Placement and Commissioning Officer

About Us

Children, Young People & Learning are focused on delivering a significant shift to prevention of needing to bring children into care where it is safe not to. Closer working with partners, and a focused commissioning strategy will achieve better outcomes for our children and young people.

The team you will be joining lead on the commissioning of urgent or specialist support, therapeutic services and health contracts and related voluntary sector services. They quality assure providers and monitor contracts and packages of care to ensure we get best quality and value for money. Central to what we do is building strong partnerships and support services to develop innovative, child-focused approaches that meet the changing needs of our children and families.

The Opportunity

Salary: £19,822 - £21,534 pro rata (FTE £32,597 to £35,412 per annum)
Contract Length: Fixed Term to cover maternity leave currently until 31.08.2027
Working Pattern: Part Time (22.50 hours per week), flexible hours
Location: Arun Civic Centre, Littlehampton with flexible, hybrid working

We are seeking a Placement and Commissioning Officer to play a key role in coordinating referrals and securing support services for children and young people. Based within the Children's Health & Voluntary and Community Sector Commissioning Team, you will manage a busy referral inbox, follow commissioning processes, liaise with providers, and ensure services are arranged efficiently. While much of the work is planned and process-driven, you will occasionally support urgent or specialist referrals where a timely response is required.

You will also contribute to the commissioning of new provision, carry out provider-level quality assurance, and support contract management activities, helping to ensure providers are equipped to deliver effective care and achieve positive outcomes for children and young people.

We're looking for someone who enjoys variety, the ability to prioritise competing demands, has excellent communication skills and remains organised under pressure. You'll be joining a fantastic, supportive team that offers regular check-ins, practical guidance, and a strong culture of collaboration to help you thrive in your role.

Apply today and join us in making a difference to the lives of children and young people, while benefiting from excellent professional development opportunities and a great range of WSCC benefits!

Experience and Skills

Key Skills:

1. Excellent literacy and numeracy skills to understand the referral processes, tender documents and contracts, and to check statistical financial information and other documents.
2. 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.
3. Good analytical skills to interpret complex information, with the ability to organise, plan and meet set targets.
4. 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.
5. Ability to work on your own initiative, anticipate problems, present solutions, and make frequent informed decisions
6. 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.

Please refer to the job description attached for the full list of required key skills and experience, and refer to these in your application.

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 CAFHE06506.

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact

For any issues in your application, please contact

To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and complete our short application form. In your application form, please 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!