Commissioning and Contracts Officer

Directorate: Adult Social Care & All Age Commissioning

Location: Civic Centre

Hours: 37 hours per week

This advert is open to both internal and external applicants.

The Role: The Commissioning and Contracts Officer sits within Integrated Commissioning and Commercialisation and is responsible for delivering commissioning activity across the full commissioning cycle, including service design, procurement, contract management, and review. The postholder manages a portfolio of contracts, ensuring services are high quality, outcome-focused, and deliver value for money, while supporting market development and recommissioning activity. Working collaboratively with providers, partners, and internal teams, the role supports the development of commissioning strategies, service improvements, and integrated, person-centred services aligned to local priorities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and deliver commissioning activity across the full commissioning cycle, including needs analysis, service design, procurement, and review.
• Manage a portfolio of contracts, ensuring effective performance monitoring, quality assurance, and continuous service improvement.
• Develop and implement commissioning strategies, plans, and service specifications to achieve high-quality, value-for-money outcomes.
• Undertake procurement and tendering processes in line with regulatory and financial requirements.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with providers, partners, and stakeholders to support co-production and integrated service delivery.
• Use data, market intelligence, and performance information to inform decision-making, manage risk, and support market development.

About You:

• Demonstrable experience in commissioning, contract management, or a related field across the full commissioning cycle.
• Strong understanding of Adult Social Care, Health, or Public Health systems, including relevant legislation, policy, and regulatory frameworks.
• Proven ability to analyse data and performance information to inform decision-making and drive service improvement.
• Experience of leading or supporting procurement and tendering processes, including developing service specifications and business cases.
• Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including providers and partners.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities, work autonomously, and deliver to deadlines.

What we offer:

• A competitive salary based on your skills, experience and talent.
• Hybrid and flexible working options.
• An excellent local authority benefits pension scheme.
• Professional development through learning opportunities, regular training sessions and apprenticeship and management schemes.

We are a city of strengths, with a proud heritage and bright future. Working for Stoke-on-Trent City Council is more than just a job, it's about making, protecting and improving the services for the local population, reducing inequalities and improving independence for the people who live and work in the city. And that's where you come in. We are always looking for people of the highest calibre with skills, knowledge and experience to help us deliver our compelling vision. Stoke-on-Trent City Council's diverse and talented workforce is its greatest asset and most valuable resource. The skills, knowledge and experience of our c.4,600 employees are essential to delivering our ambitions and vision for our organisation and Stoke-on-Trent. We want to be an employer that people are proud to work for, and where our staff are supported, developed and rewarded in an inclusive way that helps them to excel and to deliver the high-quality services that our residents need.

Any offer of employment will be subject to the successful completion of required pre-employment checks. These may include:

• Right to Work in the UK
• Proof of address
• Satisfactory references
• Occupational Health Clearance
• Evidence of professional qualifications or registrations
• DBS check at the appropriate level (if applicable for the role)

The Council will not accept any speculative CVs from employment agencies. No agency terms and conditions accompanying any such CVs will be accepted by the Council. Any unsolicited information sent by an employment agency will be treated as the property of the Council.

Organisation Process: Please note that if an employee who is currently at risk of redundancy within the organisation applies for this vacancy their application will receive priority. If this happens you will be advised accordingly.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: At Stoke-on-Trent City Council, we believe our strength comes from the diversity of our community, and we want our workforce to reflect that. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and experiences. We understand that some people, especially those from underrepresented or marginalised backgrounds, may hesitate to apply if they don’t meet all the listed requirements. If this role interests you and you think you could be a good fit, we encourage you to apply. We are proud of what makes each of us unique and are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels included, can be themselves, and can succeed together.