We are seeking a dedicated and experienced SEND Placement Commissiong Manager. This role will take an operational lead in commissioning placements and services for all children and young people with disabilities or special educational needs. They will be responsible for ensuring the effective commissioning of high-quality services is undertaken in collaboration with key internal and external stakeholders, including children and young people and market providers. The post holder will develop, shape and deliver an overarching programme to meet the needs of children and young people and ensure that the Local Authority has access to sufficient and suitable high-quality placements. They will promote an appropriate culture, empowering others and demonstrating high practice standards, ensuring that quality assurance and contract monitoring are effective, and that commissioning activity delivers good value for money.,

• To work with Business Intelligence and Procurement colleagues to deliver sufficient and appropriate numbers of local SEND places to meet demand
• To look at creative solutions to ensure that as many children as possible are the supported with placements within North Somerset
• To work in partnership with delivery managers to deliver the organisational vision and outcomes through integrated planning and the flexible use of resources.
• To secure best value from all SEND placements in independent and out of district provision, through contract management and monitoring performance of placements.
• To deliver to strategies to ensure that pupil placement needs are met within the district working in partnership with colleagues in Education, Health and Social Care. This will include strategies to reduce the number and costs of pupils placed out of the area and placed in independent settings.
• To develop strong relationships with parent cares and other partners in achieving best use of resources.
• Ensure the Council's aims and objectives, vision and core values are actively promoted and made a reality.
  
  Educated to degree level or with relevant equivalent professional development in service such as commissioning or procurement management
• Hold a thorough understanding of the legislative framework and statutory guidance which underpins the provision of education, early years and children's services and a good understanding of emerging strategy and policy developments
• Experience of working in a contracts and commissioning function within a local government setting or an ability to adapt approaches used in other sectors to a local government setting and being responsible for leading the commissioning process from end to end through initial scoping to evaluation of contract performance
• Experience of engaging a wide range of stakeholders to agree priorities, advise and agree the scope of commissioning in conjunction with the Head of SEND and Head of Pupil Place Planning
• Strong child-centred and outcomes driven approach to all commissioning activity
• Strong skills in partnering and the ability to influence positive change through effective partnership
• Ability to work effectively in a local government context (legal, financial, political)., Disability Confident
About Disability Confident A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to .