Contracts Officer SEND Commissioning Team

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. 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: £32,597 - £35,412 per annum
Working Pattern: 2 x Full Time (37 hours)
Contract Length: Permanent
Location: Countywide

The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Commissioning Team are looking for enthusiastic and passionate team players to join our dynamic service to support the development of contracting and commissioning arrangements that deliver effective services for children and young people with SEND and their families.

A team priority is ensuring we have the right commissioning arrangements and contract in place for children and young people in the right quality, place, time who attend Independent Non-Maintained Special Schools and/or Independent Alternative Provision.

The role requires us to work in a hybrid way, working from our council offices, visiting our providers, as well as working from home and providing an agile, responsive and flexible service, whilst maintaining a consistent approach. You are not required to have extensive knowledge about the SEND landscape as your wider experience and expertise may add value.

We are particularly interested in applicants that have strong interpersonal skills and a willingness to learn, to be able to communicate and develop positive working relationships with a diverse range of providers through negotiation and support, to achieve value for money, contract performance standards and improve the quality of SEND services.

Experience and Skills

Key Skills:

• Excellent literacy and numeracy skills in order to understand complex contracts and associated documents, related to children and young people with SEND and their families, and to check statistical financial information and other documents
• Good analytical skills in order to interpret complex contract/financial information and the ability to organise, plan and meet set targets
• Good communication and interpersonal skills to interact effectively with a range of providers/stakeholders and create and maintain effective working relationships. This will include the ability to advise and guide providers/stakeholders to understand technical information and influence them to make sound decisions
• Developed negotiation skills in order to work with providers to achieve improvements in contract terms.
• Strong customer focus with the ability to work as a key contact and provide a professional service to meet their needs.
• Ability to present information clearly, concisely, accurately and in ways that promotes understanding, either verbally or in written/electronic form.

Qualifications and/or experience:

• Degree level qualification or equivalent experience demonstrating that level of numeracy, literacy and communication skills.
• Demonstrate experience of managing contracts for effective results ensuring best value and optimum service levels are maintained.

• Experience of working within office systems/practices and providing support to range of stakeholders and partners
• Knowledge of The Children and Families Act 2014.

Reward 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:

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

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Charlotte Smith at . For issues or queries regarding your application please contact .

To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter. In your Cover Letter outline your motivations for applying and explain how you meet the key skills listed in full and the experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to 5 years referencing and a health check.

Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.For information regarding your eligibility to apply for this role under our Disability or Veteran's Guaranteed Interview Scheme, this can be found on our application help page.

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!