Head of Commissioning and Contracting - Provider Collaborative

Head of Commissioning and Contracting – Provider Collaborative

Band 8d

Main area: Commissioning and Contracting
Grade: Band 8d
Contract: 12 months (Fixed term contract – maternity cover)
Hours: Full time – 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 310-MCORP-6922943

Site: Elizabeth House Fulbourn Hospital
Town: Cambridge
Salary: £88,168 – £101,677 per annum pro rata
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 18/02/2025 23:59
Interview date: 28/02/2025

Job overview

Fixed term for 12 months, maternity cover.

The East of England Provider Collaborative (EoE PC) is a collaboration of six NHS Trusts, established to manage the commissioning role and care pathway management of specialised mental health services. It is the vehicle for greater integration of the patient care pathway and for delivering better care, closer to home and outside of hospital where possible.

The commissioning arrangements allow for effective population health management for specialised services. The structures put in place by the Collaborative enable consistent access thresholds, through a single point of access in each specialty, one aligned method for clinical delivery and a united agreement for outcomes that creates benefits for the population across the whole region.

The EoE PC has a delegated budget from NHSE of approximately £160 million to fund Children and Young People Mental Health (CYPMH), Adult Eating Disorder (AED), Secure and Perinatal services through Lead Provider arrangements for the entire East of England region.

Main duties of the job

• To have responsibility for the strategic development and operational management of regional commissioning and contracting arrangements for the East of England Provider Collaborative.
• To maintain and improve contractual performance within the delegated NHSE budget of circa £160m for delivering all speciality services.
• To be responsible for developing and implementing policies to underpin the Collaborative’s commissioning and transformation objectives.
• To have a visible, positive and influential presence in the EoE mental health landscape, participating actively in regional collaborative forums, shaping policy and sharing learning and experience.
• Establish processes and practice for:
• Needs analysis, strategic planning and service development.
• Contractual, financial and informational oversight.
• To lead on developing collaborative working with colleagues across the system, including other Provider Collaboratives, local, national and regional commissioners and NHS Improvement teams to improve services and manage pressures across the whole system.

Working for our organisation

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health and social care organisation dedicated to providing high-quality care with compassion to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting and empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.

To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high-calibre candidates who share our vision and values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including people with long term conditions and members of our ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities.

Please be advised we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date should we receive sufficient applications.

Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all our job roles. If you apply for a role that we cannot offer sponsorship for, unfortunately, your application form will be rejected from the process.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities.

• Developing and embedding commissioning strategies, functions, structures, processes, and behaviours that support policy development, strategic planning, service delivery, and transformation.

• Leading the development of collaborative commissioning relationships with Lead Providers, NHSE, and other functions within the Collaborative.

• Ensuring that patient, care, and staff voices are heard and influential in setting commissioning objectives and shaping service pathways.

• Working closely with clinical and political leaders within the Collaborative member Trusts to ensure that commissioning options and decisions are well-informed and appropriately clinically and politically led.

• Leading the staff within the single commissioning function to develop the technical and behavioural skills and capabilities to enact the “shift” in commissioning approach.

• Ensuring that NICE guidance, as well as statutory functions, duties, and responsibilities within the scope of the post, are effectively fulfilled and accounted for.

Contracting:

• Lead on developing and implementing policies and processes for the management of contracts, procuring external legal advice as appropriate, to ensure EoE PC interests are fully reflected, documented, and achieved through robust contract management.

• Ensure the Collaborative has in place appropriate sub-contracts with all service providers for the population, using the NHS Standard Contract, and has robust mechanisms to manage them.

• Lead and implement effective performance management arrangements for all contracts and business activities, producing regular reports for the Collaborative Board.

• Ensure that all procurement and contracting activities are carried out in accordance with legislation, health policies and procedures, and principles of good practice, including ethics and probity.

• Develop and embed an effective Performance Outcomes Framework. Develop, implement, and monitor governance arrangements for the effective management and review of contracts.

• Support Lead Providers by providing assurance on the financial sign-off of contractual documentation and relevant project initiation documentation.

• Jointly responsible with Lead Providers for providing contract financial information (year-to-date and forecast) as part of the regular reporting to NHSE, the Collaborative Board, and senior finance colleagues.

• Develop and embed processes that ensure:

– Clinical outcomes are captured, measured, and Lead Providers are supported to make improvements.

– Contract surveillance is robust, and any incidents are reported and managed in line with the Serious Incident Framework (SIF).

– The performance of contracted services is regularly monitored and reviewed to ensure services are effective, meet statutory requirements, and deliver desired outcomes.

– Any performance issues are addressed promptly and in accordance with the contractual processes.

– Effective contract documentation is prepared, updated (and version controlled), and is appropriately accessible for operational and corporate directorates.

• Liaison with, and participation in, national contracting and commissioning forums to ensure best practices and robust contractual arrangements are in place.

Person specification

Education / Qualifications

• Educated to masters level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level in a relevant specialist area;
• Evidence of post qualifying and continuing professional development;

Experience

• Senior management experience of an NHS commissioning organisation in a range of roles across the full commissioning cycle;
• Expertise in financial management, contract negotiations, contract management and performance management at a senior level;
• Excellent skills at partnership working and developing relationships with a number of key bodies and individuals;
• A track record of success in managing and delivering a number of complex initiatives simultaneously in a fast moving and high pressure environment;
• Experience of working with very senior colleagues in a range of organisations and dealing at senior level with diverse partners and agencies;
• Track record of effective budget and resource management;
• Experience of delivering complex statistical reports and messages to a diverse range of people;
• Mental Health Commissioning expertise;
• Working with NHSE/I regional teams;
• Working with a group of organisations each with their own sovereignty and governance processes, which are working together on shared vision, objectives and plans;
• Working in a collective decision-making group e.g. a committee or Board;
• Sound understanding of the NHS plans and the role regions have in them;
• An understanding of health and the broad social, political and economic trends and the Collaborative’s objectives;
• Understanding of the public sector and awareness of the relevant social and political environments and impact on the health economy;
• Understanding of NHS Plans and Priorities;
• Understanding of the relationship between specialist regional commissioning, and ICB commissioning;
• Understanding of patient confidentiality and the relevant aspects of libel law plus the FOI; Equality; & Data Protection Acts;
• Expert knowledge of the full commissioning cycle;
• Expert knowledge of contracts management and technical understanding of the NHS Standard Contract;
• Knowledge of NHS funding;
• Knowledge of working in Mental Health and/or Community Trusts;
• Good business sense and commercial acumen.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to travel across sites in the East of England area;
• Sitting for prolonged periods using a computer;
• Ability to concentrate for extended periods of time and with frequent interruption;
• Ability to work flexibly from the normal working pattern (including out of hours / occasional weekend) to meet service needs.

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