Job title: Commissioning Officer
Salary: PO2 £39,862 to £42,839
Hours: 37
Contract: Permanent
Location: Merrion House, Leeds
The Commissioning and Market Management Service in the Children and Families Directorate is seeking applications for the post of Commissioning Officer (PO2).
You’ll will be part of our Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ rated Children and Families service and employed by Leeds City Council where we have a culture of excellence and are continually striving to drive up standards.
It’s not a traditional transactional commissioning role, it is a practice based, child focused, transformational commissioning role that delivers outstanding outcomes for children, cost improvement and value for money using innovative approaches and agile responses in a challenging external market.
Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions .
About You
As a Commissioning Officer, you will bring to the role:
* Experience in commissioning and/or project management and/or front line working with children and families with transferable skills.
* Flexibility to contribute to all aspects of commissioning, contract management and quality assurance across the Children and Families Directorate.
* A passion for learning with the ability to challenge and drive change.
* A restorative mind-set, focussed on improving outcomes for children and young people.
* The ability to use own initiative and take ownership of work programme.
About The Role
This is an exciting opportunity to join the Children and Families Commissioning & Market Management Service. The service has a critical role as a core function in the directorate and with its partners to deliver priorities in the Children and Young People’s Plan and obtain the best possible outcomes for children and families.
The service covers a wide range of different commissioning areas including family support, early help, placements, SEND, regional and national adoption, youth services, learning inclusion and regional commissioning. The team is responsible for commissioning 100+ different contracts worth approximately £20 million per year in addition to over £50 million spend on placements and SEND learning.
We ensure the voice of children and families is at the heart of what we do. We work with partners and young people to help design our services. We engage with internal services and providers to ensure there is a strong market able to deliver our services. We use a range of monitoring and contract management methods to measure performance and outcomes and drive continuous improvement. We work with partners such as the NHS to achieve the best outcomes and make the most effective use of resources, including joint commissioning. We embed safeguarding, equality and quality assurance across our commissioning activity and service delivery. We commission services based on evidence and value for money. We have a bespoke brokerage team.
We are keen to recruit the right people that have the ingredients to develop into exceptional commissioners. There will be a full induction to develop people who can demonstrate the right knowledge and aptitude.
Regardless of your previous experience all successful candidates will be required to undertake continuous professional development. You will gain or strengthen best practice knowledge of various aspects of children’s service delivery, technical commissioning skills including commercial acumen and value for money techniques. As a core service in Children and Families, you will be integral to decision taking.
What We Offer You
We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:
* a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
* membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
* flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
* a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
* a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further.
How To Apply
To apply, complete the online application form on the Leeds City Council job site. For an informal discussion regarding this posts, please contact Rebecca Fenwick on rebecca.fenwick@leeds.gov.uk .
We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.
This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.
If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visa route before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Ensure you are eligible before applying.