Commissioning Officer

October 14, 2024

Leeds City Council

Leeds

FULL TIME

The job requirements are detailed below. Where applicable the skills, qualifications and memberships required for this job have also been included.
Job details

Salary

£32,076 - £33,945

Contractual hours

Basis

Full Time

Date posted

12/08/2024

Job reference

REQ000011

Job title: Commissioning Coordinator x 2

Salary: SO1 £32,076 - £33,945

Hours: 37

Contract: Permanent

Location: Kernel House

The Commissioning Service in the Children and Families Directorate is seeking applications for the post of Commissioning Coordinator (SO1). There are two permanent posts.

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 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 Coordinator, you will bring to the role:

An organised approach to your work.
Being able to work as part of a team.
Flexibility to support all aspects of commissioning, contract management and quality assurance across the Children and Families Directorate.
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 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 value for money, 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.

These two posts are entry level commissioning roles, and we are keen to recruit the right people that have the ingredients to develop into exceptional commissioners. This could be the start of your career in commissioning with opportunity to progress.

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

Please complete the online application form.

If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role please contact Charlie Mills, Commissioning Manager: Charlie.Mills@leeds.gov.uk for the CLA role and Lucie Yardley-Fear, Benefits and Finance Manager: Lucie.Fear@leeds.gov.uk for the VFM role.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

We promote diversity and want a workforce that reflects the population of Leeds. Leeds City Council is recognised in Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index 2024. We are also an Age-friendly Employer, a Mindful Employer and a Disability Confident Leader.

All new Leeds City Council appointments are made subject to the satisfactory completion of a six-month probationary period.

This role is based in the UK. Employment is conditional on confirmation of the right to work in the UK - 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 and the role does not meet eligibility for sponsorship, please consider carefully whether you meet the eligibility to apply.

Job Description

Job purpose

Working either as part of the Placements Service or the wider Contracting & Strategic Investment function you will model values and behaviours to help us to achieve our ambition to become the best city council in the country, and our partnership aspiration to become the first child friendly city. You will deliver your own core statutory responsibilities and work with and support your colleagues in delivering our collective responsibility to keep all children safe.

Your core role will be to support the Commissioning Manager and Commissioning Officers by undertaking aspects of contract management at an officer level. Co-ordinating the evaluation of contracts and the practical application of lessons learned.

You will support the active involvement of children and young people and families in how Children’s Services are delivered and how they contribute to the ambitions of the Council as set out in the City Plan for Leeds, ensuring that children and young people have a voice and their views are heard.

Responsibilities

General responsibilities

To support the Commissioning Manager and Commissioning Officers in their roles to deliver improvements in the quality of the services provided to children and young people.
To deliver the role in a way that facilitates a multi-agency approach, which is centred on the needs of children and young people throughout the city, especially those who are most vulnerable.
To support a climate of shared accountabilities; shared learning and continuous improvement
To support and sustain a culture that consistently meets the needs of, and listens to, children, families, and staff.
To comply with and understand Leeds City Council child protection procedures and take action as appropriate regarding matters of child safety, protection and well being.
To adopt a Restorative Practice approach to the way we do business as a service and team and
To be a champion of Leeds’ aspiration and ambition to become a child friendly city.

Performance and Quality

To interpret and use performance management information to support the delivery of improved outcomes for children.
To support the quality assurance, audit and performance management of providers in order to drive up the quality of provision.
To support the delivery of service plans as part of the overall corporate and partnership framework.
To contribute to the shape and delivery of the vision and goals of the Children’s and Young People’s Plan as they affect the service and
To participate in and provide training and development activities as necessary to ensure up to date knowledge and skills.

Partnership

To support partnership arrangements to bring about change and improvement in families to keep children safe.
To support the relationships and networks to deliver better outcomes for all children and young people, particularly those who are vulnerable and have the most complex needs.
To participate in and provide training and development activities as necessary to ensure up to date knowledge and skills.

Financial and People Management

To support an organisational climate of high performance, shared accountabilities, shared learning and continuous improvement.
To contribute to ensuring accountability for all financial resources within the service area ensuring value for money and working within financial regulations.
To comply with the requirements of all Leeds City Council and directorate policies, procedures and staff instructions, including responsibilities under the Health and Safety Policy and Procedures and
To actively promote and support Leeds City Council’s and directorate policies on equal opportunities and to work in an anti-oppressive manner.
The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate with the job evaluation outcome for this post.

Qualifications

Essential requirements It is essential that the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria. Candidates will only be shortlisted if they can demonstrate that they meet all the essential requirements.

Relevant technical skills, knowledge, qualifications, and evidence of ongoing professional development.
Experience of supporting the delivery of strategies leading to successful outcomes for children within the relevant environment.
Experience of promoting a ‘can do’ attitude within a context of continuous improvement and outcomes for children and young people.
Knowledge of current local issues impacting upon the service and can demonstrate a clear linkage with the needs of children and children and young people across the city.
Demonstrate an ability to implement decisions, to be held accountable, and be comfortable managing targets and outputs.
Good communication skills with the ability to influence, negotiate and establish credibility for the service, enhance its reputation, and to form positive relationships.
Demonstrate an understanding of the Child Friendly City concept and the voice and influence of children and young people to underpin this.

Essential Behavioural and other Characteristics

Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct
Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth and Zero Carbon.
Be aware of and be able to understand and observe Leeds City Council policies.
Carry out all duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health and Safety.
Willingness to actively participate in training and development activities
Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
Participate in appraisal, training, and development activities.
Be aware of and support difference ensuring equality for all, working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, equality & diversity.
Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person
The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.

Desirable requirements It is desirable that the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria. Candidates are not required to meet all the desirable requirements however these may be used to distinguish between candidates.

Experience of working within a multi-agency environment and forging and driving successful partnerships.
Experience of effective financial accountability within recognised rules and procedures and the context of delivering successful outcomes for service users.
Experience of health & safety and risk management to ensure the well being and safety of staff and service users.
Ability to come up with creative solutions to problems.
Knowledge and understanding of evidence-based approaches within the context of services to children, young people and families e.g. Outcomes Based Accountability and Restorative Practice.
Understanding / experience of a range of improvement methodologies to drive service improvement.