Group Leader

Barnsley Council are seeking an experienced Group Leader (Employment + Skills) to join the team based in Barnsley. You will be working on a full time, permanent basis (37 hours per week) and in return, you will receive a competitive salary of £52,889 – £56,633 per annum.

How do we sum up Barnsley Council? Well, we’re a double award-winning, high-performing council with a growing economy, a thriving town centre and some truly impressive outcomes in our communities.

As Group Leader (Compliance, Performance and Funding) you’ll work with other managers and the wider service to ensure high quality compliance and support delivery across a complex and changing policy and funding context.

By working together, we’re committed to building success so that more people can achieve their potential. We help people gain new and transferable skills and qualifications, provide extra support to those who need supported employment opportunities or who have been out of work for long periods, and we help people and businesses improve their digital skills and the skills that local industries need. Many local businesses are keen to work with schools to prepare our young people for the world of work. We have arrangements to use that enthusiasm.  We do this by accessing external funding and using core Council resources.

There’s huge growth potential in our borough. Our ambitious Local Plan supports better homes, jobs, services, transport links and commercial development to boost our economy. Our award-winning developments, The Glass Works and The SEAM digital campus, go along with a multi-million-pound investment in our Principal Towns and Local Centres, showing our commitment to creating an economy that benefits everyone.

We’re looking for someone who understands people and the transformational development of place. You’ll do this through building strong relationships locally and regionally in a way that makes us a trusted partner that can influence local and regional agendas. You’ll be impressed by the scope for change that comes with this vital role. At Barnsley Council, we’re making big changes to benefit all who live and work here.

Your key functions as Group Leader for Compliance, Funding and Performance (CFP) are to ensure that all external contracts are used to provide funding to deliver our transformational programmes. You’ll manage an effective compliance and governance framework that matches both internal and external governance and audit driving continuous service improvement and strategic/corporate alignment. The CFP team implements several Management Information Systems that are used to monitor and drive performance, enabling operational compliance and functionality, and ensuring accurate service wide reporting demonstrating programme impact and enabling the preparation and submission of funding returns.

As Group Leader you’ll ensure coordinated and streamlined programmes of operational and strategic support that contribute to statutory function, planning, and compliance against Inspection Frameworks and Combined Authority Funding Guidance to support the Employment and Skills Service deliver positive outcomes for Barnsley communities. You’ll support the wider service with commissioning and contract management functions. You’ll manage external centre provision and central delivery spaces. You’ll do this with the help of a skilled and supportive team and through partnership working with core council services.

The functions within CFP include providing Funder Submissions and Learner Records to the South Yorkshire Combined Mayoral Authority (SYMCA) or other funders/lead local authority partner organisations. This relates specifically to UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the Adult Education Budget.  Providing enrolment, enquires, triage and reception functions for the Service. Producing performance reports and managing learner support processes.  You will lead on the commissioning of programmes working with other Group Leaders and Service Managers, undertake contract management internally and with commissioned providers.  The service has responsibility for budget monitoring, finance and ordering of resources, Post 19 examination functions, and statutory education, training and employment data for pre and post 16 young people with special consideration of vulnerable and priority groups. CFP also manages Service Health and Safety functions and supports the Service with the corporate H&S Audit programme and Annual Business Continuity Plan.

What you’ll need

To join us, you’ll need a professional or postgraduate qualification in a relevant discipline at level 7 OR extensive equivalent knowledge & experience, a professional project management qualification OR extensive equivalent knowledge & experience and recent professional development in a related area.

You’ll have considerable experience of strategy and policy development and implementation. Knowledge of commissioning and contract management, audit, and relevant statutory functions within the public sector. You’ll understand and be able to use compliance and risk management functions while ensuring all the individual services within Employment and Skills work to a balanced service budget.

You’ll have knowledge about GDPR, good records management, Management Information Systems (MIS), Performance/outcomes frameworks, governance and reporting, and external funding.

Additionally, you’ll have excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills with the ability to deal with different internal and external stakeholders, complex system challenges and competing service priorities.

Closing date: 12th July 2024

A lot to look forward to:

Here at Barnsley, we live and work by four important values: honesty, teamwork, excellent service, and taking pride in what we do. As part of our team, you can be sure we’ll do all we can to support you in being truly excellent. We prioritise learning and enabling you to achieve your potential.

If you think this role is for you then we would very much welcome your application, apply now to become our Group Leader (Employment + Skills).