90784 - Head of Community Integration - Kent, Surrey and Sussex

The role can be located within the Kent, Surrey and Sussex region and agreed with the successful candidate. There will be occasions where you would need to travel to London for meetings. Overview of the job The post holder will be the strategic lead for partnerships, commissioning and contract management. They will be a key member of the regional leadership team, reporting directly to the Regional Probation Director, and line manage the regional commissioning and partnerships and operational contract management teams. Ensuring a comprehensive and equitable range of high-quality rehabilitation and resettlement interventions are in place and managed effectively across the region, building on local, regional and national joint-working opportunities such as co- commissioning, to ensure service users receive well-targeted, well-designed and well- delivered interventions that maximise their chances of leading non-offending lives. They will work closely with the national NPS/HMPPS commissioning and contract management functions and the MoJ Commercial and Contract Management Directorate., The post holder will set the strategic direction and oversee the management and development of all regional contracts and grants to provide assurances that effective and appropriate supplier oversight arrangements are in place, services are meeting agreed expectations and delivery across suppliers and/or local areas are integrated. This includes the mobilisation of new contracts and exit from existing contracts where appropriate. They will oversee the review of existing contracts and development and implementation of the short, medium and long-term regional commissioning strategies to ensure that the right services are in place to meet service user, operational and wider needs. Accountable for the renewal/extension of existing contracts and delivery of new procurements. They will oversee the management of key external relationships with the voluntary and private sector markets and wider partners, such as Police, Police and Crime Commissioners, Sentencers, Local Authorities, Devolved Authorities and Health Authorities, to ensure relationships are established, maintained and enhanced at a local and regional level. Maximising joint-working outcomes, such as improving service design, influencing and aligning priorities and co-commissioning of services. In delivering their responsibilities, post holders will establish close working relationships with their operational counterparts within the region, other regional Heads of Community Integration, HM Prison Service, national NPS/HMPPS partnership, commissioning and contract management functions, MoJ commercial, policy, finance and legal teams, and other government departments. Responsibilities, Activities & Duties The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties: Commissioning

• Consider best routes for future delivery once existing contracts expire and implementing make or buy decisions within the region.
• Agree new services to be commissioned, including the approach to contracting, the service specification, the length of time, geographical scope and ensuring new contracts are put in place in a timely manner and in line
with priorities.
• Ensure regional commissioning strategies have a robust evidence-base, account for service user and local needs, offer adequate provision across the region and offender groups, align with what services are available through statutory and other organisations, encourage a diverse market, are financially robust and offer best value-for-money.
• Ensure strategies influence, inform and align with national and wider community safety and criminal justice priorities and incorporate best practice and a pan-regional understanding.
• Manage supply and demand for all services to ensure offenders can access the services they need.
• Lead the development of service user involvement in the commissioning of services.
• Accountable for the Regional Outcomes and Innovation Fund budget and ensuring its use on initiatives to tackle cross-cutting social outcomes that are key to reducing reoffending and complement the wider landscape of services that sit alongside probation.
Contract Management
• Ensure all regional contracts have the appropriate levels of oversight and assurance, are managed in accordance with National Audit Office, Cabinet Office and HMPPS procedures and have effective controls, including ensuring financial payments are made in line with performance and Managing Public Money guidance.
• Oversee and, where appropriate, lead relationship management and governance of regional suppliers, including contract negotiations and change resolution.
• Ensure a consistent approach is taken across all regional contracts and working at a national level to develop, coordinate and implement a national approach to strategic or cross-regional suppliers.
• Oversee management of operational contract management and commissioning and partnership teams to ensure teams are fully focused on key priority areas.
• Ensure that performance and quality of contract delivery by suppliers across the region are consistently of a high standard, embedding a culture of continuous improvement and actively addressing underperformance.
• Ensure regular and effective reporting of supplier performance to regional senior leadership team and nationally.
• Accountable for all the regional contract and grant budgets and approval of monthly invoices.