The purpose of this role is to support the strategic programmes of commissioning activities across Children’s Social Care, Education and Public Health - driving innovation to deliver better outcomes and financial efficiencies which in turn deliver the Council’s key corporate and partnership priorities - a council that works for everyone, to benefit the people of Northumberland.
A pivotal part of this role is to develop relationships with providers within the children’s social care arena, with the purpose of working with them to achieve positive outcomes for looked after children in Northumberland. This will include understanding the market, manage the market and build productive and positive relationships to achieve the required outcomes. Along with, commissioning placements for learners via Department of Education Registered, Non-Maintained and Independent Special School and Colleges. As this is a new and emerging area of focus for the Team, we are looking for a person that will contribute towards service improvement and develop a more strategic approach to the commissioning of external placements and drive out efficiencies.
The Service consists of the Head of Commissioning for Children’s Social Care, Education and Public Health, Commissioning Manager, 3 Commissioning and Relationship Development Officers (including this post) and a Contracts Officer.
We are looking for someone who has recent and significant experience in children’s social care, or education and public health commissioning including all aspects of the commissioning cycle, which includes assessing needs, planning and prioritising, purchasing and monitoring services, to get the best outcomes for service users. Be commercially aware and able to understand the relationship between cost, quality, customer care and corporate performance assessments. To negotiate directly with providers the costs of support for children and young people requiring residential care, and/or education within the range of contractual arrangements available.
The post is Band 8 salary - £37,336 - £41,418.
The post will be hybrid between home-working, with a hot-desk base at County Hall, Morpeth. There will be a need for travel around the country to undertake the monitoring, with the potential for occasional overnight stays.
This is a full-time position, which is fixed term contract until 31 March 2025.
Requirements of the job:
- The successful candidate must be educated to degree level, in a relevant subject or an appropriate professional qualification relevant to the position.
- Recent and significant experience in children’s social care, or education and public health commissioning including all aspects of the commissioning cycle, to achieve the best outcomes for service users and have substantial knowledge and understanding of Local Government and the range of services involved in supporting children, young people and their families.
- The monitoring aspect of the role is significant and will include visiting the sites of external providers as well as undertaking Regulation 44 visits for the Council’s internally operated children’s homes. It follows that the postholder will be required to work with internal and external service provider on both a stand-alone or collaborative basis. There will be a need for travel around the country to undertake the monitoring, with the potential for occasional overnight stays. A valid UK driving licence is therefore essential.
- An enhanced DBS check will be required for this post.
Northumberland is world-renowned as a visitor destination and an ideal location to strike a perfect work/life balance. There is no better way of enjoying the picturesque scenery and stunning coastline than on an everyday basis!
Why choose us?
We have some outstanding benefits to offer you, including:
- 26 days annual leave plus public/bank holidays, rising to 31 days after 5 years of service (pro rata for part-time employees)
- Automatic enrolment into the Local Government Pension Scheme
- Flexi scheme (if applicable) – up to 2 days flexible leave available per month (pro rata for part-time employees)
- Local government discount schemes available to all employees with offers at local businesses along with various national brands
- Commitment to work/life balance offering flexibility through various schemes including job sharing, flexible working, term-time only, and compressed hours
- A range of salary sacrifice schemes are available
- Staff networks - run by staff, for staff, providing opportunities for peer networking, mutual support, staff development e.g. Apprenticeship, Armed Forces, ASD, Enable (disability), LGBT+, Menopause, Mental Wellbeing, Racial Equality
Further information
We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. If you wish to notify us of your eligibility for this scheme, please email hrrecruitment@northumberland.gov.uk or ring 01670 623930 with your name and the job title you have applied for and one of the recruitment team will ensure this is factored into the shortlisting process and kept anonymous. If you have a disability and would prefer to apply in a different format, please see the alternative methods below. This information will be treated as confidential and will only be used to check that you meet the essential requirements of the post.
Alternative application format:
British Sign Language: northumberlandcc-cs.signvideo.net
For those with speech difficulties or hearing loss: Text relay service dial 018001 01670 623930
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to
Disability Confident.
