Commercial Delegations and Mentoring

This page is an extract from the full topic guidance on Commercial Delegations and mentoring [65KB PDF]. It details any Constraints associated with Commercial Delegations and Mentoring, provides a summary of the Authoritative Guidance and lists any essential reading, further reading or associated documents.

If you have any queries on this topic, please contact the Sponsor by email: DGDC CPaG 3.

Constraints

Ministry of Defence (MOD) acquisition staff must not enter into contractual commitments unless they have written delegated authority to do so.

The nature and scope of the defined delegation must not be exceeded.

Authoritative Guidance Summary

Commercial delegations are always conveyed in writing to an individual in a personal letter and/or a Commercial Licence.

The level of delegation is dependent on the business needs of the organisation in relation to the specific post and an individual officer's professional background, training and experience although indicative levels by value band are provided.

The letter of delegation / Commercial Licence remains valid for two years from the date of issue. Beyond this date it is no longer valid, and the holder will require a new licence to be issued.

With the single exception of the Government Procurement Card (GPC), where different arrangements apply there must be a clear separation of duties between those having the delegated authority to commission a purchase order and those with the authority to commit that order to contract. Only Director / Head of Commercial, in conjunction with a representative of the appropriate Senior Finance Officer (SFO), may authorise departures from this general rule.

Government Procurement Card (GPC) delegations must be made in accordance with Joint Service Publication (JSP) 332 Low Value Procurement Manual External link to Ministry of Defence Intranet content .

All commercial officers below Director / Head of Commercial level are allocated a commercial Mentor who is the point of contact for providing more senior and experienced commercial advice or assistance when and where appropriate. The Mentor is always identified in the Commercial Licence. The Mentor need not necessarily be in the Licence holder's direct line management chain.

Delegated powers for settling ex-gratia claims from contractors are limited to Directors / Heads of Commercial. Delegated powers for dealing with extra-contractual claims from contractors and remissions of contractual claims against contractors are limited to Deputy Heads of Commercial or Band B1 or B2 officers and above.

Associated Documents

Annex A - Commercial Licence [40KB DOC]

Annex B - Spreading Best Commercial Practice [16KB PDF]

Annex C - Questions About Mentors Answered [28KB PDF]

Annex D - MOD Heads of Commercial [22KB PDF]

Essential Reading

Government Procurement Card (GPC) Delegations JSP 332 External link to Ministry of Defence Intranet content , Chapter 6.

Commercial Toolkit Claims Topic.

Change History

1 July 2010: Amended to reflect the introduction of maximum delegation levels, the establishment of a delegations / licence database, a statement on Heads of Terms / TOBAs, and the establishment of a two year expiry date on delegations / licences. Sponsor changed to DGDC CPaG 3.
1 September 2009: Editorial amendments, and the creation of links to relevant content.
1 May 2009: Changed to reflect DCD Departmental name change and Sponsor name change.
1 October 2008: Updated at Paragraph 20b for guidance on contracting with Private Military/Security Companies.
1 August 2008: Minor edits at Annex B to support Departmental name changes.
1 May 2008: Annexes removed and replaced with individual documents.
1 March 2008: Minor editorial changes to reflect organisational changes.
1 May 2007: Sponsor change and minor edits to support Departmental name changes.
1 April 2007: Minor edits to support Departmental name changes.