Commissioning and Contracts Officer

We are currently working in partnership with a Local Authority in Manchester to appoint an experienced Commissioning and Placement Officer to join their team Children's Commissioning Team!

Job Purpose: This key role within the Children's Commissioning Team ensures the Council identifies and commissions high-quality placements and services that meet the needs of children and demonstrate value for money. You will work closely with Children's Social Care to source suitable residential or foster home placements for children and young people, considering quality, costs, location, and suitability to meet individual needs.

Key Responsibilities:

• Source suitable placements for children and young people in residential and foster care settings, ensuring quality, cost-effectiveness, and alignment with the child's needs.
• Where necessary, source packages of care within a child's home or community setting.
• Provide expert advice on commissioning effective services for children and young people.
• Work collaboratively with stakeholders across Children's Services to develop and implement a coherent commissioning approach that improves outcomes for children and young people.
• Support the Contracts and Commissioning Manager in developing and writing contracts to support service commissioning.
• Assist in providing data and management information related to placements and contract requests.
• Monitor the Out of Borough Placements Budget and manage devolved financial resources.
• Support the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Team by maintaining placement records, raising contracts, and processing invoice payments for out-of-borough schools.
• Liaise with Placements North West and other regional initiatives on behalf of Bury MBC Children's Services.
• Undertake basic administrative duties to support commissioning processes and service delivery.

Person Specification:

• Previous experience as a Placements Officer or within a similar commissioning role.
• Understanding of the children's social care sector, including fostering and residential placements.

If you think you've got what it takes to succeed, or would love to find out more information, either

• Hit the apply button now and follow the steps
• Contact Sophie on

Here at Spencer Clarke Group, we pride ourselves on connecting you with the best career opportunities; our experienced Consultants have extensive market knowledge in Commissioning Services and will also provide expert career advice along the way.

We also have a market leading referral scheme of up to £250* so if you know of someone who may also be looking for an exciting career opportunity, ask them to contact Sophie at Spencer Clarke Group.

*T's & C's apply.