The British Embassy in Lisbon is part of a worldwide network representing British political, economic, security and consular interests overseas. From Lisbon, we are now seeking a high calibre Commercial Capability Manager to support the FCDO’s commercial function globally, working with teams in the UK and across our overseas Posts.

In this role, you will contribute to delivering commercial excellence across the FCDO by supporting commercial capability, learning and development, capacity and competency management, and aspects of budgeting and planning. Your work will help ensure that commercial teams have the skills, tools and capacity they need to deliver complex programmes effectively.

You will work closely with a wide range of stakeholders, including FCDO Commercial Directorate colleagues in the UK and commercial teams at overseas Posts, to promote best practice, support continuous improvement, and strengthen commercial professionalism across the organisation.

Although based at the British Embassy in Lisbon, this is a cross cutting role with an international remit. You will work as part of a wider commercial capability network and will also be expected to operate independently, using your judgement and experience to manage priorities, drive performance, and respond flexibly to changing operational demands.

Core Responsibilities

1. Commercial Capability Improvement

• Lead defined workstreams to strengthen commercial capability and awareness across the organisation.
• Coordinate the department’s commercial capability review, analyse findings, and translate these into clear improvement initiatives.
• Ensure best practice is applied across the full commercial lifecycle, supporting colleagues to embed consistent standards.

2. Performance, Talent and Compliance Management

• Coordinate commercial performance management, talent planning and succession pipeline activities within the wider team.
• Support the department’s commercial qualification and licensing approach, ensuring accurate tracking and reporting.
• Oversee the management of commercial and corporate records, ensuring compliance with relevant governance, audit and data‑handling requirements.

3. Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration

• Build and maintain effective relationships with internal stakeholders, other government departments, external training providers, and the Government Commercial Function.
• Understand stakeholder motivations and behaviours to communicate commercial messages clearly and support informed decision‑making.
• Bring together best practice and identify opportunities to enhance capability offers across the organisation.

4. Change, Communications and Training Delivery

• Coordinate end‑to‑end change, capability, communications, engagement and training activities for the commercial function.
• Manage commercial, finance and compliance records with a strong visual project management approach, using tools such as SharePoint and other delivery platforms.
• Ensure consistent messaging, accessible learning materials and alignment of capability activity with wider organisational change programmes.

5. Continuous Improvement and Reporting

• Lead and support the development and delivery of commercial continuous improvement plans and reporting cycles.
• Define and maintain approaches for driving capability improvements, ensuring these are evidence‑based and measurable.
• Support cost estimation, budget management, and control of forecasts and actual spend.

6. Agile Workforce Contribution

• Contribute flexibly to priority work across the department as required under the FCDO’s agile workforce model.
• Undertake additional duties that support delivery of strategic commercial objectives, in line with grade and capability.

7. Professional Standards

• Maintain up‑to‑date professional knowledge of commercial best practice, government commercial standards and department policies.
• Where applicable, affiliate with the relevant specialist network or professional body (e.g., CIPS, CIPD).

Our ideal candidates shows:

• Full professional proficiency in English  written and spoken C1 level for the CEFR framework*.
• Ability to develop others through coaching, mentoring and sharing technical/commercial knowledge, with a clear understanding of the commercial environment.
• At least 3 year’s experience in staff Development/L&D roles
• At least 3 year’s experience in procurement
• At least 3 years’ experience in project management, including delivery against agreed specifications, delegations and timelines.
• A minimum of 3 years’ experience producing clear summary dashboards by analysing and manipulating information, using Microsoft tools (e.g., Excel, Power BI) and SharePoint.
• Confident communicator able to engage stakeholders at all levels, adapting style to influence, explain benefits delivered, and support effective governance and relationship management.
• Ability to identify, articulate and communicate cyber, personnel and physical risks, securing agreement on appropriate mitigations.
• Strong teamworking skills, with the ability to support team performance, handle setbacks constructively and resolve issues collaboratively.