Exciting opportunities with the Education Sufficiency and Place Planning Team Provision Planning Officer - Fixed term for two years Based at Worcester and Pershore with Hybrid working Scale £37,036 - £39,513 35 hours a week Start date: A s soon as possible The opportunity: The Education Sufficiency and Place Planning team, within the Education Directorate of Worcestershire County Council, are looking for a senior officer to lead on the sufficiency of early years and childcare and provision planning. If you are applying for this position on a secondment, please ensure you have the approval of your existing line manager beforehand. The Team: The Sufficiency and Place Planning Team have a responsibility to ensure that the Council meets its statutory duties to provide sufficient high quality childcare provision, promote parental choice and increase diversity and inclusion in the education system. With population increases and significant housing developments, the demand for additional provision is increasing in Worcestershire. We are having to think creatively about how we solve the demand for provision utilising the assets we have and the funding available. The role: Provision Planning Officers have a key role to drive forward the reviews for demand for education (including childcare) provision across the county of Worcestershire. You will be expected to take a lead role in matters relating to early years and childcare provision planning. You will act as the senior officer in relation to: The collation and reporting of supply and demand data to highlight areas of childcare sufficiency need, to support the decision making on how capital funding is allocated, to support the government expansion of entitlements and programmes. Coordinate the Local Authority assessment of capital funding bids for early years and childcare. Lead on the delivery of the annual Childcare Sufficiency Assessment and Action Plan to address sufficiency needs. Provide advice and guidance to schools and coordinate the Local Authority responsibilities for schools proposing to open or change early years provision. Supervise a Provision Planning Analyst to manipulate and analyse complex datasets, drawing conclusions and translating this into place planning proposals that meet the childcare sufficiency duty. Engaging and effectively communicating with a variety of stakeholders within the childcare sector; and Providing expert advice and guidance to stakeholders in relation to provision planning and education contributions from new housing developments. You will work in conjunction with colleagues in Worcestershire County Council Early Years and Childcare Team, School Improvement Service, Property services, Strategic Planning, Commercial and Change, and All Age Disability 0-25 Service. There is a lot of variety in the workload required, and we work in a fast-paced environment, managing tight deadlines whilst also planning ahead for the future demands. Continuous improvement is critical to the role, reviewing, improving processes and how we work with internal and external partners to deliver the best quality services. About you: This position is suitable for you, if you are a flexible, successful, and able to demonstrate continuous professional development. Furthermore, you will need to be self-motivated and an experienced project manager who will be able to act as a role model to others in the team by sharing your knowledge and experience. A strong and effective team player with the ability to work independently using your own initiative, with a pro-active approach. You will have key project management experience including implementing new ways of working to mitigate demands, leading on dedicated projects and developing strategic modelling to predict future demands for early years and childcare provision. Some of the competencies that we will be looking for you to demonstrate are, personal responsibility, a ‘can do’ positive attitude, and a customer focus. If you are looking for a new and exciting challenge and feel that you match the essential requirements as described in the Job Description and Person Specification, then please apply. What we can offer you: Permanent 35 hours per week Salary scale £37,036 - £39,513 (based on 35 hour week) Flexible and mobile working arrangements Disability Confident: We are inclusive – this is really important to us, and we are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. Disability Confident is helping us recruit and retain great people to meet our workforce needs. If you have a disability and require reasonable adjustments, please let us know. Applying: Please find the Job Description and Person Specification attached. If you would like any additional information or an informal conversation about the role, please contact Rachel Kiernan rkiernan@worcestershire.gov.uk and request a call. Application Closing Date: 5pm on Friday 28th November Interview date: Wednesday 10th or Thursday 11th December 2025 Attached documents Provison Planning Officer Job Description and Person Specification v0.2.docx