Senior Category Manager - PFI Lead

The Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Commercial Directorate

Commercial is the largest directorate in CCS. We design, develop, and manage the commercial agreements used by customers across the public sector. Our customers rely on our specialist teams' deep category expertise to access markets efficiently while managing supply chain and regulatory risk. Through our work, we have helped our customers annually:

• Spend more than £40 billion through our agreements.
• Achieve over £4 billion in annual commercial benefits.

As PFI strategy lead, you will be responsible for a small, specialist PFI team with the potential for future growth, and will be an integral member of the Facilities Management Senior Management Team. You will operate in a matrix environment, working closely with NISTA programme teams, Cabinet Office specialists, and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) along with other Category teams within CCS.

You will work closely with public sector buyers who have existing PFI arrangements that are due to end in the coming years, assisting on route to market strategies and commercial solutions. As a subject matter expert in PFI/PPP instruments, you will provide leadership within CCS Categories and act as the CCS interface into public sector organisations and strategic colleagues in other central functions.

This role sits in the Facilities Management category, within the Estates Category Group, a major commercial area managing approximately £12 billion in public sector spend across construction, facilities management and energy.

Please note, the role is available on a full-time basis only with flexible working. Part time, compressed hours and job share are not possible in this role.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership: Lead the CCS cross-government strategic response for both the legacy PFI estate and the potential new PPP market, overseeing market development, procurement, and ongoing service delivery.
• Strategy Implementation: Drive the implementation of the CCS PFI market strategy, continuously developing it to reflect government policy and evolving market dynamics.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Build and maintain robust, influential relationships with senior stakeholders across the Civil Service, including Crown Representatives and the Commercial Function Leadership Group (CFLG).
• Commercial Lifecycle Management: Manage the full commercial lifecycle for PFI/PPP-related activities, developing new opportunities under the Transforming Public Procurement programme.
• Risk Management: Collaborate with the Market Sourcing, Complex Transactions, and Supplier teams to ensure market risk is identified and managed effectively in line with governance.
• Business Case Development: Develop and secure approvals for business cases and strategy papers required to advance the PFI response (e.g., from PSC, PPA, Exco).
• Team Management: Lead, manage and develop the PFI team, facilitating its growth in response to increasing demand and embedding CCS values in its delivery.
• Directorate Contribution: Play an active role in the Facilities Management Senior Management Team, contributing to the strategic direction and success of the wider Estates directorate.

Essential Criteria

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Experience managing large contracts with complex commercial structures within the PFI/PPP field, demonstrating strategic thinking, risk management, and resilience to ensure value for money.
• Proven ability to use PFI market information and analysis to determine benchmarks, identify opportunities, and create commercial levers for customers.
• A track record of delivering high-quality commercial services across the full lifecycle, with a strong understanding of commercial policies and their practical application.
• Demonstrable experience building and influencing productive relationships with diverse stakeholders in a complex, fast-moving commercial environment aligned to the critical PFI/PPP stakeholder groups.
• Significant commercial experience across the end-to-end procurement lifecycle, gained within a complex, PFI and policy-led environment.
• Experience managing large contracts with complex commercial structures within the PFI/PPP field, demonstrating strategic thinking, risk management, and resilience to ensure value for money.