Commissioning Officer

The Children's Trust; Guildford; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Staff shuttle service

On-site nursery

Free eye tests

Enhanced maternity/paternity pay

Additional annual leave for long and 


Job summary

The Children’s Trust in the United Kingdom is seeking a Commissioning Officer to support the Business Development and Commissioning Team. You will handle operational and administrative support across commissioning, contracting and funding activities to ensure funding arrangements are established and maintained accurately.

Reporting to the Senior Commissioning Manager, you will coordinate documentation, maintain records, assist with funding applications and follow up on actions.

Qualifications

• Experience coordinating contractual documentation and funding processes.
• Ability to support referrals, assessments and placements efficiently.
• Attention to detail with records and reporting responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Provide general operational support across referral, assessment and funding processes.
• Coordinate preparation, administration and completion of contractual documentation for placements and services.
• Maintain accurate commissioning, contract, placement and funding records across systems.
• Take and circulate minutes and actions from commissioning meetings.
• Follow up outstanding actions, escalating delays to senior management.

Skills

Operational support

Contract coordination

Data management

Stakeholder engagement

Budget awareness

Education

Degree in Public Administration

Tools

Contract management systems

Job description

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Commissioning Officer to join our Business Development and Commissioning Team. This role will require the successful candidate to provide operational and administrative support across commissioning, contracting and funding activity, helping to ensure that placement and service funding arrangements are established, documented and maintained accurately and efficiently.

Working closely with the Senior Commissioning Manager, Head of Business Development & Commissioning and wider Business Development & Commissioning Team, the postholder will coordinate contractual documentation, maintain accurate commissioning and placement information across relevant systems, support funding applications and proactively follow up outstanding agreements, funding decisions and commissioner actions.

Staff benefits include, shuttle bus, and more

Role Requirements

• Provide general operational support to the Referral Manager and Placement Officer throughout the referral and assessment process, helping to ensure referrals are progressed efficiently from initial enquiry through assessment and towards an appropriate service or placement.
• Help minimise financial and contractual risk, improve the timeliness of funding arrangements and support achievement of organisational income, activity and occupancy objectives.
• Coordinate the preparation, administration and completion of contractual documentation for placements and commissioned services, ensuring agreements, schedules and associated paperwork are accurate and progressed in a timely manner.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date commissioning, contract, placement and funding records across relevant systems and trackers, ensuring information is complete, accessible and supports effective financial and operational management, including taking and circulating accurate minutes and actions from relevant commissioning meetings.
• Monitor and follow up outstanding contractual and commissioning actions, including unsigned agreements and commissioner responses, escalating delays, risks or non-standard/complex matters to the Senior Commissioning Manager or Head of Business Development & Commissioning.

With experience of working in a complex environment, across a large and diverse workforce, you will be exceptionally organised with a high-level of attention to detail. You will naturally possess excellent inter-personal skills, and an ability to consult and positively engage with key stakeholders across the organisation.

For more detail, please see the Duties and Responsibilities in the candidate briefing pack.

Interview Date: Wednesday 25 November 2026

Please note as part of the shortlisting process for external candidates, gaps in employment will be examined and further explored during the interview process.

AI Statement

We recognise the value of AI tools, particularly in supporting individuals who may benefit from assistance with writing. However, applications created mainly by AI can often appear generic and may not fully reflect an applicant's, skills, knowledge, and experience.

We'd really like to hear from you so please use your own words and personal experiences when completing the application form to give us the best chance of understanding what you can bring to the role.

Strictly no agencies, please.

The Children's Trust is the UK's leading charity for children with acquired brain injury, providing expert rehabilitation, education, therapy, and care at our national specialist centre in Tadworth, and to children and their families across the UK, via our Brain Injury Community Service.

Boasting a beautiful 24-acre site in Surrey, we are located just outside of London, close to the M25 (accessible via Junction 8, A217 to Tadworth) and easily accessible via National Rail, by way of: Clapham Junction, Sutton, and Epsom.

Staff Benefits

• The work we do is highly rewarding, and in addition to an attractive salary, we offer a valuable range of benefits, including our staff flexible benefits platform, on-site nursery, free eye tests, enhanced Maternity and Paternity Pay, time out days for those experiencing menopause symptoms and time off for gender reassignment.
• We also offer additional annual leave days for those with long service, with entitlements ranging from 35 to 41 days (including bank holidays) depending on your length of service.
• Other benefits include free on-site parking; a staff shuttle service from Epsom and Sutton train stations to Tadworth Court, Car Scheme (subject to eligibility), subsidised cafeteria, on-site staff accommodation (subject to availability), the ability to retain your NHS pension (where applicable), Teacher's pension (where applicable) or the opportunity to join an alternative scheme, and the opportunity to develop your career in a supportive and collaborative environment.

Terms and Conditions

As a charity organisation independent of the NHS, we do not follow Agenda for Change terms and conditions. Consequently, we are unable to take into account NHS incremental dates or continuous service for salary, annual leave, or related entitlements such as absence pay at the point of recruitment.

Rehabilitation of Offenders

Many roles at The Children's Trust are exempt from the provisions of Section 4 (2) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, by virtue of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013 and 2020) and as such, are subject to an Enhanced DBS check. Successful applicants will be required to complete an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check, which will disclose all unspent convictions and adult cautions and any spent convictions or adult cautions that would not be protected. The exceptions to this is our retail roles within The Children's Trust shops, which are subject to Basic DBS checks which will disclose unspent convictions or adult cautions.

Equal Opportunity Employer

To help us achieve our ambition to give children and young people with brain injury and neurodisability the opportunity to live the best life possible, we want to accurately reflect the UK's diverse population. We want equity, diversity, and inclusion to be at the heart of everything we do, and our people, services, and culture to reflect the diverse needs of all. Through our diversity and inclusion strategy, we have made a commitment to increase the diversity of our charity and create an inclusive culture. We have networks across the organisation working to ensure that these aims are met - including an LGBTQIA2S+ group, Ethnic Diversity Group, and Spark - our broad EDI group. Read more about our EDI work here. We welcome applications from all who share our ambition regardless of background. We will strive to ensure that any reasonable adjustments are made in respect of interview and working arrangements.

Online Searches

In accordance with statutory safeguarding and child protection guidance, online searches will be conducted for shortlisted candidates before interview. The online searches will be conducted by a person who is independent of the interview and selection process and will focus on relevant information returned via searches of the candidate's name (and variations thereof). Social media searches will be limited to professional platforms such as LinkedIn. Any concerns relating to suitability for work with children and young people will be forwarded to the interview panel, for discussion during the interview.