90670 - Commissioning and Partnership Manager

The purpose of the Commissioning and Partnerships team is to work closely with operational and contract managers within the region, commercial colleagues, policy leads, external partners/ commissioners, providers and service users to identify service needs, review existing services, build partnerships, develop knowledge and build expertise within the business, design new services, source providers and then monitor the effectiveness of commissioned services to promote innovative and strategic solutions and deliver quality, value for money services that meet People on Probations needs, increase performance on sentence delivery, reduce reoffending and help to protect the public.

The Commissioning and Partnerships Manager will contribute to creating and setting strategy. They will lead the development, management and implementation of commissioning across the full range of services or need areas, managing activities across the full commissioning cycle to deliver the regional priorities working closely with a range of internal and external stakeholders.

They will report into the Senior Commissioning and Partnership Manager and line manage Commissioning and Partnerships Officer(s) and any additional staff where applicable., The post holder will lead on reviewing, managing and delivering commissioning and/or recommissioning of services or projects both from within their region and nationally utilising various funding streams.

They will act as the expert in relation to the commissioning of outcomes for need areas within their region, providing professional advice and recommendations to support the delivery of the regional strategy and ensuring alignment with national strategies.

They will lead on the development and implementation of partnership arrangements with key stakeholders, nationally, regionally and locally, in relation to the full range of commissioned and co-commissioned projects, partnerships and services within their region.

They will lead on raising the profile of the Commissioning Team within the region and nationally to inform future commissioning and to support the implementation of services commissioned.

They will be the regional lead on developing the legal frameworks (including MOUs, DPIAs and ISAs) required to set up and
manage partnership agreements and commissioned and co-commissioned contracts where required, in conjunction with commercial and legal colleagues.

They will oversee the financial arrangements around commissioned and co-commissioned services, ensuring new services demonstrated VFM (Value for Money) and are within budget.

They will deputise for the Head of Community Integration at regional and national meetings and with internal and external stakeholders.

Responsibilities, Activities & Duties

The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties:

• Demonstrating leadership and innovation, assisting the Head of Community Integration and Senior Commissioning and Partnership Manager in providing guidance and direction for the implementation of the regional commissioning strategy and input to national strategies.


• Production and implementation of service/need specific commissioning plans across the full range of services as part of short, medium and long-term regional commissioning strategy.


• Managing service needs for specific commissioning plans to align with regional, national and wider community safety and criminal justice priorities.


• Implementing commissioning plans across the full range of services which meet the diverse needs of People on Probation, are financially robust, offer value-for-money, incorporates innovative approaches and builds on best practice.


• Assisting the HoCI with the management of the devolved commissioning budget for the region and managing resources effectively for commissioning projects.


• Leading and managing teams to deliver the agreed commissioning strategy, priorities and objectives for the region. This will include recruitment, induction and training of staff.

Taking lead role and being accountable for supporting PDU (Probation Delivery Unit) Heads and other operational leads to deliver their commissioning, national framework and partnerships responsibilities across the full range of services. This may include offering consultancy and advice, developing training plans for teams/region, delivering local and regional training and briefings.

• Lead on and work with regional and national Performance and Quality leads and other specialist research teams to demonstrate a clear evidence base to inform review of services, recommendations, planning and delivery of new services.


• Demonstrate the understanding and the effectiveness of current Probation Service and wider service delivery across the full range of services, identifying best practice for commissioning future services.


• Responsible for leading and managing the development of a portfolio of evidence-based service specifications and the development, writing and implementation of any new service specifications required, engaging with People on Probation, operational leads and other stakeholders both internally and externally as appropriate.