Commissioning Officer

North Northamptonshire Council; Kettering; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Leave entitlement (28–33 days)

Hybrid working

Employee Assistance Programme

Employee Benefits Scheme

Wellbeing support

Travel rates at HMRC rates

Employee Network Groups

Job summary

North Northamptonshire Council is seeking Commissioning Officers to shape Public Health and Family Hubs services across the region. The role focuses on commissioning high-quality, cost-effective health services and engaging with providers, communities and partners to deliver real impact.

Posts are hybrid with base at Sheerness House, Kettering, and require travel across North Northamptonshire. Roles may be 18 months to two years, with potential extension, and deadlines for applications are

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent in policy, research or health related areas.
• Experience with commissioning, contracting and monitoring of public services.
• Experience in social research or consultation.
• Knowledge of Public Health and health improvement.
• Experience with coordination, planning and reporting.
• Understanding of English social and health care systems.

Responsibilities

• Complete project activities under the Commissioning Manager and build relationships with partners to support delivery of adopted strategies.
• Collate and analyse information on contract performance, management and costs; produce reports against KPIs.
• Coordinate routine commissioning processes including performance monitoring and liaising on financial, legal and procurement tasks.
• Develop engagement structures to capture views of service users, families and carers to inform service design.
• Prepare specifications and tender documentation; help evaluate tenders and procure new contracts.
• Review market intelligence to align the market with needs and ensure cost-effective services.
• Provide advisory data and analytical reports to managers and elected members.
• Undertake market and supplier research; identify opportunities for value for the council.
• Keep abreast of legislation and best practice to inform commissioning policy.

Skills

Policy understanding

Public health knowledge

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

Community engagement

Education

Degree or equivalent in policy/research/health

Tools

Word/Excel/PowerPoint

Job description

The following content displays a map of the jobs location - Kettering, Northamptonshire

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we’re transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You’ll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think!

Why choose us?

We offer a vibrant working environment with:

• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28days, rising to 33days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

About the role

We have exciting opportunities for a number of Commissioning Officer posts to play a leading role within North Northamptonshire’s Public Health and Family Hubs Commissioning Team, with potentially three roles available varying from 18 months to two years in duration with the potential to extend.

These roles will be central to shaping the future Public Health and Family Hubs services, ensuring services are joined-up, accessible, and responsive to the needs of the people of North Northamptonshire. You will support the commissioning of high-quality, evidence-based, and cost-effective services across Public Health and Family Hubs, including:

• Substance Use
• Sexual Health
• Healthy Lifestyles and Health Improvement
• Children’s Services
• Family Hubs

You will bring knowledge of commissioning, co-production, and monitoring and evaluation, alongside skills in community engagement, partnership working, and stakeholder management. Working collaboratively with providers, colleagues, and partners, you will oversee provider performance, manage tenders and grants, and ensure services deliver real impact for local communities.

This is a hybrid role, with a base at Sheerness House in Kettering. The successful applicant will need to travel across North Northamptonshire, as and when required.

The deadline for applying for this opportunity is Sunday 20th September.

Face-to-face interviews are currently expected to be held on Tuesday 6th October.

What will you be doing?

• Under the guidance of the Commissioning Manager complete project activities and build relationships with other partners/organisations to support the development and delivery of the actions within adopted Commissioning strategies to ensure the best possible outcomes for vulnerable groups within available resources, compliant with legislation and in line with national and local strategic direction.
• To collate and analyse information on contract performance, management and costs. Produce reports to enable the monitoring of performance against individual contracts and key performance indicators.
• To provide high quality coordination of and support to routine commissioning business processes, including performance and quality monitoring, and liaising with council colleagues on financial, legal and procurement tasks.
• To develop and implement engagement structures and activities to harness the views of service users, families and carers, local communities, service providers and other key stakeholders to ensure the Council support the identification of service gaps and unmet needs to inform the decommissioning, redesign and commissioning of services to meet the health and wellbeing needs of the population.
• To complete the writing of specifications and tender documentation and help to evaluate tender documentation and issue new contracts alongside the Commissioning Manager to procure new and revised public health services.
• To review intelligence and engage with local communities and providers to understand the needs within the marketplace to align the market in delivering good quality, cost effective services that meet the identified needs of service users and carers.
• To provide advice and guidance about commissioned services to operational staff, senior managers and elected members, including the writing of analytical reports and presentation of data as required.
• To undertake market and supplier research, review legislation and policy guidance to identify opportunities for improved value for the council and identify process efficiencies and/or cashable savings.
• To research and review legislation, policy guidance, new initiatives and best practice that improves health and well-being to ensure the Commissioning Manager, the Council and local providers are kept informed of commissioning policy and initiatives.

About you

Education, Qualifications and Training

• Degree or equivalent, preferably in policy, research or health related areas.

Experience and Knowledge

• Experience of processes for the commissioning, contracting & monitoring of public services of similar business processes.
• Experience of working in social research and/or consultation.
• Experience of project management & business management, including coordination, planning, information collation, analysing data to produce reports, strategies and briefing papers.
• Good level of knowledge of Public Health, health and health improvement.
• Understanding of the importance of consultation and engagement and what are the most effective ways to consult with people so they are involved in the decision making process.
• Good level of knowledge of Social and Health care systems in England and Wales.
• Experience in Public Health, health and health improvement.

Ability and Skills

• Computer literacy to intermediate level in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Ability to demonstrate awareness/understanding of equal opportunities and other people’s behaviour, physical, social and welfare needs.

About us

Our Values and Behaviours

Customer-focused
Respectful
Efficient
Supportive
Trustworthy

Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

Disability Confident Employer

We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and is committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role.

The council obtained the Gold status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).

Further information can be found at Jobs and careers | North Northamptonshire Council (northnorthants.gov.uk)