Commissioning Officer

Job Title: Senior Commissioning Officer (Fixed Term contract for 18 months due to grant funding, with option to extend to 24 months)

Team: Childrens Commissioning and Placements

Are you looking for a new challenge in 2024? Are you a Social Worker working in Social Care but looking for a new opportunity? Are you working in commissioning but wanting to take that next step? If this sounds like you and you are solution-focused, innovative, and driven to achieve the best possible outcomes for vulnerable children and young peoples, then read on to find out how you could be part of our growing commissioning team.

At Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, we are an ambitious, visionary, and learning organisation. We are determined to build on our strong foundations to support a culture of "can do" that enables engaged and competent staff to deliver excellent services.

We recognise hard work, encourage new ways of thinking, and embrace inclusion and diversity. We want all children and young people to thrive, be healthy, happy, safe and prosperous, so as a team, we work in partnership with others and with openness and with integrity. We are always learning and developing our practice and have in place a robust improvement plan to ensure the very best outcomes for children, young people and their families.

As a Senior Commissioning Officer, you will be responsible for exploring alternative models of delivery including the development of internal accommodation to support our children looked after, in particular for 16 and 17 year olds. You will be responsible for reviewing, planning and designing services to meet the needs of our children looked after, and will contribute to the development and delivery of key strategies. You will have an active role in developing and maintaining strong working relationships, and undertaking negotiations with, a wide range of internal and external stakeholders. Your role will support the processes that will allow Solihull Council to meet our sufficiency duty and benefit from internal provision for our children and young people looked after.

To be successful in the role you will be educated to degree level or will be able to demonstrate your extended relevant experience and training. You will also be able to demonstrate the following;

• . Experience of working in children's care or education services environment or commissioning or procurement or in a relevant role within health



• Knowledge of the commissioning cycle and team approach to commissioning



• Experience of developing contractual and financial processes relating to the procurement of goods and/or services.



• Experience of successfully engaging and negotiating with a range of stakeholders



• Ability to prioritise time and resources to work on multiple projects simultaneously and to meet deadlines


In return, you will be working as part of a friendly and supportive team and will have the opportunity to work with a wide range of partners, to secure the best possible outcomes for our children and young people looked after. You will also appreciate the importance of commissioning in the delivery of these services.

We've implemented a new system from Monday 4th March which will improve your candidate experience! To access your candidate portal for our new system, head to https://solihull.wm-jobs.co.uk/members/

About Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council

Solihull is regarded as a popular and vibrant place to live in the UK. As one of the most prosperous towns in the Midlands, almost two thirds of our borough is designated as green belt. We have over 1,500 acres of parks across the borough, with 16 Green Flag Awards. Solihull is very well connected, with great transport links such as the M40, M42 and M6 all close by, and an excellent rail network, plus, of course, an international airport. We are home to the award-winning Touchwood Shopping Centre, National Exhibition Centre, Resorts World Birmingham, and the Resorts World Arena.

It is an exciting time for Solihull, although we are a relatively small local authority (c. 6000 employees), we still have ambitious plans including the development of UK Central and HS2.

Here at Solihull Council, we want to ensure that all our citizens have an equal chance to share in Solihull's success. We do this by putting our customers at the heart of everything we do.

We recognise that our employees are the key factor in achieving our vision and as such, we are always on the lookout for talented individuals, who want to make a real positive difference to people's lives and can help us to continue building on our success.

Both Smarter Ways of Working and Employee Wellbeing are key Council Priorities.

The transition to Smarter Ways of Working has presented us with the opportunity to re-think how and where we work. With the option to access portable technology, dependent upon the requirements of the role, a lot of our people are not bound to a single workplace or traditional ways of working, with many choosing to spend a good proportion of their week working from home.

Our people told us that they value flexibility, and that choice enables them to have a better work-life balance, manage family responsibilities, enhance their personal wellbeing, and continue to deliver excellent outcomes for the residents of Solihull.

Our people are our number one asset, and our aim is to have a healthy, happy engaged and thriving workforce.

Wellbeing is at the heart of our employee offer and we are a bronze accredited West Midlands Combined Authority Thrive at Work employer. This recognises our commitment and action in support of employee wellbeing; we are currently working towards silver accreditation.

Unpaid carers carry out a key role within our community and know that this can be challenging when combined with employment. Our Carer's Policy and the ongoing support we give to our employees has resulted in us winning Employer of the Year 2022 at the Carer Friendly Awards.


• A range of flexible working options, including a hybrid approach to working


• Generous annual leave entitlements with the opportunity to purchase up to 10-days additional leave per year


• A flexitime scheme with up to 24 days per year


• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme - a 24 hour independent, free and confidential advice and support service


• Family and carer friendly policies


• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme


• Employee benefits including staff discounts, subsidised travel passes and Cycle 2 Work Scheme, Competitive salaries including, for those at the top of their scale, the opportunity to receive a non-consolidated lump sum;


• A range of flexible working options;


• Annual leave starting at 25 days and rising to 30 days after 5 years' service in addition to public holidays with an opportunity to purchase up to 10 additional days' holiday per year;


• A generous flexitime scheme (available for most roles);


• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme;


• A wide range of learning and development opportunities;


• A range of family friendly policies;


• Employee benefits including subsidised travel passes, Cycle 2 Work Scheme, confidential Employee Assistance Programme and staff discounts.


Solihull Council is proud to be an Equal Opportunities Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees - a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed on merit.

As users of the Disability Confident Scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who demonstrate they meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.

Solihull Council has a responsibility for, and is committed to, safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk, and requires all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

For roles eligible for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check this will be indicated in the advert and supporting recruitment documents. Where the post involves working with children, other vulnerable groups or in a position of trust it is exempt from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Further guidance is available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/945449/rehabilitation-of-offenders-guidance.pdf

Please note, where sufficient numbers of applications are received, we reserve the right to close a vacancy before the advertised closing date. We therefore advise that you submit your application as soon as possible.