Commissioning Manager in England

Are you an experienced commissioning professional ready to lead a high-profile, innovative programme that will transform adult social care workforce development? We are seeking a dynamic Commissioning Manager to lead the development and delivery of Gloucestershire’s new Care Academy, a system-wide initiative designed to strengthen recruitment, retention, and quality across the adult social care sector.

About the Role

This role is central to delivering a unified approach to workforce development, bringing together training, career pathways, digital learning, and provider support into a single, accessible offer for paid and unpaid carers. You will oversee programme delivery across multiple workstreams, including digital platform development, learning pathways, credentialing (Training Passport), and provider engagement. The role requires strong leadership, system collaboration, and the ability to drive innovation at scale. Working closely with senior leaders, providers, partners, and system stakeholders, you will ensure the Care Academy delivers meaningful outcomes, including improved workforce stability, higher-quality care, and greater accessibility to training and development opportunities. You will ensure the Care Academy responds to the evolving training and development needs of the adult social care workforce, including designing inclusive and accessible pathways that support new entrants and enable progression into specialist, supervisory, and management roles across the sector. A key focus of the role will be to help attract, develop and retain a new generation of care professionals, including younger people, by promoting care as a valued, rewarding and long‑term career.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and delivery of the Gloucestershire Care Academy programme, ensuring alignment with system-wide workforce priorities.
• Manage complex commissioning programmes that support strategic workforce development, ensuring effective planning, delivery, and measurable impact.
• Oversee the development and implementation of digital learning solutions, including a learning platform, structured training pathways, and a credentialing system (Training Passport).
• Ensure alignment with Skills for Care frameworks and wider national workforce strategies, embedding best practice across all initiatives.
• Lead robust governance processes, including business case development, risk management, programme reporting, and assurance frameworks.
• Oversee procurement, contract management, and supplier relationships for digital and learning solutions, ensuring value for money and high-quality delivery.
• Coordinate and influence cross-system stakeholders, including NHS partners, adult social care providers, voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations, and education partners.
• Drive provider engagement and adoption across a diverse adult social care market, ensuring accessibility and uptake of learning and development offers.
• Use data, insight, and performance metrics to monitor outcomes, demonstrate impact, and inform continuous improvement.
• Act as a subject matter expert in workforce development, digital learning, and commissioning practice, providing strategic advice and leadership.
• Identify and respond to current and future workforce skills needs, ensuring training provision is relevant, accessible, and aligned to sector priorities.
• Work collaboratively with partners to attract new entrants, particularly younger people, into adult social care through clear entry routes, early careers pathways, and progression opportunities.
• Support and deliver initiatives that improve workforce retention, including continuous professional development, career pathway visibility, and recognition of skills and experience.
• Ensure that learning and development offers are inclusive, flexible, and adaptable, supporting individuals at all career stages, including those new to care.

About You

You will be a confident and experienced commissioning professional with a passion for improving outcomes in adult social care and workforce development. You will have:

• Significant experience in commissioning complex programmes, ideally within adult social care or workforce development.
• Strong programme and project management skills, with experience delivering large-scale transformation.
• Experience in digital transformation, learning platforms, or workforce development initiatives.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence across systems.
• Strong commercial awareness, including procurement and contract management.
• Ability to use data and insight to drive decision-making and demonstrate impact.
• A strong understanding of workforce challenges within adult social care, including recruitment, retention, and the need to attract and support younger and new entrants to the sector.

About the Care Academy

The Care Academy is a transformative programme designed to address critical workforce challenges in adult social care, including vacancy rates, workforce turnover, and inconsistent access to training. The Care Academy will play a key role in reshaping perceptions of care careers, particularly amongst younger people, by promoting clear, modern and flexible career pathways supported by high-quality training and development. It will help position adult social care as an attractive and sustainable career choice, supporting long-term workforce resilience across the sector. It will provide:

• A single, countywide digital platform for learning and development.
• Clear career pathways combined with structured career progression and leadership development, enabling individuals to move from entry-level roles through to supervisory, specialist, and management positions.
• Defined progression routes from care roles into team leadership, service management, and strategic roles.
• Access to accredited qualifications and leadership development programmes aligned to Skills for Care standards.
• Targeted development for aspiring and first-line managers, supporting emerging leaders across the sector.
• Opportunities to build skills in people management, supervision, quality assurance, and service improvement.
• Recognition of prior learning and experience through the Training Passport, supporting progression across roles and employers.
• Ongoing continuous professional development (CPD) to sustain progression into senior and specialist roles.

Benefits

• Regular formal and informal support.
• Safe, supportive and positive working environment with regular, robust supervision.
• Accredited post-qualified training opportunities, enabling you to develop your skills.
• Access to mandatory training and additional topical bi-annual workshops.
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) that provides free, confidential counselling and advice for employees, available 24 hours a day, online and by telephone.
• Gloucestershire Salary Sacrifice Green Car Scheme (T&C's apply).
• Links to employee networks such as Prism (LGBT+) network and the Young Employees Network.
• Annual leave up to 30.5 days after 5 years employment.
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme.
• Staff discount scheme that offers access to great savings including discounts with major supermarket chains and high street retailers.

Gloucestershire County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people or vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Hybrid working arrangements are available for the majority of our roles, giving teams the opportunity to work in a way that suits them, balancing service need and individual choice, with a mix of both remote and office working. The council is not currently able to offer sponsorship in this role. Candidates will need to have right to work that enables them to commit to at least 6 months employment. Right to work is not transferable from a sponsored role held with another employer.