Hybrid – Nuneaton/Cowley
£75,000-£80,000 per annum, plus car / car allowance, 33 days holiday, pension, life assurance, employee assistance programme, wellbeing support, and flexible benefits scheme
About the Job
We're a hard-working team of commercial professionals who support Unipart's growth strategy. Our work is fast-paced and varied, from straightforward contract renewals to complex bids and negotiations. If you love a challenge and juggling diverse responsibilities, you'll fit right in!
This role spans the entire contract lifecycle, from pre-sales to contract close. You will lead the drafting, negotiation, and commercial contract management of a range of contracts and other commercial documentation and support our Business Development and Business Unit Teams.
Delivering practical and valuable commercial support to our Logistics business, you'll work in a way that protects Unipart's interests whilst ensuring that customers find us easy to do business with.
As Senior Commercial Manager you will report to the UL Head of Commercial, creating innovative commercial solutions that enhance the profitability of our contracts with customers whilst ensuring that our contracts meet customer needs while safeguarding Unipart from risk.
As part of your key responsibilities you'll:
- Commercial and Contractual Expertise
- Work with the Business Unit Teams to maximise the profitability of contracts whilst understanding the impact on Unipart's future business opportunities
- Work with the Business Development leads to generate growth for Unipart, supporting tendering to new and existing customers and new propositions
- Lead complex contract negotiations, and resolve commercial challenges, ensuring contracts meet customer needs and protect Unipart from risk
- Ensure that Unipart's Customer Contracting Process is followed, support contract health checks and proactively review the contracts you are responsible for on an ongoing basis in order to maximise commercial benefit and accurately reflect business activity
- Strategic Commercial Solutions
- Develop and implement creative commercial solutions that align with Unipart's Logistics business objectives and support the profitability and competitive advantage of Unipart
- Ensure commercial arrangements with customers are robust and effectively manage risk
- Wherever possible, simplify Unipart's commercial approach, ensuring that customers find Unipart "easy to do business with", whilst ensuring that Unipart's risks are understood, quantified and either mitigated, or accepted consciously by the appropriate level of authority
- Work closely with delivery teams to ensure smooth contract handover and understanding of contractual requirements
- Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration
- Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all levels
- Engage with the legal team to ensure contracts are legally sound and disputes are resolved in Unipart's best interests
- Collaborate with the procurement team on supplier negotiations and flow-down of key contract requirements
- Engage with customers to understand their needs and develop tailored commercial solutions
- Commercial Team Support
- Support the Head of Commercial to help ensure that the vision and goals of the UL Commercial Team and wider Group Commercial function continue to be realised and developed
- Provide advice and guidance to other members of UL's Commercial Team and act as a sounding board to discuss and explore creatively the right commercial approach in different situations
- Deputise for the UL Head of Commercial as needed
- Oversee the completion of the Contract Performance Report within Unipart's Logistics business each month and produce output reports for the Group Commercial Director, senior stakeholders and UL Head of Commercial
- Work with the Commercial team to support Group-wide projects e.g. GDPR / Risk Management and achievement of Sustainability targets
About You
- We'd love you to have the following skills and experience, but please apply if you think you'd be able to perform well in this role!
- Demonstrable success in delivering pragmatic commercial solutions, ideally within the Logistics Sector but not essential. Possesses strong negotiation skills and the ability to communicate effectively across all levels.
- Ability to work effectively under pressure, prioritise tasks, and make sound commercial judgments. Recognise when a good solution is preferable to a perfect solution, especially when managing risk.
- Understand commercial and operational risks within the Logistics sector with the ability to develop effective mitigation strategies throughout the contract lifecycle.
- Skilled in drafting clear and robust contractual terms using Unipart templates, customer-provided templates, or from scratch. Possesses a good understanding of contract law and its application in commercial agreements.
- Ability to recognise the factors influencing contract profitability and develop strategies to optimise commercial outcomes.
- Proven ability to develop, mentor and coach individuals.
- Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills. Can effectively convey complex commercial and contractual concepts to diverse audiences.
Our Culture
Collaboration is at the heart of how we work at Unipart. We foster open communication, encourage innovation, and value diverse perspectives. This means we find the best solutions faster. If you enjoy working in a supportive team environment and thrive on creative problem-solving, you'll excel in this role.
At Unipart, we're committed to continuous improvement. This role offers an ideal opportunity for someone to enhance their commercial skills in a dynamic and fast-paced setting. We also provide training and guidance to other departments on commercial and contractual best practices.
You may have experience in the following roles: Commercial Manager, Senior Contracts Manager, Head of Commercial, Bid Manager, Business Development Manager, Contract Negotiation Specialist, Commercial Lead, Procurement Manager, Supply Chain Manager, Business Relationship Manager, Operations Manager, etc.
REF-216 911