Guidance

Commercial Assessment and Development Centre Guide (HTML)

Updated 9 April 2025

Introduction

This short guide outlines the background to the Commercial Assessment & Development Centre and gives some information about the day itself, in order to help you prepare.

What is the Assessment & Development Centre?

The Assessment & Development Centre (known as the “ADC”) is a virtual assessment day that involves a range of exercises that assess commercial capabilities. There is no in-person attendance, all of the activities on the day are carried out online.

The centre’s processes and environment have been designed by occupational and business psychologists, and commercial subject-matter experts to comply with the British Psychological Society’s standard ‘Design and Delivery of Assessment Centres’ (2014) on assessment design and delivery.

Technical platform

The assessment day will be carried out via Government Commercial College (known as the “GCC”). You’ll need to be logged in for the whole day.

The online sessions across the day will be hosted on Microsoft Teams.

Assessors

We only use the most senior and experienced commercial experts as assessors. Each has been through a rigorous selection and training programme. They will know how to explore your answers and examples and how best to test your capabilities.

Attributes

Skills and attributes

On the day these attributes will be assessed:

Group 1: Business Acumen and cCommercial Judgement

• Manages Risk
• Analyses and Provides Insight
• Makes Effective Decisions
• Demonstrates Commercial Acumen

Group 2: Leadership Skills and Capability

• Delivers Results and Shows Resilience
• Communicates and Influences Effectively
• Builds Relationships
• Develops Capability in Others

Attribute definitions

Attribute definitions: Business Acumen & Commercial Judgement

Manages Risk Identifies and analyses risks, including their potential impact and trade-offs. Takes appropriate actions to mitigate risks, showing a willingness to take balanced risks where appropriate.

Analyses and Provides Insight Analyses and assimilates information effectively, making links between different sources of information. Evaluates information to draw meaningful insights. Utilises market knowledge and understanding of the wider political context.

Makes Effective Decisions Makes clear and effective decisions, based on evidence. Considers a wide range of different options and provides a clear rationale for the decision made. Recognises when to involve others in the decision-making process. Makes timely decisions and plans how to implement decisions effectively.

Demonstrates Commercial Acumen  Applies commercial principles effectively, to deliver solutions which meet wider needs and priorities, and maximise value for money. Utilises financial data and contractual information to guide recommendations, always considering the wider commercial impact and the social or environmental benefits that can be achieved through contracts.

Attribute definitions: Leadership Skills & Capability

Delivers Results and Shows Resilience Takes a results-focused and positive approach to ensuring optimal outcomes are achieved. Demonstrates resilience by remaining calm and composed in challenging situations. Strives to resolve issues, overcoming setbacks and challenges. Shows adaptability when attempting to reach objectives and manages change effectively.

Communicates and Influences Effectively Communicates effectively, ensuring messages are clearly articulated and understood. Influences others to achieve positive outcomes, asserting their position confidently. Takes ownership of, and manages, conversations with stakeholders seamlessly, flexing their communication style based on the dynamics of the situation.

Builds Relationships Builds positive relationships with stakeholders, and collaborates and consults with others effectively to achieve win/win outcomes. Demonstrates effective interpersonal skills when interacting with others, showing empathy and constructively resolving conflict.

Develops Capability in Others Develops capability and builds confidence in others, understanding their motivations and utilising this to drive positive commercial outcomes. Provides support to address development needs and empowers others to work to their potential. Utilises coaching and shares expertise and knowledge with a range of stakeholders.

Exercises

Commercial Lead

1. Judgement and leadership interview
2. Peer-to-peer meeting
3. Supplier meeting
4. Case study
5. Technical interview

Senior Commercial Specialist

1. Judgement and leadership interview
2. Stakeholder meeting
3. Case study and brief
4. Technical interview

Commercial Specialist

1. Judgement and leadership interview
2. Peer-to-peer meeting
3. Supplier meeting
4. Case study and brief
5. Technical interview

Associate Commercial Specialist

1. Judgement and leadership interview
2. Peer-to-peer meeting
3. Supplier meeting
4. Case study and brief
5. Technical interview

Preparing for the day

Materials and preparations

Good preparation is key! To help prepare for assessment day, do have a read of People Standards for the Profession (PDF, 488KB). As the standards are divided by level, once you know the level at which you’re being assessed, this will help you to focus on the sections that are relevant to you.

You’ll be directed to supporting materials on Government Commercial College as part of your registration process. These will give you a useful insight into the day.

Also, we’d recommend a ‘tech check’ of your IT equipment in Microsoft Teams in advance, for your peace of mind.

Getting ready for the day

The Assessment & Development Centre is designed to be as inclusive and accessible as possible. We’ll help you overcome barriers to your success on the day with reasonable adjustments, as necessary.

For example, we can help with neurodiversity such as dyslexia and dyspraxia, medical conditions such as those which lead to fatigue or not being able to remain seated for long periods, or physical impairments such as those relating to sight or hearing.

Also, we can also help by amending timetables to allow for additional breaks or reading time (maybe spreading the exercises across more than one day) and providing different document formats.

If you have any queries ahead of the day send an email to: gcfdevelopmentcentre@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

On the day

Timings

The precise timings of the day might vary very slightly, but as a general rule will run from approximately 8:00 am to 3:30 pm.

There are breaks throughout the day and you don’t need to keep your camera on for these or whilst preparing for exercises (if you prefer).

Who you will meet on the day

Assessors: will conduct the assessment and interact with you for the assessment exercises

Moderators: ensure that the Assessment & Development Centre is delivered fairly and consistently. They also ensure the overall integrity of the day is maintained. There will be a moderation session at the end of the day to review all of the exercises you have completed and explore the scores and feedback provided by the assessors.

