Commissioning Manager

This job is brought to you by Jobs/Redefined, the UK's leading over-50s age inclusive jobs board.

About the role

We have an exciting opportunity to recruit a Commissioning Manager to lead the commissioning of good quality and affordable public health services to meet the needs of the North Northamptonshire population, on a fixed term contract for three years. You will join a new Public Health Commissioning Team to provide a specialist commissioning input across Public Health.

In this role you will apply collaborative commissioning principles and a whole system approach to commission services, overseeing provider performance, managing the market and overseeing a wide range of complex services and activities. This will require advanced knowledge of commissioning, co-production and monitoring and evaluation as well as a high level of skill in community engagement, partnership working, stakeholder management and political awareness.

This is a hybrid role currently based at Sheerness House in Kettering. The successful applicant will be able to travel between locations in the North Northants area.

If you would like to discuss this opportunity in further detail, please contact Steve Oakley, Public Health Principal: Commissioning, at Steve.Oakley@northnorthants.gov.uk

Interviews are expected to be held on Friday 17th May

What will you be doing?

Principal Responsibilities

1. The post holder will lead the development of comprehensive and, where appropriate, integrated commissioning strategies to achieve the best possible outcomes for the population and vulnerable groups within available resources, compliant with legislation and in line with the national and local strategic direction, and fully informed by involvement and co-production with customers and service users.
2. Within the service areas and service user groups of public health and wellbeing, the post holder will be responsible for the commissioning of services for large scale programmes including but not limited to sexual health, 0-19 years, NHS Health Checks and mental health, liaising with government offices, external regulators, customers and other partners on behalf of Public Health, NNC.
3. The post holder will be responsible for developing and maintaining high quality partnerships with stakeholders including the voluntary sector, health, housing and independent sector organisations in order to meet the needs of the population.
4. The post holder will be responsible for the procurement of new and revised support and services including working with public health colleagues to support the development of service specifications, documentation for re-tender and maintaining a lead role in PH for all tender processes.
5. The post holder will be required to utilise their specialist skills and knowledge collaboratively with practitioners, clinicians, service users, procurement, legal advisors, public health and commissioning team colleagues to ensure that contracts accurately reflect service requirements.
6. The post holder will take the lead in ensuring best value for money for the Council by developing, commissioning and monitoring good quality but cost effective services, for example by developing transparent service provider pricing, agreeing outcome focused contracts, re-negotiating existing arrangements, leading the recommissioning of poor value services and developing business cases for new investments, ensuring that services are delivered within budget.
7. The post holder will be required to ensure that services and contracts remain compliant within local and national standards and legislative changes both relating to local authority procurement and to the standards and expectations of service areas.
8. The post holder will intervene where contracted services fall below required performance measures by working with PH lead officers to support the service to comply with the required standard and/or renegotiate terms and conditions or decommissioning the contract and re-tendering, exercising their professional judgement relating to the levels of risk within the service and its capacity to improve.

About you

Education, Qualifications and Training

Essential Criteria

• Evidence of education to degree level or equivalent
• A professional qualification relating to commissioning, public health, health or social care, or evidence of wide ranging knowledge about the legislation, national strategy and needs of public health-provided services gained through substantial practitioner experience

Experience and Knowledge

Essential Criteria

• A thorough understanding of commissioning and procurement
• Demonstration of direct responsibilities for budgets, service delivery and people management.
• Recent, proven experience of effective inter-agency working.
• Experience of effective project management.
• Understanding of departmental usage of information systems and aptitude to utilise information technology.
• Numerate and literate - able to develop costed business cases and to draft papers for different audiences (for example).

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of sexual health and/or 0 - 19 commissioning

Ability and Skills

Essential Criteria

• An ability to commission new and innovative services e.g. in accordance with new government policies and requirements
• Able to effectively manage significant budgets within financial constraints and regulations
• Good organisational and problem solving skills
• Articulate and able to communicate well both orally and in writing
• Report writing and verbal reasoning ability sufficient to write and present reports including Cabinet and Scrutiny Committee reports and to draft service specifications
• Able to demonstrate reliability and ability to deliver to deadlines
• Ability to work on own initiative, seeking advice when appropriate
• Demonstrate ability to travel effectively to different locations

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of finance and financial systems

Equal Opportunities

Ability to demonstrate awareness/understanding of equal opportunities and other people's behaviour, physical, social and welfare needs.

Additional Factors

Able to demonstrate a clear understanding and commitment to health and safety, and a willingness to undertake training to enable implementation of procedures.

Our benefits

We offer:

• a competitive salary
• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• agile and flexible working arrangements to help you with a healthy work-life balance.

About us

We are a new unitary council, established in April 2021; we are one of the largest unitary councils in the country. Our vision for North Northants is to be 'A place where everyone has the best opportunities and quality of life'.

Our priorities are:

• helping people live active fulfilled lives
• caring for our young people, providing them with high quality education and opportunities
• enabling a thriving and successful economy
• leading on a green and sustainable environment
• ensuring our communities are connected so they can shape their lives and where they live
• providing modern public services

Our values, as chosen by our staff, are - Customer-focused, Respectful, Efficient, Supportive and Trustworthy.

Your differences make us different - Achieve Together.