Commercial Implementation Officer

What will you be doing?

Help turn strategy into reality across Kent County Council

We've got ambitious plans to strengthen commercial capability, improve contract management, and deliver better outcomes for residents. What we need now is someone who can help make that happen in practice.

We're looking for a Commercial Implementation Officer to lead the rollout and embedding of key commercial policies, processes and initiatives across Kent County Council. You'll work across Directorates, alongside commissioners, contract managers and procurement professionals, helping services translate corporate requirements into practical day-to-day activity.

This is a new role and an exciting opportunity to shape how commercial improvement is delivered across one of the largest local authorities in the country.

About the Role

You'll be responsible for driving implementation activity that supports our Commercial Strategy and wider improvement programme. This means working with colleagues to understand what's happening on the ground, identifying barriers to adoption, designing practical solutions and supporting lasting change.

You will:

• Lead implementation and embedding activity for commercial policies, processes and initiatives across the Council.
• Develop implementation plans, engagement approaches and practical support materials.
• Work directly with services to understand challenges and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Design and lead workshops, training and other interventions to improve understanding, adoption and compliance.
• Gather and analyse feedback, data and insight to evaluate impact and recommend improvements.
• Help embed important initiatives including Spending the Council's Money, Contract Management Policy, category management and supplier relationship management.

About You

We're looking for someone who enjoys turning ideas into action.

You might come from a procurement, commissioning, contract management, programme management, transformation, policy implementation or organisational change background. What matters most is your ability to work with people, understand complex environments and deliver practical improvements that stick.

You will bring:

• Experience of implementing policies, processes, programmes or major initiatives within a complex organisation.
• Experience of working in, or closely with, commercial, procurement, commissioning or contract management environments.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills.
• Experience of analysing information and using evidence to drive improvement.
• Strong project delivery and organisational skills.
• The ability to translate strategy and policy into practical guidance, tools and ways of working.
• Professional judgement, curiosity and a collaborative approach.

Why Join Kent County Council?

You'll join a supportive team responsible for commercial policy, governance, performance and improvement at a time of significant organisational change and opportunity.

This is a chance to influence how commercial and procurement best practice is embedded across the Council, work with senior stakeholders from across the organisation, and play a key role in delivering better outcomes for Kent residents.

We offer:

• Flexible hybrid working, combining home and office-based working.
• A supportive and collaborative team environment.
• Access to learning and development opportunities.
• The opportunity to build expertise in commercial analytics, business intelligence and performance reporting.
• The chance to work across a wide range of services, functions and stakeholders.
• Opportunities to contribute to high-profile corporate priorities and continuous improvement initiatives

Make a Difference

If you're looking for a challenging and rewarding role where you can help improve how one of the largest Councils in England uses data and insight to make better commercial decisions, we'd love to hear from you.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Closing date for applications is 4 September 2026 with interviews anticipated in Maidstone during the week commencing 14 September 2026.

About you

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Michael Bridger, Strategic Commercial and Procurement Lead, at Michael.Bridger@kent.gov.uk.

About us

Work that works for you and us - let's talk flexibility!

KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county's working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds, faiths and those with caring responsibilities, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

Please note - if you are interested, please apply soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.