The Service & Team:
This is a key senior leadership role within the Commissioning function for Children and Families, reporting directly to the Head of Commissioning. The postholder will provide strategic leadership for services supporting children in care and care leavers, shaping and delivering a clear and ambitious vision to ensure every child and young person experiences stability, belonging and the opportunity to thrive.
Central to the role is the delivery of Cornwall Council’s Better Homes sufficiency strategy, ensuring that children and young people can live in high-quality, nurturing homes close to their communities.
The Role:
The postholder will lead the development and implementation of commissioning strategies and frameworks that secure a sufficient, diverse and sustainable range of local provision. This includes:
* Driving innovation in contracting and procurement approaches in response to a challenging national market
* Reducing reliance on out-of-area placements
* Ensuring best value for services
Commissioning activity will be intelligence-led, translating data, insight and lived experience into market development, service design and forward planning that improves outcomes for children and young people.
The role holder will champion relationship-based commissioning approaches, embedding co-production and meaningful engagement with children, young people and carers. Their voices will directly inform service models, pathways and outcomes, supporting improved stability, transitions to independence and long‑term life chances.
The postholder will also build strong partnerships across:
* Health
* Education
* Housing
* Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector
They will lead work to strengthen the local provider market, build capacity and create opportunities for high‑quality, community‑based provision, while proactively managing market sustainability and provider relationships.
The role provides leadership across the full commissioning cycle—analysis, planning, delivery and review—overseeing complex programmes that balance long‑term transformation with immediate placement pressures. Responsibilities include:
* Contract and provider relationship management
* Quality assurance and performance oversight
* Governance, compliance and financial management
* Ensuring value for money while prioritising outcomes for children
As a senior leader within Children's Services, the postholder will bring ambition, innovation and system leadership, representing the Council in strategic partnerships, influencing regional and national agendas, and contributing to the wider transformation of services.
This is a public/customer‑facing role, where the statutory English language requirement for public sector workers applies.
This position will be subject to a criminal record disclosure check.
Working Pattern:
Full‑time hours (exact working pattern to be confirmed).
Flexible and hybrid working arrangements may be available in line with service needs.
What you’ll need to succeed:
We are looking for an experienced and strategic leader with:
* Significant experience in commissioning, ideally within children's services
* Strong understanding of placement sufficiency and the children in care system
* Experience of developing and implementing commissioning strategies and frameworks
* Knowledge of procurement, contracting and provider market management
You will also demonstrate:
* Strong leadership and system‑thinking capability
* The ability to translate data, insight and lived experience into strategic planning
* Excellent partnership working skills across multiple sectors
* A commitment to co‑production and relationship‑based practice
* Financial and commercial awareness, with a focus on value for money
* The ability to lead complex programmes and deliver change in a challenging environment
What you’ll get in return:
Cornwall Council’s ambition is to be an employer of choice, a high performing Council and a learning organisation. We commit to providing a reward and benefits package to attract, motivate and reward our employees. We offer a range of flexible working options to our staff. This helps provide our employees with a greater work/life balance. Whilst still ensuring that service needs are met.
Our core employee rewards and benefits include:
* a competitive salary.
* a defined benefit pension scheme, based on your career average earnings. This includes the option for extra voluntary contributions
* a generous annual leave entitlement with the potential to purchase additional leave.
* a national award‑winning employee health and wellbeing programme
* Employee benefits scheme giving employees access to a wide range of discounts to local and national goods and services
Additional Information:
Cornwall Council is unable to offer visa sponsorship or transfer existing sponsorship for this role.
The full role profile is attached here.
We recommend saving a copy of this to refer to if you are invited to an interview.
For more information or an informal chat about the role please contact Rosie Thomas‑Easton at Rosie.Thomas‑Easton@cornwall.gov.uk
Application Process
Please attach a supporting statement to your application, you can add your Education & Qualifications details manually using the application form timeline or you can upload your CV. Remember to demonstrate why you are suitable against each of the points marked as ‘Application’ on the Role Profile using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work / personal experience, which clearly illustrates what you did and the effect it had. Guidance on how to complete your application can be found here – The application process.
Please note that applications cannot be edited after they have been submitted, please contact careers@cornwall.gov.uk if you have any queries or require assistance with your application.
Existing employees must apply using their Cornwall Council email address through the Opportunity Marketplace on Oracle.
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