Market / Placement Analyst | Policy, Information & Commissioning | Lancashire

A Market/Placement Analyst to join our Policy, Commissioning and Children's Health Team at Lancashire County Council. Lancashire County Council is committed to delivering high-quality services for our children and young people. Under its Sufficiency Duty the Council must plan and provide sufficient accommodation for children in our care, currently over 1,700 children and young people. This involves working closely with partners and providers to ensure that a range of options are available to meet need. However, locally, and nationally authorities are facing increasing challenges due to rising numbers of children, shortages of appropriate homes, and rising costs. We have a brilliant, hardworking, and dedicated team whose responsibilities include commissioning of homes for children and young people that are provided by external organisations, approximately 35% of children in our care. This role is still in its infancy and offers a fantastic opportunity for the successful candidate to further shape its direction, to support the team and wider Children's Services Directorate to make business-critical decisions about where our children live now, and in the future. Using your analytical, communication and engagement skills you will lead on areas that include comprehensive cost benchmarking and analysis, fee negotiations, and market engagement/development. You will be responsible for developing relationships with new and existing providers to maximize the use of local provision, monitoring Key Performance Indicators, and for preparing reports and presentations to share findings and recommendations with stakeholders.,

• Benchmark provider fees: Utilise the Authority's structured, person-centred software tool to inform provider fee discussions and support placement decision making, ensuring that resources are used effectively and efficiently.
• Develop positive working relationships: Engage with new and existing providers to grow the market to ensure sufficient provision so that children and young people can move into the right homes at the right time.
• Maintain accurate databases: Keep detailed records of cost, placement, and market information to inform strategic decision-making.
• Research and develop market knowledge: Conduct national market studies and develop an understanding of the local market to identify key cost drivers and gaps in provision.
• Explore funding opportunities: Identify and pursue external funding sources that may address sufficiency and cost challenges.
To thrive in this exciting role, you will be a confident, skilled, and knowledgeable individual. Why Join Us?
• Impactful Work: Make a real difference to our market-shaping and decision-making.
• Supportive Environment: Work in a supportive and collaborative team environment.
• Professional Development: Opportunities for continuous professional development and growth.
• Flexible Working: Enjoy agile working arrangements to suit your lifestyle.
Our Values:
• Supportive: Recognising contributions and making the best of strengths to enable our communities to flourish.
• Innovative: Always looking for creative ways to improve services.
• Respectful: Treating everyone with respect and valuing diverse needs and perspectives.
• Collaborative: Engaging with colleagues, partners, and customers to achieve the best outcomes.
The role will be based in County Hall, Preston however we currently operate a hybrid working model. In return Lancashire County Council offers a range of benefits, which can be found on LCC Vacancies website.