Specialist Commissioning Manager

Overview

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Specialist Commissioning Manager to join our Direct Care & Support and Integration with Health Team. You will provide leadership on all aspects of the commissioning cycle for services for adults to improve individual and population outcomes for Buckinghamshire residents.

We are looking for motivated, ambitious, and inspiring people to join us. You will be entitled to a range of different benefits to make sure you are happy both at work and at home.

Here's what other members of the Integrated Commissioning team had to say:

"Working in the Commissioning team has provided me with a great opportunity to shape services locally that really make a difference to the lives of vulnerable people. It's great to see and hear service users' stories about how they are achieving their dreams and goals of becoming more independent"

"I get the chance to be involved in a range of exciting projects which achieve real results for service users and their families, whilst continually boosting my learning. The team is highly motivated and supportive which means together we are able to deal effectively with situations that are sometimes challenging"

About us

In April 2020, Buckinghamshire Council became a unitary authority, ensuring that the needs of residents in Buckinghamshire are served by a single council. Buckinghamshire is an ambitious, rapidly growing county, and our economy is one of the strongest in the country. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty and ranks as one of the top rural areas to live in the UK, whilst also being very well connected - only an hour from London on the train. The county has a rich history and heritage and is the birthplace of the international Paralympic movement.

The Integrated Commissioning Service commissions high quality and value for money health, social care, and prevention services to enable Buckinghamshire residents of all ages to access the right services, in the right place at the right time.

We do this by:

• Putting people at the centre of everything we do through actively listening, engaging, and focusing on outcomes
• Developing open, honest, and collaborative relationships with providers, residents, and stakeholders
• Acting as a catalyst for change and integration by encouraging innovation
• Following an ethical, evidence-based, and inclusive approach which seeks to reduce inequalities and improve outcomes
• Supporting resilience and improvement and measuring impact
• Investing in our own staff by developing and sharing knowledge and skills, and recruiting new talent

About the role

As the Specialist Commissioning Manager (SCM) within the Direct Care & Support and Integration with Health Team you will lead an integrated commissioning team to support the Head of Service and Service Director to deliver against strategic priorities working with key stakeholders to deliver safe, high quality and value for money services.

The purpose of this role is to lead the commissioning activity from developing strategy to delivery of the large scale transformational change that supports the council and the Integrated Care Board to deliver improved outcomes

The Direct Care and Integration with Health Team works across 3 main areas of commissioning:

1. Community opportunities including day services and overnight short breaks
2. Integration with Health including the Better Care Fund
3. Hospital Discharge pathways

Your role will involve working with many partners across the Council, Integrated Care Board, and other organisations to establish the needs of the Buckinghamshire residents to identify and implement appropriate commissioning solutions. You will need to work collaboratively with other teams across the Integrated Commissioning service to develop clear strategies to enable Buckinghamshire Council and the Integrated Care Board to deliver safe, affordable, and high-quality care provision.

You will lead a team of 3 Commissioning Managers, 4 Commissioning Officers and 4 Commissioning Support Officers.

About you

You will need to demonstrate the following confidently and effectively:

• Working within a management capacity in a complex organisation with demonstrable senior leadership skills
• experience of designing, leading, and managing change, a strong influencer who will be required to manage relationships with director level colleagues across the health and care economy
• strong commissioning performance and/or contracting background
• previous experience of delivering a quality framework for a service to monitor impact, outcomes, and value for money
• Strong verbal, presentation, and written skills with confidence in delivering complex information to senior stakeholders in a concise manner
• Ability to manage conflicting priorities and a complex work programme in a fast-paced environment
• Someone who can confidently lead a team and build on people's strengths and attributes

You will need to have an enquiring mind and be confident in asking challenging questions to get a detailed understanding of issues. We are looking for someone who has experience working in the health and social care sector or can demonstrate strong knowledge of those sectors.

Any-Desk:

As an 'any-desk' worker, you'll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will be required to work from the office a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements.

Other information

Access to and use of a vehicle is an essential requirement.

This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• Unspent convictions and/or unspent conditional cautions only

For further information on how long it takes for convictions and conditional cautions to be spent, please refer to Nacro's guide on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and adults at risk.

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are - Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that's why we're working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it's important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

About the Business Unit

Buckinghamshire Council's Integrated Commissioning Service plays a vital role in our Adults and Health directorate. Working collaboratively with partners across a wide range of public, private and voluntary sectors, our aim is to align strategic commissioning activities to support service improvement, value for money and improved resident and service user outcomes.

We commission a diverse range of services. These include domiciliary care, residential and nursing care, day opportunities and support living, direct payments, and carers support for unpaid carers. We also commission several NHS services, including all strands of mental health provision. This integrated commissioning between adult social care and health services has enabled us to improve the efficiency of services we provide to our residents.

To ensure sustainability and resilience for the future, we identify the need for and procure new services and contracts for both health and social care. This involves building strong relationships with staff at all levels within these services, discovering and supporting areas for development, and monitoring the quality of the services we provide to our residents. If you are committed to making a difference and enjoy working in a fast-paced but friendly environment, we want to hear from you.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That's why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops, Microsoft Home Use Programme, and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. We also offer a salary sacrifice personal car lease scheme and the opportunity to gain membership to Costco. We have discounted gym memberships, Travel discounts with Arriva and much more.