Application closing date
19/09/2025
Working Pattern
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Salary
Grade J £40,777 - £45,091 a year
Contractual hours
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Basis
Blank
Job category/type
Social Care - Children
Attachments
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Job description
Role: SEND Commissioning and Finance Project Officer – 2 Posts
Salary: Grade J £40,777 - £45,091 a year
Location: The Council House, Derby
Hours: 37 hours a week
Closing Date: 19/09/2025
Contract Type: Permanent
Post 1 – Leads on independent special schools and contracts
Post 2 – Leads of maintained special schools and finance
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the SEND Commissioning and Finance Team. We are looking for someone who is creative, organised and enthusiastic to undertake this crucial role.
The work of the team is varied, with an emphasis on achieving positive outcomes through effectively sourcing services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The successful applicant will be able to lead and implement complex commissioning activity for children and young people with SEND, with a specific lead area of maintained and academy special schools and enhanced resource provision, funding and financial monitoring.
Who We Are
Here at Derby City Council, we're dedicated to delivering nearly 250 first-class services to citizens and businesses in the heart of the Midlands. People are at the centre of all that we do, and we have an outstanding track record of recruiting and developing talented individuals by providing them with varied and fulfilling career opportunities. Find out more about what it's like to work for us.
What We Offer
You too could be part of something brilliant by becoming a colleague at Derby City Council; in addition to making a difference to the lives of people across the city, you'll also receive:
* Flexible work/life balance scheme
* Hybrid working
* Modern office environment
* Continued professional development opportunities & career conversations
* 27 days annual leave (rising to 32 days after 5 years' service), plus bank holidays
* Local Government Pension Scheme
* Team Derby Rewards – retail and leisure discounts
* Tusker Car Benefit Scheme
* Cycle2Work Scheme & free cycle training
* Employee Assistance Programmes & Support
* Access to our Equality Employee Networks – LGBTQ+, Disabled Employee Network & Carers and our Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic Employee Support Network
* Support for colleagues who are carers
The Opportunity
In the role of Commissioning and Finance Project Officer, here's an example of what you'll be doing to make an impact:
Drive stakeholder engagement and market management within the maintained and academy special schools and enhanced resources in Derby City and neighbouring authorities.
Drive analysis on sufficiency of provision, and lead on budget management and analysis with a focus on achieving value for money
Drive initiatives to develop partnerships within the sector
Lead on high needs funding, financial monitoring and commissioned SEND provision within the maintained and academy schools serving Derby
Undertaking analysis to understand the commissioning needs of the service
About You
To be successful in this role, you'll ideally have…
* Experience of working with contracts, service level agreements and financial monitoring
* Experience of leading in procurements/commissioning activity
* a proactive and flexible attitude to work with experience of gathering, analysing and presenting information
* A thorough understanding of education funding statutory guidance
* An excellent understanding of high needs education provision
Next Steps
If you would like to apply for this vacancy, please submit an application via the Derby City Council website.
The closing date for this vacancy is at midnight on 19 September 2025. Any applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.
Interviews will be held at The Council House, during the week commencing 22nd September 2025.
Important Information
Links to the full Job Description and Person Specification are below.
As part of our safer recruitment checks the successful candidate will be subject to a DBS check.
All employees will normally be appointed to the minimum of the grade for the job.
Remember to align your personal statement to the essential criteria in the Person Specification.
Please be aware that where there are colleagues within the organisation who are 'at risk' of redundancy, requirements to redeploy to another suitable role will apply and take priority.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
We are a fair and inclusive employer and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds. We recruit for diversity and value difference. As many of our roles can now be home-based, we are able to offer more opportunities for people who need this facility.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. If you are a disabled person, you have the choice to apply under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme so long as you demonstrate that you meet the essential requirements for the job.
We feel it is essential that we recruit a talented workforce that is as diverse as the community we work for.
Please let us know of any individual requirements or reasonable adjustments you may have during the application, interview, or onboarding process and we'll do all we can to help. We strongly believe in social understanding of disability and for us it's all about removing barriers to equality.
If you have any questions regarding this vacancy or are having difficulty applying, please contact our Recruitment Team on Relay UK or