Apprentice Commissioning Project Officer

Adult Care Commissioning is moving at pace to deliver an exciting and challenging portfolio of projects to deliver our vision for the future.

An opportunity has arisen to work in the Older People and Physical Disabilities Commissioning Team, to support a range of projects and work towards a Level 6 degree in Charted Management.

Our Team: Our team is part of the Council’s Health and Care Directorate. The team lead on ensuring the county has a sustainable care market to support people to manage their care needs. We are dedicated to enhancing outcomes for older people and people living with a physical disability in Staffordshire.

Our Mission: Our team is renowned for its collaborative approach, engaging with partner organisations, stakeholders, service users, families, and providers. We are committed to:

• Innovating and finding creative solutions

• Leveraging digital innovation and best practices

• Advancing co-production and community focus

• Excelling in project planning and delivery

• Building strong relationships and business acumen

We seek someone with drive innovation through creativity and curiosity, with a genuine desire for co-creation. As an apprentice, you will have the opportunity to support projects and work with the Councils key partners and providers.

This is a fixed Term 3-year Apprenticeship working towards a Level 6 degree in Charted Management to commence September 2025.

You will:

Support Commissioning Officers, Commissioning Managers and Senior Commissioning Managers across Care Commissioning to plan, deliver and monitor the implementation of commissioning projects to ensure programmes deliver better outcomes for Staffordshire residents.

You will be expected to be flexible across all care services and the people the team commission for.

You will also:

• Support the design and management of projects to enable delivery against key outcomes.
• Research, analyse and interpret data and information from a wide range of internal and external sources to inform Care Commissioning activities.
• Support the development of reports and presentations for a variety of audiences
• Contribute to the design of, and organise and manage engagement and co-production events to support delivery of Care Commissioning priorities.
• Maintain data quality, including budget management processes and effective data intelligence to inform the commissioning process.

You will have:

• Qualifications: Educated to Diploma Level 3 and willingness to complete a Level 6 Apprenticeship as part of the role
• Level 2 Maths (GCSE, Functional Skills or equivalent)
• Experience and Knowledge: Ability to build effective working relationships and networks with partners. This will include stakeholders, the care sector workforce and people with lived experience.
• Experience of using advance functions within MS Excel to perform analysis with the potential to learn and adapt skills where necessary; a working knowledge of adult social care.
• Skills:
  • Effective communication (verbal, written, listening) negotiation, influencing and interpersonal skills
  • Able to work effectively
  • Organisational skills and the ability to work under pressure
  • Sound IT skills with the ability to use IT systems that may previously be unfamiliar.

Don’t feel you meet all the requirements? We value transferable skills, experiences, and qualifications so consider applying anyway or for an informal chat about the role please contact Victoria Cotton, Commissioning Manager at: victoria.cotton@staffordhsire.gov.uk 01785 355809

“We’re happy to talk flexible working”

Interviews are planned for 5 and 6 August 2025.

The successful candidate will need to attend their Apprenticeship induction at Staffordshire University 9 September 2025.

Our Recruitment Process: We anonymise applications during shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered. Please complete your application fully, especially the supporting statement, to highlight what you’ll bring to the role.

We are no ordinary county council:

Our Values:

The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.

Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:

We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.

We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.

Our benefits:

We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.

In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire

Our recruitment process:

As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post.