Strategic Commissioning Programme Manager - SEN in Northwich

Here at Cheshire West and Chester Council, we are committed to providing excellent Adult Social Care services to residents. We are one team, putting what matters to people first and are investing in a number of roles across our service areas to grow our dynamic, solution-focused team. So, wherever you are in your life, there is something to suit you in Adult Social Care, whether that be meaningful work, feeling valued in your role, career progression, pay progression or a great work-life balance.

If you want to be a part of our welcoming, values-driven service and are passionate about being part of a team that can make a real difference for local people, please take a look at the roles we have available. Cheshire West and Chester Council is a place where everyone can Thrive – through our core values of Teamwork, Honesty, Respect, Innovation, Value for Money and Empowerment.

The Strategic Commissioning and Market Management team is responsible for commissioning a wide and varied range of high-quality, best value services within the People’s Directorate across the Cheshire West Place that meet the needs of some of our most vulnerable residents. Our approach to commissioning – Enabling Great Lives! Our vision is for people to live great lives. People will live healthy, happy and independent lives, in the place they call home and with the people they love because we will commission services which are based on what people want to enable them to live a full and independent life.

For children and young people, this means ensuring they are enabled to have the best start in life with access to services which support a safe and healthy childhood and work seamlessly when moving to adulthood. For everyone, regardless of their age or ability, our vision means they will be able to live their lives well in their community with a range of universal and specialist services which support a healthy, independent and fulfilling life. For older people, this means they will age well at home in their community with their family and friends. When more support is needed, it will start with a conversation about what makes a great life for them and there will be just enough of the right kind of support to enable them to keep living the life they want.

The team has a challenging programme of recommissioning planned for the next years. The Strategic Commissioning Programme Manager – SEN is a new role and will provide the successful postholder with an exciting opportunity to develop, plan and deliver a sufficiency plan for our children and young people with SEND; oversee the strategic commissioning of services, including education places, quality assurance and contract management processes for SEN places to ensure a child-centred process and value for money is achieved for the council.

We are looking for an experienced, capable, dynamic and solution-focused Commissioning Manager to lead and manage the delivery of high-quality commissioning outcomes. The Commissioning Manager will work closely with the senior leadership team across the directorate, corporate colleagues, elected members, and key stakeholders, including people who use our services and their carers, to deliver agreed commissioning priorities.

This role requires a candidate with a significant level of knowledge, skills, and experience in the subject area. Immediate priorities over the next months include (non-exhaustive):

• Develop a sufficiency plan outlining the services required for the next years to enable our children and young people with SEND to access appropriate services to meet their needs within their local community.
• Deliver recommendations from the sufficiency plan and monitor progress.
• Undertake the strategic commissioning of services to support the education of children with SEND.
• Develop and implement processes to review educational places provided by the independent sector.
• Develop a brokerage function to ensure the most appropriate placements are sourced for children and young people with SEND.
• Integrated commissioning opportunities with health partners and other key stakeholders.

Applicants should be experienced in engaging with residents, providers, and key stakeholders to co-produce high-quality commissioning strategies. Successful candidates must be able to demonstrate considerable experience in project management and the application of all elements of the commissioning cycle, including demand analysis, market shaping, embedding best practice and legislative requirements into service design. A good understanding of procurement and contract management processes is essential.

The post holder will also be expected to work collaboratively with strategic partners as appropriate (including the NHS) to ensure quality and value for money is achieved in all commissioning strategies. The direct line management of staff will be required for this role. The postholder may also be expected to work across any portfolio of commissioning (where required - based on the needs of the service), in order to address the wider strategies and priorities across the team, this may include areas such as (but not exclusively):

• Adult Learning Disability and Autism
• Ageing Well
• Children and Young People’s services
• Public Health services
• Early Intervention and Prevention

To find out more information about what it is like to work for Cheshire West and Chester Council including our rewards and benefits please see.

Cheshire West and Chester Council are committed to equality and diversity in employment. Please see the Equality Policy for more information.

No candidate will meet every single requirement - if your experience looks a little different from what we've identified and you think you can bring value to the role, we'd love to learn more about you!

Cheshire West and Chester Council have adopted a Local Living Wage for our employees which means that all employees will receive a minimum of £ per hour for all contracted hours.