WHAT IS INVOLVED?

We are seeking an experienced and forward-thinking Commissioner to lead and support the commissioning of high-quality, outcome-focused children's social care services that provide value for money. This is a pivotal role at the heart of our ambition to improve outcomes for children, young people, and families, and to ensure our services are financially sustainable, innovative, and aligned with national reform.

You will take a lead role in, and/or contribute to specific projects focused upon vulnerable children and young people who can be challenging to accommodate and attract high costs. You will be responsible for negotiating costs, keeping placements under review and working closely with care teams to ensure children's needs are being met and providers are securing positive outcomes to demonstrate value for money.

Key areas of work will include scrutinising costs and comparing these with the true cost of care and renegotiating costs where appropriate, attending reviews to monitor progress and ensuring all additional costs are kept under review to ensure they are ended at the earliest opportunity. In addition, you will be responsible for working closely with the Strategic Commissioning Manager to track and report on progress to senior officers.

We encourage you to contact Mark Smith - Strategic Commissioning Manager for Children and Young People's Services via mark.smith@durham.gov.uk to arrange an informal discussion about the role.

WHAT WILL I NEED?

In terms of qualifications for the post

• You will need a degree or recognised professional qualification in: social care / health / housing / social policy / research / management / education or relevant experience.

Applicants for the post also need:

• Understanding of commissioning and placement brokerage processes;
• Substantial experience within a relevant area including some policy and/or project work;
• Experience and knowledge of multi-agency work within social care, health or housing;
• Evidence of successful developments in sphere of work.

The post holder will deliver their duties and responsibilities in line with the Council's 'OPEN' values and examples include:

• Outcome focused - through partnership working, identifying opportunities for further integrated working and ensuring value for money;
• People focused - through a focus on person centred solutions for Service Users and unpaid carers and by undertaking engagement / co-production activity to understand the range of needs of local people;
• Empowering - by working together with internal and external stakeholders and taking a lead role in the commissioning of allocated social care services;
• Innovative - by identifying and implementing new and creative solutions / services to meet local needs.

Please refer to the attached person specification for the full criteria.

HOW TO APPLY

In line with the County Council's Recruitment and Selection Policy, please note that we are unable to accept CVs. Applications must be submitted on-line via the Northeast Jobs portal.

Please use the 'Person Specification' section of your application form to demonstrate that you have the essential and where possible, desirable experience, skills, and knowledge. Candidates who do not evidence that they meet the essential qualifications and experience listed on the person specification will not be short-listed.

For guidance on completing your application, visit our website.

INTERVIEWS

Interviews are scheduled to be held 03/03/2026 and 06/03/2026

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked after young person, care leaver or a veteran.

If you have any support needs or require assistance when applying for this role, please contact the Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 262727, or via email RecruitmentAHS@durham.gov.uk .

All correspondence relating to your application will be sent from donotreply@northeastjobs.org.uk . Kindly check your spam/junk folder regularly to ensure you don't miss any updates.

BENEFITS AND REWARDS

We can offer you a range of employee benefits including competitive salaries, a generous leave entitlement of up to 32 days, a government pension scheme and various flexible and hybrid working options (benefits are subject to individual Terms and Conditions).

If you would like to know more, please follow this link .

HYBRID WORKING

Durham County Council currently operates a hybrid working policy where a model of 2 days in the workplace and 3 days at home/remote will apply. This model is pro-rated for part time roles and arrangements are at managers discretion, alternatively you can work all of your contracted hours within the workplace if you prefer.

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION

We are a proud equal opportunities employer and recognise the value of difference, having a diverse talented workforce brings new ideas and new perspectives, which will facilitate growth and improvements to services.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we encourage applications from disabled people and can provide support throughout the recruitment process, for more information please refer to the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion page on our website.

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