Assistant Head Commercial – National Armaments Directorate Logistics and Support

This role is for a Commercial Lead to provide Commercial Business Partnering to the National Armaments Directorate Logistics and Support Team. National Armaments Directorate Logistics and Support is logistics, engineering and equipment support and lies at the heart of ensuring Defence has the forces and equipment it needs to confront the threats we face. That is, ready when and where you need them, fully fit, armed and provisioned and deployed at a speed of relevance.

The National Armaments Directorate Logistics and Support Team encompasses the people, processes and systems within the MOD that are engaged in Logistics and Support activities to maintain military capability at pre-planned availability, readiness and sustainability, end-to-end from the point of production to the point of consumption.

The National Armaments Directorate Logistics and Support Commercial lead role will be leading Commercial teams to provide guidance and support to a range of customers across the Logistics and Support Function to deliver commercial solutions to Defence requirements; thereby enabling operational Support Capabilities and Support Transformation programs across the MOD.

The Logistics & Support Commercial Lead will play a vital role in supporting Defence by contracting a diverse portfolio of requirements ranging in value and complexity from long-term commitments in specialist capability areas to low-value short-term support contracts from a wide and varied supply-base. The Commercial lead will provide inspiring leadership which includes navigating their team through the implementation of Defence Reform.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to ensure successful Commercial delivery working directly with their end customers and by shaping their Commercial team to deliver unique solutions to their challenges. The breadth of capabilities this role will be providing commercial support will give the successful candidate the opportunity to develop their skills and experience across the entire commercial cycle from Pre-Sourcing right through to Contract Management and Exit.

This Commercial Lead role is one of two in the team and will be responsible for managing Commercial teams across the logistics and support Portfolio. The logistics and support commercial team is comprised of 22 posts across all grades.

Each customer area within Logistics and Support operates with autonomy across their portfolio of capabilities and key relationships will need to be created and maintained with each key stakeholder group including Senior Commercial leadership, military leaders, Project teams, business management teams and finance. The ability to make risk based Commercial decisions considering both Commercial and customer requirements is paramount.

The contractual landscape for Logistics and Support is currently 60 live contracts with a total Contract Value of £3bn. They are disparate in nature, a significant mix of long-term strategic contracts alongside contracts for transformation support and innovation.

The commercial Lead for Logistics and Support will be accountable for managing Commercial activities across the spectrum of Logistics and Support operations and capabilities.

Locations

The successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. When selecting your location listed in this job advert please be aware that this will be your contractual base location with a requirement to spend a minimum of 60% of your working time in this organisational workplace.

Your time spent on official duties at workplace locations other than your contractual office such as supplier, customer or partner locations required to perform your role is included in the 60% attendance.

This requirement will however take into consideration any reasonable adjustments agreed upon appointment for people with a disability, flexibilities agreed for those with specific caring responsibilities, or other similar temporary flexibilities.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.

Your application will be reviewed by a panel and should you be successful at sift we will invite you to attend a Virtual commercial Assessment and Development Centre (VADC). The panel will review results of the VADC and determine which candidates will go through to a subsequent final panel interview. Please note: Only candidates that achieve an A grade at ADC will be invited to interview for this role.

Please be advised that the Virtual ADC is taking place on Tuesday 17th November 2026 and will require a full day's attendance.

If you are invited to attend a virtual ADC, but for any reason are unable to meet the date outlined then please get in touch with the team on commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible. The ADC is booked and paid for in advance by departments, therefore it is only in certain circumstances we are able to accommodate alternative dates.

For full details of our process, and a likely timeline, please read the attached candidate pack.

Throughout our selection process, we will make decisions about your capability to do the job, based on evidence you provide against the Technical Skills (essential criteria) and your Job History (CV) that you will be asked to provide during the application process. Further help and advice on our application and selection process can be found at this web address https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/gcf-how-to-apply/

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/artificial-intelligence-and-recruitment/

IMPORTANT: If you do not receive an acknowledgement of your application within 2 working days please contact: commercialresourcinghub@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.