Commissioning Manager – Care Placements

Witherslack Group; Carnforth; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading special education and care provider in the UK is seeking a Commissioning Manager to enhance care placements. This role requires significant operational experience and a passion for supporting children with SEND. The successful candidate will be instrumental in achieving optimum occupancy and maintaining high-quality relationships with stakeholders. A competitive salary, flexible benefits, and opportunities for career growth await the right candidate.

Benefits

Performance related bonus

Ongoing professional development

7 weeks’ holiday

Flexible benefits package

Wellbeing tools and advice

Medical cover

High-street discounts

Beautiful working environments

Recommend a friend scheme (£2,000 bonus)

Qualifications

• Significant operational and/or commissioning experience within 52-week care placements.
• Passion for the care and education of children and young people with SEND and complex needs.
• Empathetic, caring, and able to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.

Responsibilities

• Achieve optimum occupancy throughout our homes.
• Support the development and delivery of strategic approach to care placements.
• Monitor placement performance, ensuring quality experiences for stakeholders.

Skills

Operational and/or commissioning experience within 52-week care placements

Passion for the care and education of children and young people with SEND

Empathetic and caring attitude

Understanding of local authority care commissioning

Excellent relationship-building and networking skills

Tenacity and drive

Effective communication skills

Job description

Commissioning Manager - Care Placements

Location: Nationwide – with travel to our homes, offices and schools.

Salary: Based on experience, + performance related bonus.

Hours: Full Time – 37

Those huge small victories

We are the highest Ofsted-rated provider in the country for specialist education and care. Our teams are fulfilled by the idea of making even the smallest positive changes in our young people, so we celebrate the little things. We are looking for someone who can passionately represent Witherslack Group's visions, aims and objectives and can build strong, long-lasting relationships with internal and external stakeholders throughout our sector leading children’s homes.

The Commissioning Manager must have significant operational and/or commissioning experience within 52‑week care placements and will hold direct responsibility for achieving optimum occupancy throughout our homes.

Get out what you put in

We are looking for someone who can nurture and develop close links with all of the key personnel within local authority social care, placements and commissioning teams, in addition to all of the wider group of professionals. You will be supported by administrative and technical teams within our commercial/partnerships team and across the wider organisation.

The role will involve supporting the development and delivery of our strategic approach to 52‑week care placements, including responsibility for occupancy throughout our children’s homes. This includes contributing to the planning and coordination of placement activity and ensuring placement outcomes are shared with placing authorities. The Commissioning Manager will also monitor placement performance, outcomes, and key indicators, ensuring a high‑quality experience for commissioning partners, while maintaining strong relationships with local authorities and other stakeholders across the sector.

With previous experience in a similar field, you will use your skills to actively seek out development opportunities to gain a deep understanding of local authority needs and the local market. This role requires close partnership working across the homes, schools and local authority by support, liaison and negotiation so experience of relationship management is a must.

What we do for you

We know you’re going to do great things. For your hard work and commitment, we reward you with the best salary and benefits package in the care sector. With us, you’ll get to make a genuine difference to the lives of our young people – plus you’ll get:

• Salary: Based on experience, plus performance related bonus
• Training: Ongoing professional development.
• Holiday: You’ll work hard at WG, so you’ll be rewarded with 7 weeks’ holiday
• Flexible benefits package: meaning you can increase/decrease your holiday allowance, pension and life insurance – check out our benefits here
• Wellbeing: a host of wellbeing tools and advice including employee assistance
• Medical cover: so you can claim back the cost of things like an opticians or dentist appointment and a host of high‑street discounts
• Beautiful working environments with the very best facilities
• A recommend a friend scheme that offers a £2,000 bonus every time

Bring your whole-self to work

Here at Witherslack Group, we celebrate everyone's differences as that's what makes us the best at what we do. Our young people come from all walks of life, diverse backgrounds and with different needs – and our workforce reflects that diversity, so that our teams can engage, encourage and inspire our young people to be themselves. We'll give you the chance to build an exciting career in a fast‑growing organisation, where you’re free to achieve your potential. Here’s what we need from you;

• Significant operational and/or commissioning experience within 52‑week care placements
• A passion for the care and education of children and young people with SEND and complex needs
• A people person – empathetic, caring, and able to translate Witherslack Group’s vision into real impact
• An understanding of local authority care commissioning
• Insightful and detail‑orientated approach – monitoring industry trends and market developments to feed into partnerships activity
• Knowledge of the local authority environment and how to navigate it to achieve objectives
• Excellent relationship‑building and networking skills
• Tenacity and drive to seek new opportunities and exceed targets
• The ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences

Join the UK's best special education and care provider

Our young people deserve the best possible future and we feel the same about our teams. You deserve to have the career you want, with a purpose‑led employer, in an environment that allows you to be yourself.

The Witherslack Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of its young people. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check (we will cover the cost). We are an equal opportunities employer welcoming applications from all sections of the community.

For a full job description and person specification, please see here.

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