Day managers: ensure the day runs smoothly for you, making sure that you understand the process and timings and have access to the materials you need for the exercises.

How you’ll be assessed

The exercises on the day are designed to give you maximum opportunity to demonstrate and evidence your skills and capabilities.

Your day will feature all, or a combination of, these activities (depending on level of your Assessment & Development Centre and whether or not this is your first attempt):

Judgement and leadership interview

Your first competency based interview will last up to 45 minutes and, drawing from examples, looks into your judgement and leadership experience.

The assessor will ask you competency-style questions and may also ask some more probing questions. This is not designed to trip you up, but rather to ensure that you get the best possible chance to demonstrate your knowledge and experience, and are able to provide all the evidence needed to assess your capability.

Peer-to-peer briefing

Your peer-to-peer exercise will be a 25-minute interactive role play exercise where you (commercial) will have a meeting with your peer about a hypothetical situation.

You’ll get 45 minutes to prepare for the meeting and build your briefing information for the session. During the meeting, your peer (the assessor) will ask a number of questions to give you the opportunity to provide your evidence for the attributes being measured. In this exercise you’ll be able to show how you can provide key insights, build effective relationships and provide commercial support to your peer colleague.

Supplier meeting

The supplier meeting exercise is based on the same hypothetical situation as the peer-to-peer meeting. Again it is a 25-minute interactive roleplay exercise where you (commercial) will have a meeting with a supplier (the assessor).

Your preparation for this exercise will be done alongside the preparation for the Peer to Peer (45 mins), but you will get an additional 10 minutes for the supplier meeting just before the role play.

During the exercise, you’ll manage a complex commercial situation, negotiate effectively and secure the suppliers’ buy-in on a way forward.

Case study

Based on a hypothetical case study, you’ll be asked to review and analyse the information provided in line with the task instructions. This could be items such as emails, news articles, reports, tables, graphs, charts and financial information.

You’ll be given time to prepare, then present your findings and approach to the assessor. You might get some follow-up questions designed to get you to elaborate on some areas to demonstrate your full knowledge.

Technical interview

A  competency-based style interview that will last up to 60 minutes and  explores your technical experience and expertise across 4 commercial lifecycle areas.

The assessor will ask questions and probe you on the areas of commercial expertise. This approach is designed to help pull out evidence from your experience and to get the best out of the interview.

Stakeholder meeting (senior commercial specialist level only)

The Stakeholder meeting exercise is an interactive role-play exercise. This exercise has been designed as an opportunity for you to analyse information obtained from a broad range of sources and lead a stakeholder meeting.

You will be given 30 minutes to prepare for the meeting and you will have 25 minutes for the meeting itself. The stakeholders will be played by two assessors and they will probe and ask questions to ensure they have the evidence required.  

Scoring

Scoring is based on Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales (known as “BARS”). These assess individual performance against the eight behavioural attributes derived from the People Standards for the Profession in a structured and consistent way.

The assessors will score you on each judgement and leadership attribute and each area of technical expertise. You are scored on evidence that you provide in response to questions and the behaviours you exhibited in the exercises.

For the judgement and leadership attributes, each attribute is assessed twice and then an average score is generated for each attribute. An average for each of the two is taken, ultimately generating an overall average.

All four of the technical expertise attributes are assessed. Commercial Leads and Associate Commercial Specialists are required to pass one area, Commercial Specialists two, and Senior Commercial Specialists are required to pass three areas with one needing to be strategy and policy development.

From these scores, an overall mark is awarded:

• A: Meets threshold (accredited)
• B* (ASR): B but eligible for an Accreditation Status Review
• B: Need for development
• C: Significant need for development

After your assessment

Upon getting your results

Your report will be available five working days after your assessment day. This may be sent to either your recruitment contact or directly to you (depending on the reason for attending the Assessment & Development Centre).

It will include your scores against each attribute assessed as well as an overall outcome. There will be detailed commentary against each attribute and an overall summary.

We recognise that all feedback is vital to help with career development. Anyone completing the Assessment & Development Centre can request a feedback call with a moderator.

If you join the Government Commercial Organisation as a Commercial Lead or Associate Commercial Specialist, you’ll get an opportunity to join a Group Talent Conversation with an Executive Coach to support your development. If you join Government Commercial Organisation as a Commercial Specialist or Senior Commercial Specialist, you’ll be offered a one-to-one Talent Conversation.

Appeals

In some circumstances, you can submit an appeal against your result. For more information on the appeals process email: gcfdevelopmentcentre@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Who will see the results

Recruitment candidates (internal and external): your outcome will be relayed to you by your recruitment account manager and your report will be shared with you

Civil servants, anyone from the wider public sector or external organisations attending the Assessment & Development Centre for development purposes: your results will be shared directly with you. They may also be shared with your commercial director and HR. Your results will be available to the Commercial Capability Programme and Government Commercial Organisation HR in order to develop the profession and our learning and development offer.

All data is securely stored and managed in line with the Data Protection Act and is compliant with GDPR regulations.

What the results mean

Recruitment candidates (internal and external): your recruitment account manager will explain what your results mean to you and the next steps in the process

Civil servants in scope to transfer to the Government Commercial Organisation: you should discuss your results with your line manager or refer to the Assessment & Development Centre policy to understand the impact of different outcomes

Anyone from the wider public sector or external organisations attending the day for development purposes: you should speak to your line manager and your employer to understand what the result may mean to you - as it can vary between organisations.