Chief Commercial Officer — Project-Development Pipeline

The mandate

A multinational-owned UK infrastructure developer is preparing to expand its public-private partnership pipeline, but commercial execution varies by market and project team. Opportunity qualification, risk pricing, partner terms, change control and handover use different thresholds, making portfolio economics difficult to compare. The board has created a Chief Commercial Officer role to establish one commercial system from market choice through operating contract.

The remit covers approximately £17,500 million in projects and operating assets and 1,675 employees and material partners. Accountability spans commercial strategy, opportunity governance, bid economics, contracts, partnerships, pricing, procurement interfaces, claims prevention, commercial assurance and talent. Development and project leaders retain delivery ownership, while legal provides independent counsel. The CCO owns commercial policy, exceptions and whether approved economics survive execution.

PPP expansion tests the whole value chain. A bid can appear attractive because development cost, inflation, lifecycle, demand, interfaces or financing conditions sit outside the headline model. The CCO must ensure each commitment has a named owner and that risk allocation reflects the party able to control it.

Consistency does not mean one contract template. Authorities, sectors and procurement routes differ. The commercial system will standardise evidence and decision gates while permitting terms that match the opportunity.

Why this seat is open

This urgent new position has no predecessor. A review of cross-market execution exposed the authority gap after the annual hiring plan was approved. The board expects a permanent appointment within six to eight weeks. Interim governance protects current submissions, but cannot set lasting policy or resolve the portfolio of exceptions.

What you will own

• Establish opportunity, bid, contract and handover commercial gates.
• Create comparable risk-adjusted economics across markets.
• Govern partnership contribution, exclusivity and downside rights.
• Integrate contract assumptions into project and operating baselines.
• Prevent claims through disciplined change and evidence control.
• Develop commercial leaders with independent challenge authority.

Opportunity qualification will identify customer need, procurement route, competitive position, bid cost, partner dependence and right to win. The CCO will require an explicit reason to proceed before design and adviser spend accelerates. Strategic importance cannot remain an undefined override. Weak pursuits will be stopped early enough to preserve customer credibility and scarce resources.

Pricing will show expected return, downside distribution and capital consumption. Inflation, indexation, volumes, energy, labour, lifecycle, insurance, financing and performance regimes will be reconciled. Sensitivities will include correlated movement and contractual limits. The CCO will not accept contingency as a substitute for understanding an exposure.

Contract governance will focus on operating reality. Obligations, relief, change, information, handback, step-in, termination and dispute routes must be understood by those delivering the service. Negotiated departures will have rationale, value and owner. Before financial close, the team will run contract scenarios with project and operations leaders rather than rely on a clause summary.

Consortium and supplier terms will align contributions. Partners need defined capital, capability, people and risk obligations, with decision rights and exit if those obligations fail. Flow-down will be tested, but the CCO will identify exposure the project company cannot transfer. Relationship enthusiasm cannot replace enforceable governance.

Commercial handover will preserve the bid thesis. Assumption registers, negotiated positions, model drivers, obligations and unresolved matters will enter project controls. Early-warning and change processes will encourage fact capture before positions become disputes. Claims remain available where entitlement exists, but success will include avoiding preventable ambiguity and leakage.

The first 12 months

Within 75 days, the CCO will review the twelve largest pursuits and live commercial exposures, map inconsistent thresholds and assess leadership. The sponsor will receive bid, contract and exception decisions requiring immediate action.

By month eight, four priority opportunities should use common commercial gates, two partnership structures should have verified contribution and the first closed PPP should complete a scenario-based handover. The largest unsupported contractual exception will be resolved, priced or withdrawn.

At year-end, 90% of bid spend should sit behind approved gates, commercial forecast variance remain within 5% and material contract assumptions be owned in every priority project. Preventable leakage should fall 15%, while no binding commitment is made without an approved downside, capacity and partner case.

What the board will measure

• Comparable commercial decisions across different PPP markets.
• Risk priced and allocated to parties able to control it.
• Partner contributions secured beyond relationship intent.
• Bid assumptions maintained through delivery and operations.
• Strong commercial challenge, evidence and succession.

The person

You are a Chief Commercial Officer, PPP commercial director or infrastructure business leader with 22–28 years of experience. You have carried accountable scope above £10,150 million and led at least 1,175 people. Your record covers development, contracts, partnerships and live project economics across complex infrastructure.

The board will examine a pursuit you stopped, a risk you refused to price without control and a contract whose economics you protected after close. You must work constructively with customers while holding a clear walk-away position. Pure legal, estimating or claims expertise without enterprise commercial accountability will not qualify.

This onsite London role requires extensive authority, partner, bidder and project travel.

Compensation and terms

Base compensation is £290,000–390,000 plus annual incentive and LTI. Measures include bid quality, forecast accuracy, contract discipline, leakage, partnership performance and succession. Long-term terms follow standard vesting and confirmed scope.

Confidentiality

The organisation, authorities, projects, bids, contracts and partners are confidential. Additional detail follows qualification and mutual confidentiality. Portfolio scale and circumstances are intentionally composite.