delivery partners, advisers, regulators and internal stakeholders.
• Driving continuous improvement and sharing best practice across the Major Projects portfolio.

What you’ll bring to the role:

Essential

• Experience in commercial management, project finance, infrastructure procurement, contract management, infrastructure advisory or a related discipline.
• Experience supporting the development or delivery of major infrastructure or capital investment projects.
• Strong commercial, contractual and financial analysis skills.
• Ability to assess complex risks and develop commercially robust solutions.
• Experience working with senior stakeholders across multiple disciplines and organisations.
• Strong negotiation, influencing and relationship management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including preparation of reports and governance papers.
• Ability to work effectively within complex and evolving project environments.

Desirable

• Experience of alternative financing and delivery models, including DPC, SIPR, PPP, PFI, PF2 or similar infrastructure arrangements.
• Experience supporting project finance, funding competitions or investor-facing procurement processes.
• Experience in the water sector or another regulated infrastructure environment.
• Knowledge of major project delivery models and infrastructure contracts.
• Relevant professional qualification in commercial management, procurement, finance, law, engineering or project management.

About Southern Water

Southern Water is at the forefront of transforming Britain’s water industry, investing significantly to enhance resilience, sustainability, and service excellence. With £7.8bn planned investment for 2025-30, this is an unparalleled opportunity to join a business committed to delivering a generational shift in the way water services are managed. You will be joining at a time of significant change, working alongside a highly skilled leadership team with a clear vision for the future. We offer an environment where senior professionals can make a meaningful impact, influence major strategic decisions, and drive long-term value creation.

“At Southern Water, we believe diverse perspectives drive innovation. If you’re passionate about making a positive impact and think you can bring value to our team, we’d love to hear from you—even if you don’t tick every box. Your unique skills and experiences could be exactly what we need.”

Our Commitment to Diversity

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or any other protected characteristic. If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.

Additional information: In line with Southern Water’s security requirements, successful candidates will be required to provide evidence of their identity, eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record check (DBS) and verification of their employment and/or education history for the past three years. Appointment to this role is subject to the successful completion of all pre‑employment checks, including security vetting. Please note that if a candidate does not meet the required security standards or fails to pass the vetting process, Southern Water reserves the right to withdraw the offer of employment. Some positions may also require higher levels of security vetting, which may involve providing additional documentation.