Placement and Contract Commissioning Officer

**About Us**

At West Sussex County Council, we are ambitious for our children and our workforce. We are committed to improving our services for the children and families in West Sussex that we support and care for.

Children, Young People & Learning are focused on delivering an outstanding service. It is our strong belief that closer working relationships with partners and a focused commissioning strategy will achieve better outcomes for our children and young people.

**About The Job** Salary**: £28,371 - £31,099
**Working Pattern**: Full Time (37 hours)
**Contract Length**: Permanent
**Location**: Worthing with some hybrid working

The Children’s Placements Team are looking for an enthusiastic and passionate team player to join our dynamic service to support with finding quality fostering and residential provision for the children and young people we care for.

We are particularly interested in applicants that have an appreciation of what it means to be a child in care, the challenges this can bring and the importance of having a safe place to call home.

The team work to a hybrid arrangement which involves working in our Worthing office for part of the week as well as from home.

You will deliver a customer focused and efficient service, contributing to the Directorate objectives of securing best value support services through the effective management of a portfolio of low risk/low value contracts/services, and identifying placement options for the children and young people we care for.

The role will involve working across all areas of the commissioning function, but you will be primarily based in Placement Identification for children under 16 years of age.

You will cover a duty rota, Monday to Friday 9am-5pm.

**Experience and Skills** Key Skills**:

- Excellent literacy and numeracy skills to understand the referral processes, tender documents and contracts, and to check statistical financial information and other documents
- Ability to present information clearly, concisely, accurately and in ways that promote understanding, either verbally or in written/electronic form, and have sound and accurate IT skills
- Good analytical skills to interpret complex information, with the ability to organise, plan and meet set targets
- Good communication and interpersonal skills to interact effectively with a range of partners and create and maintain effective working relationships. This will include the ability to negotiate good outcomes and advise and guide others to make sound decisions
- Ability to work on your own initiative, anticipate problems, present solutions, and make frequent informed decisions
- Ability to work flexibly as required across different areas within the Children’s Services Commissioning Team, embrace change and have the flexibility to respond to the needs of the service.

**Qualifications and/or experience**:

- HNC or equivalent qualification or experience demonstrating that level of numeracy, literacy and communication skills
- Experience of working in brokerage and/or contract management - Desirable
- Experience of working within Children’s Services - Desirable
- Experience and enthusiasm for work within a department to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people
- Experience of working as part of a team, independently and with a range of professional groups

**Rewards and Benefits**
As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

In addition to working within a great team and a brilliant opportunity you will receive:

- A competitive salary
- **27** days annual leave + bank holidays
- A generous pension scheme
- Training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
- Flexible working
- A range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers with the opportunity to save over £1,000 (Including: Argos, Samsung, Asos, B&Q and many more)
- Free access to employee assistance programmes
- Discounted membership at selected local sports and fitness centres
- A range of commuting and business travel discounts and initiatives

For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our **Rewards and Benefits** page.

**Further Information**
The reference number for this role is **CAFHE04595**.

Note for Recruitment Agencies: We prefer to hire people directly, but we do have a supplier list for when we need a helping hand. We'll be in touch directly if we need you

Job Reference: CAFHE04595