Contracts Officer, Northumberland County

The purpose of this role is to assist in establishing, monitoring, and reviewing the contracting arrangements for the provision of children’s services, education, and public health. The monitoring aspect of the role is significant and will include visiting the sites of external providers. The post holder will be required to work with internal and external service providers on a standalone or collaborative basis. The post holder will be commercially aware and able to understand the relationship between cost, quality, customer care, and corporate performance assessments.

This is an extremely supportive, collaborative team where effective communication is essential, commitment to providing a quality service is expected, and new ideas for improvements are welcomed. The Service comprises the Head of Commissioning for Children’s Social Care, Education, and Public Health, the Commissioning Manager, 3 Commissioning and Relationship Development Officers, and a Contracts Officer (this post).

You will have experience in commissioning, contract monitoring, and service review, ideally with a working knowledge of children’s social care, education, and public health. Be able to gather, analyze, and present complex data and information from various sources to a varied audience. You can prioritize citizen work, consider team, organizational, and negotiation, and resolve complex problems. In addition, the ability to manage change well is a necessity.

This is a full-time, permanent position, Band 5 salary £26,421 – £28,770. The post will be a hybrid of home-working and monitoring, with a hot-desk base at County Hall, Morpeth. Travel around the country to undertake the monitoring will be necessary, with the potential for occasional overnight stays.

The Role Requirements

• The successful candidate must be educated to a degree level in a relevant subject or an appropriate professional qualification relevant to the position.
• Experience in a post involving responsibility for contact with the public.
• The monitoring aspect of the role is significant. It will include visiting the sites of external providers and undertaking support on Regulation 44 visits for the Council’s internally operated children’s homes.
• The post holder will be required to work with internal and external service providers on a standalone or collaborative basis.
• To undertake the monitoring, travel around the country will be necessary, with the potential for occasional overnight stays. Therefore, a valid UK driving license is essential.
• An enhanced DBS check will be required for this post.

The closing date for this advert is midnight on Friday, June 21st, and interviews will be held on Friday, July 26th.

Why Choose Us?

• 26 days annual leave plus public/bank holidays, rising to 31 days after 5 years of service (pro rata for part-time employees).
• Automatic enrolment into the Local Government Pension Scheme.
• Flexi scheme (if applicable) – up to 2 days flexible leave available per month (pro rata for part-time employees).
• Local government discount schemes are available to all employees, offering offers at local businesses and various national brands.
• Commitment to work/life balance offering flexibility through various schemes, including job sharing, flexible working, term-time only, and compressed hours.
• A range of salary sacrifice schemes are available.
• Staff networks – run by staff, for staff, providing opportunities for peer networking, mutual support, and staff development, e.g., Apprenticeship, Armed Forces, ASD, Enable (disability), LGBT+, Menopause, Mental well-being, and Racial Equality.