Head of Commercial

Head of Commercial (PR/007205)

Location: Bristol

Role Type: Hybrid

Salary: £85,000 – £100,000 + 15% bonus + benefits

Please read the information in this job post thoroughly to understand exactly what is expected of potential candidates.

Overview

A leading organisation within the defence sector is seeking an experienced Commercial Leader to head up a high-performing commercial team. This is a pivotal role responsible for driving commercial strategy, ensuring contractual compliance, and supporting complex defence-related programmes.

The Role

Reporting into senior leadership, you will lead and develop a team of approximately 10 commercial professionals, providing direction across a portfolio of service-based and support/maintenance contracts within the defence environment.

You will play a key role in shaping commercial outcomes, managing risk, and ensuring robust governance across contracts, while partnering closely with operational and programme teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, manage, and develop a team of commercial professionals
• Provide strategic commercial oversight across defence service/support contracts
• Drive strong commercial performance, including cost control, margin improvement, and risk mitigation
• Lead on complex contract negotiations, variations, and dispute resolution
• Ensure full compliance with contractual terms and conditions (T&Cs)
• Partner with key stakeholders across finance, legal, and operations
• Support bid activity and contribute to business growth initiatives

Key Requirements

• Proven experience in a commercial leadership or senior commercial management role
• Strong line management experience, with a track record of leading and developing teams
• Essential: Experience within the defence sector
xwzovoh
• Ideally experience within service-based, support, or maintenance contracts
• Strong commercial acumen with deep understanding of contract terms & conditions
• Experience managing complex, high-value contracts
• Excellent stakeholder management and negotiation skills

What’s On Offer

• Competitive salary of £85,000 – £100,000
• 15% performance-related bonus
• Flexible/hybrid working
• Opportunity to lead a key commercial function within a growing organisation

If you’re interested in finding out more, contact Jake Currie at