National referrals and transitions lead - Permanent - Full Time in Birmingham

We are seeking an experienced and driven National Referral and Transitions Lead to coordinate and manage referrals, assessments, transitions, and tenancy processes across Sense services. This is a pivotal role responsible for maintaining a strong referral pipeline, ensuring services operate at full capacity, and supporting the successful placement of disabled people with complex needs into high-quality, person-centred services. Working closely with colleagues across operations, business development, housing, and finance, you will lead assessments, develop costed support packages, manage transitions, and contribute to new service development and growth opportunities. This is a hybrid role, working between home and our Birmingham office, but will also require regular travel across the UK, including Wales and Northern Ireland. The role may involve responding to urgent or emergency referrals and requires flexibility in working arrangements.

Key Responsibilities

• Referral & Assessment Coordination
  • Act as the primary point of contact for referrals, enquiries, and brokerage activity.
  • Monitor and manage referral activity, maintaining accurate tracking systems and producing regular performance reports.
  • Analyse referral trends, occupancy levels, and market intelligence to identify growth opportunities and service gaps.
  • Lead and coordinate person-centred assessments, including risk, environmental suitability, and transition planning.
  • Complete detailed assessment reports, including support modelling and costings.
  • Facilitate internal referral and decision-making meetings with senior operational leaders.
  • Ensure all contractual documentation and agreements are in place for new placements.
  • Maintain strong knowledge of CQC requirements, including supported living frameworks and the real tenancy test.
• Placement & Transition Management
  • Lead the development and delivery of personalised transition plans to ensure safe and positive move-ins.
  • Coordinate tenancy sign-ups and liaise with housing partners, and ensure placements are stable and successful.
  • Address transition-stage issues proactively, escalating concerns where required.
  • Support internal transfers between services, ensuring continuity of care.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Business Development
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with commissioners, brokerage teams, local authorities, ICBs, and housing providers.
  • Project manage new service developments and mobilisations, reporting progress to senior leaders.
  • Attend provider forums, networking events, and transition fairs to promote Sense services.
  • Work with communications colleagues to support marketing activity and promote services to key audiences.
• Team Collaboration & Organisational Support
  • Work collaboratively with finance, housing, business development, and operational teams on cost modelling, tenders, and bids.
  • Support managers to achieve occupancy and fee growth targets.
  • Contribute to service improvement activity, including safeguarding, complaints, and incident reviews.
  • Provide training and guidance to managers on referral, assessment, and transition processes.

About You

You will be a confident, resilient, and solution-focused professional with strong operational experience in health or social care.

Essential experience and skills:

• Strong understanding of the learning disability and autism sector and relevant CQC regulations.
• Experience coordinating referrals, assessments, and placements in supported living or social care settings.
• Ability to write high-quality assessments, cost models, and senior-level reports.
• Experience working with commissioners, brokerage teams, and purchasing portals.
• Operational management experience within health or social care.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and influencing skills.
• Ability to negotiate placement costs and understand funding streams.
• Commitment to person-centred practice and supporting people with complex needs.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of local authority and ICB commissioning structures.
• Experience with PBS, trauma-informed approaches, or complex/forensic needs.
• Experience supporting service mobilisation or business development activity.

About Sense

We believe that every disabled person should have the opportunity to connect with others and be included in the world. We use our knowledge and expertise to deliver personalised, creative and flexible support at every stage of life. Sense is proud to be a disability confident leader. Working at Sense can be incredibly rewarding; we offer the opportunity to work in a large, diverse and successful charity where people can develop their skills, knowledge and careers in a supportive and flexible environment. In addition, we have excellent training and development, the opportunity for you to join our Group Personal Pension scheme and a generous annual leave entitlement.

To apply

Please use the link below to complete your application. Managers will use your application to shortlist candidates for interview; in relation to the Personal Specification. Therefore, it is very important you complete this section thoroughly. We would recommend that you read the job description and person specification before applying. Please note to avoid disappointment, we advise you to submit your application as soon as possible as we reserve the right to close posts at any time. No agency submissions please: any submissions without prior authorisation from the Sense Recruitment Team will be treated as our own and as such no fee will be payable. If you require any further assistance, please contact the Recruitment Team.

Sense is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable children and adults and expects all employees to share this commitment. Therefore, all offers of employment, where appropriate, are subject to a DBS check; level dependent on the nature of the role. For this role we particularly welcome applications from candidates from underrepresented ethnic minority backgrounds and candidates with disabilities. Sense is committed to equality of opportunity, and to promoting and celebrating the diversity of staff, volunteers and the people we work with. Everyone's contribution is valued and we ensure they're given the opportunity to realise their potential. We welcome applications from talented people from all sections of the community who share our values and belief that no one, no matter how complex their disabilities, should be isolated, left out, or unable to fulfil their potential.