Service Manager - Brokerage & Placements

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Job Description

Contract Type: Permanent

Working Hours: 37 hours per week

Worker Type: Hybrid Worker

Salary: Starting Salary is £56,730 (Level one) rising to £60,125 per annum (pro rata for part-time) (Pay award pending)

Location: Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3NG

We've got an exciting opportunity available for talented individuals to join our workforce - perhaps this is the opportunity you've been looking for? Read on to find out more...

Working for Nottingham City Council has great benefits. As well as competitive pay, great leave entitlement and access to a generous pension scheme, we strive to create an innovative, inclusive and progressive work culture where everyone is supported to do and be their very best.

In return, we are looking for people like you - people who are innovative, driven and committed to serving and improving Nottingham. So, if you are passionate about making a difference to the lives of those who live and work in our city, we want to hear from you.

* You can read more about the different benefits offered to colleagues working for Nottingham City Council here.

About the Role

This role leads Nottingham's Brokerage and Placements Service, securing homes and support for children in a market that is increasingly constrained, costly and complex.

A core focus is children in care and high-cost, high-risk placements, where timely decisions directly affect safety, stability and outcomes.

This is a role for someone who is comfortable operating where:

• Demand exceeds supply

• Costs are high and under scrutiny

• Decisions carry real risk and consequence

What you will do

• Lead complex placement searches, including cases where provision is limited or unavailable

• Take ownership of high-cost packages, working with senior leaders to manage financial risk

• Challenge and negotiate with providers to secure appropriate placements at sustainable cost

• Drive pace and grip in the system, ensuring delays and drift are addressed

• Use brokerage intelligence to inform commissioning priorities and market shaping

• Lead a team delivering under pressure, setting clear expectations and standards

About you

This role is aimed at candidates who have done this work, not just worked alongside it.

You will bring:

• Direct experience of leading brokerage or placements for children in care or complex needs

• A strong understanding of placement sufficiency, market dynamics and provider behaviours

• Experience of securing placements in challenging circumstances, where there is no straightforward option

• Confidence in holding providers to account and negotiating on price and delivery

• A clear grasp of risk, safeguarding and statutory responsibilities

• The ability to make clear, defensible decisions at pace

You are likely to be:

• A current Service Manager, Senior Manager or equivalent in a local authority or provider organisation

• Known for getting things done in difficult situations, not just managing process

• Comfortable working with senior leaders and making recommendations that will be challenged

What success looks like

• Children are placed more quickly, in the right homes

• Fewer escalations and delays in placement searches

• Stronger grip on costs and provider negotiations

• A brokerage service that is trusted, consistent and outcome-focused

Why this role matters

This role sits at the centre of our work to improve placement sufficiency, financial sustainability and outcomes for children.

You will have the space and backing to:

• Challenge how things are done

• Influence commissioning and market decisions

• Make a visible difference to children's lives

You can find the job description for this post here.

At Nottingham City Council we believe that work is what you do, not where you do it. We offer different working arrangements, depending on the role, including hybrid working. Further information on Worker Types and what these mean in terms of how and where you work can be found on the additional information for applicants page.

For informal enquiries please contact Karla Banfield, Head of Service by email at karla.banfield@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Closing Date(s): 13th May 2026

Please note there may be occasions where we close the advert before the closing date and we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Interviews will be held: TBC

If you have any technical issues when completing your application, please contact our Employee Service Centre: https://emss.org.uk/support

By applying to this job, you agree to our Terms & Conditions.

About Us

Thank you for your interest in working for Nottingham City Council. As one of the largest employers in Nottingham we offer a wide range of roles across a range of services. In return for your skill, drive and commitment to serving the people of Nottingham, we can help you to develop an exciting and rewarding career, with access to the following benefits.

In addition to working within a great team and a competitive salary you will have access to:

• 26 days annual leave (rising to 33 days after 5 years' service) + bank holidays with the ability to buy additional leave annually
• Access to a generous, defined benefit pension scheme offering 17.9%
• Smart Working - to support your work life balance
• Health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme
• Discounted membership at selected local sports and fitness centres, cinema, shopping and much more!

Nottingham City Council is committed to recruiting a talented workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We are a fair and inclusive employer and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and with different abilities. We recruit for diversity and value difference.

We particularly want to hear from you if you are from Minority Ethnic communities, identify within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer+ community (LGBTQ+) and if you are Disabled - these groups of people are underrepresented in our workforce, and we'd like to reflect our local population more through our recruitment processes.

We are supportive of flexible working arrangements wherever possible and we would encourage you to discuss this with us during the selection process, should this be something you are interested in.