Job Title: Commercial Manager
Salary: Up to £80k depending on experience
Location: On site in North Cambridge

This is a dynamic and multifaceted opportunity for a commercially minded professional to step into a pivotal role. You'll be embedded across core business areas, driving the negotiation and drafting of contracts and managing relationships with external legal advisors where necessary.
While direct experience in every area listed below isn't essential, candidates should be able to show strong career progression, underpinned by self-driven learning and development.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure the organisation and its subsidiaries remain compliant with regulatory frameworks across various international jurisdictions, including the coordination of overseas legal partners.
• Manage, update, and maintain the suite of standard commercial contract templates used by the business.
• Draft and negotiate bespoke contractual terms while identifying and mitigating associated commercial and legal risks.
• Maintain working knowledge of procurement and competition law in the UK and EU, ensuring both internal teams and external suppliers remain aligned with legal obligations.
• Negotiate intellectual property licenses and ensure terms align with business strategy.
• Act as the key liaison between the Bid Team and Product Strategy functions to support technical documentation for proposals.
• Identify and assess technical and commercial risks within non-standard bids.
• Provide commercial input and support to the creation of tender responses, ensuring alignment with the organisation's objectives.
• Build and maintain a central library of bid content, including case studies and template materials for reuse and improvement.
• Collate contributions from multiple departments and ensure a consistent tone and professional presentation across all proposal documentation.
• Monitor bid timelines and ensure inputs are accurate, complete, and delivered to schedule.
• Collaborate with senior engineering and commercial leaders to define competitive bid strategies that align with client requirements and corporate governance.
• Ensure compliance with internal bid processes and governance structures.
• Support export licence applications and liaise with relevant government bodies where required.
• Work with Finance to review and secure suitable financial instruments, including guarantees and performance bonds.
• Assist Procurement in finalising contracts with international suppliers.
• Contribute to wider corporate legal and commercial initiatives as needed.

Please note: this role requires a valid passport and successful security clearance, which will be facilitated by the company.

Essential Qualifications:

• University degree in a relevant discipline

Desirable:

• Legal degree or equivalent legal qualification

Experience Required:

• Significant background in contract or commercial management
• Demonstrated experience working on or leading bid/commercial teams
• Comfortable engaging with senior leadership and stakeholders
• Proven ability to work across departments and manage external legal providers

Preferred Experience:

• Exposure to both public and private sector customers on a global scale
• Experience in technology or engineering-driven environments
• Familiarity with UK government contracting frameworks (e.g. DEFCONs, Model Services Contracts, FARs, DFARS, ENAA GCC)
• Experience with software-as-a-service (SaaS) agreements
• Competence working with contracts governed by a variety of international legal systems

Skills & Competencies:

• Strong business and commercial insight
• Confident managing both internal and client relationships
• Capable leader with excellent collaboration and interpersonal skills
• Skilled in drafting and reviewing contract and bid documents
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Highly organised with excellent attention to detail
• Motivated by deadlines and delivering results
• Able to lead teams or individuals through influence and coordination

Personal Attributes:

• Remains calm and focused under pressure
• Flexible and adaptable
• Energetic, proactive, and detail-oriented
• Honest and ethical in all dealings
• Willing to travel when required