Pupil Place Planning and Capital Commissioning Manager in London

About The Borough

The London Borough of Sutton is situated less than 30 minutes by train from Central London, with direct connections to London Victoria and London Bridge. It is found in zone 5 with good transport links in and out of London, boasts award‑winning parks and open spaces, low crime rates, affordable housing and great schools. Sutton provides high resident engagement and satisfaction, quality services and successful financial management, involving residents in key issues and high‑street changes. The council invests in health, wellbeing and education as set out in the “Ambitious for Sutton” corporate plan. It is home to the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research. The London Cancer Hub will make Sutton the world’s leading life‑science district, specialising in cancer research and treatment.

About The Role And Our Ideal Candidate

Working under the Head of Pupil Based Commissioning, the Pupil Place Planning Officer is a critical strategic role responsible for ensuring every child within the local authority has access to a high‑quality school place. You balance the supply and demand of school places by analysing demographic data, housing developments and migration patterns to forecast future needs and commission new school builds or expansions. The postholder will manage at least one team member and matrix manage across other areas, including the admissions service within Cognus. The post holder will focus on developing and implementing the Sutton Primary and Secondary School Organisation Plans to ensure sufficient high‑quality school places in the Borough.

Role Duties

• Apply professional judgement to interpret and apply policies and procedures to meet specific local or service needs.
• Provide day‑to‑day management and professional supervision to staff to ensure operational plans and activities are delivered effectively.
• Analyse customer needs and the provider market to provide data and evidence to inform commissioning and service design decisions for specific services.
• Plan, design and procure specific services to ensure they deliver their intended outcomes for customers.
• Work with specific organisations to deliver intended outcomes through collaborative working.
• Lead small projects and implement changes and improvements within agreed cost, time and quality standards.
• Manage service‑level budgets and resources to support the delivery of intended outcomes and demonstrate value for money.

Budgetary Accountabilities

• Responsibility for coordinating Education Capital budgets. The balance within these budgets currently sits at approximately £10M and is part of the Council’s overall education capital budgets overseen by the Head of Pupil Based Commissioning (HoPBC).
• Responsibility for monitoring capital maintenance, devolved formula, basic need and special provision capital funding budgets.

Specific Accountabilities

• Strategic Pupil Forecasting & Demand Management.
• Projection Modeling: Develop and maintain sophisticated pupil forecasting models for Early Years, Primary, Secondary, and SEND (Special Educational Needs) sectors.
• Trend Analysis: Monitor and interpret birth data from the NHS, migration patterns, and internal school census data to predict future pressure points.
• Sufficiency Reporting: Lead the production of the annual School Capacity (SCAP) statutory return for the Department for Education (DfE).
• Housing Growth Assessment: Analyse local planning applications and the Local Plan to calculate the impact of new housing on school infrastructure.
• Developing Managing Falling Rolls in Primary and Secondary Plans, including development of primary enhanced SEND provisions, and commissioned secondary inclusion bases.
• Responsible for developing and maintaining the local school organisation plan and local estates management strategy.
• Managing the ‘Managing falling rolls in primary school in Sutton programme board’ chaired by the Head of Pupil based commissioning.
• This will include analysing admissions, place planning, housing development, and capacity data, and producing reports for the board to consider.
• Developing a governance process and developing reports for a future managing falling rolls in Secondary programme.
• Identifying opportunities across the LA maintained and academy estate for repurposing accommodation as necessary to provide more SEND spaces or other council priority uses.
• Recommissioning provision to meet needs of Sutton population.

Capital Programme Financial Oversight.

• Budget Monitoring: Maintain rigorous oversight of the Education Capital Programme budget (e.g., Basic Need Grant, School Condition Allocation, and High Needs Capital).
• Financial Reporting: Provide monthly budget variance reports to Senior Leadership, identifying potential overspends or opportunities for re‑allocation.
• S106 & CIL Administration: Track and trigger the receipt of developer contributions (Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy), ensuring funds are spent within legal time‑frames and on the correct projects.
• Grant Bidding: Identify funding gaps and lead the preparation of external funding bids to central government for new school builds or major refurbishments.

School Organisation & Commissioning.

• Project Commissioning: Develop "Business Cases" for school expansions, closures, or new school competitions, ensuring they represent the best value for money.
• Statutory Processes: Lead on the legal requirements for school organisation changes, including the management of public consultations and statutory notices.
• Academy Conversions: Advise on the capital implications and land transfer issues associated with schools converting to Academy status.

Risk Management & Compliance.

• Feasibility Oversight: Work with Property Services to ensure capital projects are technically feasible and align with Department for Education (DfE) building bulletins and specifications.
• Contractor Liaison: Monitor the delivery of capital works to ensure they are completed on time for the start of the academic year, mitigating the risk of children being without a school place.
• Audit Compliance: Maintain a clear "audit trail" for all capital expenditure to satisfy internal and external auditors.

About Us

In Sutton, the Pupil‑Based Commissioning Service plays a crucial role ensuring children and young people, particularly those with SEND or otherwise vulnerable, receive appropriate support to access education. The team strategically plans, procures and manages services that improve outcomes for these pupils. You will join a small team responsible for commissioning mainstream, specialist and alternative education provision and places across Early Years to post‑16 and post‑19 specialist provision, working closely with partners in education, health and social care. This collaborative approach supports tailored interventions and transitions to adulthood. The service is supported by data and finance colleagues and sits alongside provisions of admissions and SEND services within Cognus Education Services.

Benefits

• A generous annual leave entitlement of 26–32 days plus bank holidays (pro‑rata if part‑time working hours apply) depending on service and grade.
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependants leave.
• Two volunteering days per year.
• Flexible working – Smarter Working Scheme (dependent on the role).
• Adjustable and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks.
• Learning and development portal offering a range of courses.
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms, and leisure centres.
• Interest‑free season ticket loans.
• Local Government Pension Scheme.
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle‑to‑work scheme.
• Electric vehicle leasing scheme.
• Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support.