Senior Placement and Contract Commissioning Officer

About Us

At West Sussex County Council, we are ambitious for our children and our workforce. We are committed to improving our services for the children and families in West Sussex that we support and care for.

Children, Young People & Learning are focused on delivering a significant shift to prevention of needing to bring children into care where it is safe not to. Closer working with partners, and a focused commissioning strategy will achieve better outcomes for our children and young people.

The Opportunity

Salary: £37,336 to £40,221 per annum
Working Pattern: Full Time (37 hours)
Contract Length: Fixed term until 31st March 2025
Location: Worthing with some travel and hybrid working.

Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.

We currently have two exciting, fixed term Senior Vacancies within the Childrens Commissioning Service.

The roles sit within the 0-16 team and involve securing and monitoring the homes and accommodation West Sussex children reside in and ensuring that they are of the best quality and at all times conducive to the achievement of best outcomes.

The ability to effectively and professionally communicate with a range of professionals, including providers of care, social workers, education and health professionals will therefore be a daily requirement. The role is a busy one and will require the successful candidate to work well under pressure and in time sensitive situations.

We are particularly interested in applicants that have an appreciation of what it means to be a child or a young person in care, the challenges this can bring and the importance of having a safe place to call home.

You will on occasion be expected to travel to various locations throughout the county and beyond including to locations that are not always accessible by public transport, therefore, a driving licence would be desirable.

The team work to a hybrid arrangement which involves working in our Worthing office for part of the week as well as from home.

Experience and Skills

Key Skills:

• Ability to present information clearly, and in ways that promote understanding. Including the ability to persuade and successfully convince others of the need to take a specific course of action.
• Good analytical skills to interpret complex tender/financial information, with the ability to organise, plan and meet set targets
• Good communication and negotiation skills to work with partners including the ability to negotiate solutions across wide areas of the business to achieve best outcomes and value for money.
• Solution focussed with the ability to analyse complex situations and provide forward thinking strategies and solutions that consider a variety of possible solutions and balance risks/resources and desired outcomes
• Ability to work flexibly as required across different areas within the Children's Services Commissioning Team, embrace change and have the flexibility to respond to the needs of the service.

Qualifications and/or experience:

• Degree or equivalent qualification or significant experience in brokerage / contract management, demonstrating that level of applied knowledge
• Significant experience in brokerage to ensure resources meet customer's requirements and business need.
• Relevant advanced theoretical or organisational knowledge of systems, procedures and policies associated with operating a demanding procurement/contract management service.
• Knowledge of Children's Services and the associated provider market would be advantageous - Desirable
• Experience of providing mentoring / coaching / on-the-job training to colleagues to maximise their specific capabilities and to meet objectives.

Rewards and Benefits

As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

In addition to working within a great team and a brilliant opportunity you will receive:

For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CAFHE04874.

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact James Ball on .

To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter.