Commissioning Manager - Children's Services

Commissioning Manager – Childrens Commissioning

Children's & Skills Directorate

Band G - £56,293 - £63,405 per annum

At Solihull Council, we pride ourselves on being a Council that is small enough to care, but big enough to make a difference. The commissioning for children, young people and families team is focused on achieving the very best outcomes for children and young people. They take their corporate parenting responsibilities very seriously and are always willing to go the extra mile to provide support to colleagues - often seen as the ‘constant’ and the go-to team in a complex system, acting as boundary spanners across social care, health and education. They are a team that truly delivers on the Council values of being ambitious, open, honest and keeping its promises.

They assess and understand the need for service provision, providing contract management and quality assurance of provision. They co-produce evidenced-based plans and strategies, to support both in-house service design and the commissioning of external providers to deliver services for children, young people and families. The team secure external placements for children who are in care.

The Commissioning Manager will lead the delivery of commissioning projects, strategies and plans to secure high-quality, outcome-focused services for children and young people. This includes commissioning, contract management, quality assurance and performance monitoring of SEND education and social care provision, including independent special schools and colleges, as well as leading joint commissioning and service redesign with health partners, including community therapy services through Section 75 (S75) partnership and pooled budget arrangements. Taking a commissioning-led approach, the postholder will support services across the Children’s Directorate to ensure compliance with procurement, contract management and governance requirements, while contributing to market development, sufficiency planning and continuous service improvement.

To be considered for this opportunity you will need to demonstrate:

• Educated to Level 7 or the ability to demonstrate through extended experience, an equivalent level of experience and knowledge.
• Experience of commissioning and / or contract management within education and social care.
• An understanding of the impact of current and future legislation relating to SEND on the commissioning of provision across education and social care.
• Experience of partnership working and working across organisational boundaries.
• Experience of supervising and/or managing teams and individuals to deliver complex tasks.
• Experience of leading change in services e.g. Service redesign.
• Experience of working with providers in the setting and monitoring KPI’s and using performance management tools.
• Experience of budget management and financial control of projects.
• Knowledge of business intelligence methods in order to understand and interpret data and statistics.
• Experience of working flexibly to adapt to frequently changing demands and variable deadlines.
• Experience of monitoring and evaluating the quality of services, including support and challenge to providers to ensure good outcomes for children and young people.
• Detailed understanding of the organisation of services children and young people with SEND.

In return, you will have the opportunity to work as part of a friendly team where your contribution will be valued, and you will have the opportunity to shape and further develop our commissioning service

Working for Solihull, we also offer:

• A range of flexible working options including a flexi-time scheme
• Generous annual leave entitlements with the opportunity to purchase up to 10-days additional leave per year
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme – a 24-hour independent, free and confidential advice and support service
• Family and carer friendly policies
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme

Employee benefits including staff discounts, subsidised travel passes and Cycle 2 Work Scheme

If you have a specific question regarding this post, please contact:

Aimee Wright, Head of Service – Commissioning for Children, young people and families

aimee.wright@solihull.gov.uk

To apply, please click on the link below.

Closing date – 2 December 2026

Interviews will be held on 14th December 2026

Please note: As part of our compliance and safer recruitment requirements, references will be sought for all successful candidates following interview. A reference must be provided by the candidate’s current or most recent employer or training provider. Where this does not cover the last three years, an additional reference will be required from the candidate’s next most recent employer or training provider. Posts subject to statutory regulation may require additional scrutiny. Personal/character references will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances.

This post is covered by the Fluency Duty, as outlined in the Code of Practice on the English language requirements for public sector workers.

Solihull Council is proud to be an Equal Opportunities Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees - a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed on merit.

Solihull Council has a responsibility for, and is committed to, safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk, and requires all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.