13929 - Commissioning and Partnerships Officer in Wales

The purpose of the Commissioning and Partnerships team is to work closely with operational and contract managers within the region, commercial colleagues, policy leads, external partners/commissioners, providers and service users to identify service needs, review existing services, build partnerships, develop knowledge and build expertise within the business, design new services, source providers and then monitor the effectiveness of commissioned services to promote innovative and strategic solutions and deliver quality, value for money services that meet service user needs and reduces reoffending.

The Commissioning and Partnerships Officer will develop and implement commissioning plans and products and be responsible for delivering commissioning and partnership activity. They will lead on secretariat, planning and research activities to deliver commissioning and/or recommissioning of services across the region. They will be line managed by a Commissioning and Partnerships Manager, who will lead on the delivery across the full range of services.

Summary: The post holder will produce and implement specific commissioning plans that support regional commissioning strategy. They will be responsible for developing reports and briefings for senior managers, regional leads and local/regional partners to support the monitoring and reporting of regional commissioning strategy and specific commissioning plans. They will support operational staff and managers to deliver their responsibilities across the full range of services. This may include offering consultancy and advice, delivering local training and briefings. They will support the Commissioning and Partnerships Manager in undertaking budget and financial monitoring for commissioning projects. They will deputise for the Commissioning and Partnership Manager and HoCI when requested.

Responsibilities, Activities & Duties:

• Collate and provide quantitative and qualitative analysis of needs and demand data to support Commissioning and Partnerships Managers and the wider Community Integration Team, including conducting focus groups with staff and service users.
• Drafting and amending service specifications for new and existing services and support the development of a portfolio of evidence-based service specifications. This will include the development and creation of Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) and Board reports.
• Responsible for developing regional and local area reporting systems to monitor effectiveness of existing commissioning arrangements and availability of local services to inform development of services, reviews and planning.
• Manage regional involvement in grants and procurement processes, including organising market warming and engagement, producing key grant and procurement documents and evaluation of bids.
• Providing secretariat support to regional, cross-regional and multi-agency governance or project groups and boards with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Responsible for organising and facilitating stakeholder and engagement events and meetings and producing timely minutes and actions.
• Responsible for establishing productive and effective relationships with relevant internal and external stakeholders at a local, regional and national level in line with designated area to support commissioning activity.
• Develop, maintain and update regional partnership contacts and agreements and ensure these are linked to business planning for the region, as well as updating relevant documents for contacts within the partnership portfolio.
• To undertake, lead and manage specific project work as instructed by the Commissioning and Partnerships Manager and/or Head of Community Integration.
• Attend meetings and represent the Commissioning and Partnerships Manager when necessary, demonstrating an understanding of the Probation Service, Region and subject matters at all times.
• Promote a culture of innovation and continuous improvement whilst undertaking reviews and making recommendations as necessary.
• Implement and manage full commissioning processes including commissioning cycle, internal and external stakeholders’ involvement, continually checking progress of different stages of work being completed and being vigilant on timescales.
• Raising concerns to Commissioning and Partnerships Manager in advance of deadlines.
• Support on the work with MOJ Commercial, Sourcing and Procurement to develop strategies for the commissioning of services.
• Undertake research, market warming, market engagement, negotiation.
• Creating service specifications, developing technical questions for competitions, designing payment mechanisms and ensuring service enablers such as TUPE and information sharing are considered.
• Undertake bid evaluations and moderation sessions.
• Provide contract mobilisation support.
• Accountable for ensuring all Commissioning and Partnerships activity includes and conforms to equalities regulations, policies and processes. This will include ensuring the equality analysis is completed and reviewed for inclusion in the Regional Commissioning Plan.
• Support on developing and supporting partner organisations with their on-boarding onto the Dynamic Framework.
• Work with Regional leads and PDU colleagues to develop the engagement of People on Probation to ensure that commissioned services align to the EPOP agenda, embedding the voice of People on Probation in the development of services.
• Support on the Contract Management of commissioned and co-commissioned contracts where required, including all standard contract management activities.