Commercial Lead

The Senior Commercial Manager works alongside the Design, Delivery, Commercial, Legal, Finance and Procurement functions to support the commercial management of data centre construction projects across the Wilton Campus, with potential support to UK/EMEA projects based on business requirements. 

The role ensures projects are commercially set up for success through robust, auditable tendering, procurement, contract development, cost control, change management, reporting, debt financing and governance. 

The role is accountable for protecting Pure’s commercial position across the project lifecycle, ensuring risks, costs, programme impacts, contractual exposure and stakeholder decisions are identified early, clearly reported and effectively managed through to project close-out. 

Core Responsibilities & Deliverables

• Prepare and maintain informed budgets, cost plans, forecasts, cashflows and final cost projections, aligned to financial modelling and business approvals. 
• Reconcile cost projections against design, procurement and programme status, escalating variances, risks and opportunities to the appropriate internal stakeholders. 
• Lead transparent tender, procurement and package strategy processes for GC, enabling works, utilities, consultants, long-lead items and key technical packages, including: 
• Maintaining the accuracy and timely distribution and collection of tender documentation 
• Maintaining the ongoing relevance of Pure’s internal policy and best practice 
• Ensuring the completeness of tender outcome reporting and due diligence in accordance with Pure’s best practice procurement framework.   
• Review the adequacy of design and scope information for tender, supporting accurate pricing, risk allocation and value-for-money outcomes.  
• Assisting in the preparation of pricing documents for all elements of work where sufficient design information is available together with schedules of provisional and prime cost sums.  
• Reconciling project cost plans on selection of the contractor.  
• Undertaking regular fully evaluated cost checks and advising where the developing design is likely to exceed elemental allowances and achieving value for money.  
• Negotiating and agreeing final accounts.  
• Attending project progress meetings.  
• Own post-contract change control, claims, EOT, delay, disruption, acceleration, entitlement tracking and commercial defence strategy, ensuring timely notices, clear records and accurate forecast reporting.  
• Own all aspects of the project business case capex, cashflow forecasting and contingency use. Including securing approvals for expenditure in line with Pure’s processes and procedures. 
• Maintain and develop Pure’s contractual document suite, including GC and other project contracts, with Legal, covering contract strategy, risk allocation, liabilities, bonds, warranties, insurances, LDs, caps, exclusions, termination and dispute provisions.  
• Manage payments, valuations, retentions, advance payments, bonds, securities, insurances, final accounts and commercial close-out to maintain cashflow and protect Pure’s position. 
• Own monthly commercial reporting, including; accurate cashflow forecasting, commitments, accruals, change logs, risk and opportunity registers, contingency use, benchmarking, governance approvals and lessons learned. 
• Supporting Pure’s financial team by providing all documents requested to support debt funding requests, drawdown requests on loans and 
• Act as champion for Pure’s commercial integrity and ethical identity, ensuring the interests of the business, colleagues, customers, partners and stakeholders are represented and respected.

Team management responsibilities & key relationships

Manage external cost consultants, QS teams and contract administration support, ensuring clear KPIs, value, quality, governance and timely delivery across regional projects. Maintain strong working relationships with Development, Design, Delivery, Legal, Finance, Procurement, Project Controls, JV partners, landlords, consultants, GCs and key suppliers.

SKILLS, qualifications AND EXPERIENCE (Required = R, Desirable = D) 

Skills

Communication: You can demonstrate experience/capability to engage and communicate effectively (spoken and written) across diverse stakeholder groups. (R)  

Collaboration: You can demonstrate how you use have used collaboration to effectively deliver, and to create and/or contribute to wider team empowerment and value.  (R)  

Innovation: You can demonstrate how you have used problem solving to identify opportunities to responsibly improve ways of working and/or established outcomes, within your scope of influence (R)  

Continuous Improvement: You can demonstrate how you have invested in developing you own (and others) skills, experience, and output. And how this has contributed to personal and/or wider business value. (R)  

Leadership: You can demonstrate how through your understanding of your own personal impact and responsibility, that you have led by example and brought others along with you on the journey.  (R)  

Qualifications  

• Degree or equivalent qualification in Quantity Surveying, Commercial Management, Construction Management, Engineering or a related discipline. (R) 
• Significant experience, likely 12+ years, in senior commercial, quantity surveying or cost management roles on major construction projects. (R)
• Significant experience providing end-to-end cost management services within procurement, contract and post-contract environments. (R) 
• Proven demonstrable ability to prioritise own workload in order to consistently meet timelines, while ensuring working standards and accuracy are maintained. (R)  
• Significant exposure to tender processes, procurement strategy, package strategy, negotiation and commercial recommendation papers. (R) 
• MRICS, equivalent professional accreditation, or strong regional commercial experience. (D) 

Experience

• Strong understanding of UK/EU construction markets, supply chains, procurement practices and regional delivery environments. (R)
• Data centre experience, including hyperscale, shell and core, fit-out, MEP-heavy packages, commissioning interfaces, power infrastructure and technical procurement. (D) 
• Experience with construction and contract law, including FIDIC, bespoke EPC, design-build, construction management and GC contracts, developed and interpreted with Legal for practical commercial use. (D) 
• Strong understanding and application as a tool of Microsoft software packages (R) 
• Strong working understanding of contract administration, claims, change, risk, contingency, value management, value engineering and multi-jurisdictional stakeholder environments. (R) 
• Experience working with local authorities, municipalities, permitting interfaces, JV partners and consultant teams in GCC project environments. (D) 
• Strong negotiation experience and exposure, and how you have used this to achieve appropriate business outcomes (D)

Note:  The successful candidate will be required to complete pre-employment screening to BS7858:2019, or national equivalent. (Covers: Confirmation of identity, legal right to work, financial probity, criminal history and associations with proscribed organisations). It is the policy of Pure DC that all individuals have a responsibility for the security and protection of company’s Information and IT Resources over which they have control, according to their role.

Agency Applications

Please note that we do not accept unsolicited agency CVs or speculative candidate submissions. Pure Data Centres operates an in-house Talent Acquisition function and works with a select number of recruitment partners through an established Preferred Supplier List (PSL).

Any speculative CVs submitted without prior agreement or authorisation will be deemed to have been introduced directly to Pure Data Centres and will be considered under our own ownership, with no fees payable to the submitting agency.

We kindly ask that agencies respect this policy and refrain from sending unsolicited CVs or making speculative approaches to our hiring teams.