Pupil Place Planning and Capital Commissioning Manager

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.

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.

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, currently approximately £10M.
• Responsibility for monitoring capital maintenance, devolved formula, basic need and special provision capital funding budgets.

Specific Accountabilities

• Develop and maintain sophisticated pupil forecasting models for Early Years, Primary, Secondary, and SEND (Special Educational Needs) sectors.
• Monitor and interpret birth data from the NHS, migration patterns, and internal school census data to predict future pressure points.
• Lead the production of the annual School Capacity (SCAP) statutory return for the Department for Education (DfE).
• Analyse local planning applications and the Local Plan to calculate the impact of new housing on school infrastructure.
• Develop and manage falling rolls in Primary and Secondary Plans, including development of primary enhanced SEND provisions.
• Responsible for developing and maintaining the local school organisation plan and local estates management strategy.
• Manage the ‘Managing falling rolls in primary school in Sutton programme board’.
• Identify opportunities across the LA maintained and academy estate for repurposing accommodation as necessary.
• Recommission provision to meet needs of Sutton population.

Capital Programme Financial Oversight

• Maintain rigorous oversight of the Education Capital Programme budget.
• Provide monthly budget variance reports to Senior Leadership.
• Track and trigger the receipt of developer contributions, ensuring funds are spent within legal time‑frames.
• Identify funding gaps and lead the preparation of external funding bids.

School Organisation & Commissioning

• Develop