Senior Joint Commissioning Officer

Coventry City Council; Royal Leamington Spa; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Coventry City Council is seeking an experienced commissioner/programme officer to lead commissioning for children, young people and families, delivering services across SEND in partnership with health, social care and education sectors. The role involves mobilisation of provision within communities and development of sustainable contracting arrangements to secure value for money.

You will work with partners to shape provision, identify needs, and support innovative models of care, including

Qualifications

• Experienced and knowledgeable commissioner/programme officer capable of leading commissioning processes, research, and managing multiple complex projects.
• Ability to facilitate change and service developments, ensuring clear processes and strong stakeholder relationships.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret complex information to inform service design across health, social care, and education.

Responsibilities

• Lead commissioning of services for children, young people, and families across Coventry.
• Oversee commissioning and mobilisation of provision within communities and develop sustainable contracting arrangements.
• Collaborate with social care, education, health, and partners to deliver high-quality, evidence-based SEND services.

Job description

In line with our One Coventry Values we strive to have a workforce that reflects our local communities and welcome applicants from all sections of the community. We particularly welcome applicants from minority ethnic backgrounds, applicants who have a disability and applicants who are from the LGBTQ+ community to apply for our senior leadership roles.

Our Values are:

• Open and fair: We are fair, open, and transparent.
• Nurture and develop: We help and encourage everyone to be their best and do their best.
• Engage and empower: We talk and listen to others, working together as one.
• Create and innovate: We embrace new ways of working to continuously improve.
• Own and be accountable: We work together to deliver the best services for our residents.
• Value and respect: We put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

The wider Commissioning and Partnership Service ensures that good‑quality, value‑for‑money services are in place for children and families, enabling support to be delivered as close to home, school, family, and community networks as possible. The service plays a central role in developing strong, effective partnership working across agencies, collaborating with the health sector and other Children’s Services and Trusts across the region to ensure coordinated, sustainable, and responsive provision.

What is the job role?

This role is pivotal to achieving commissioning objectives across SEND, ensuring that children and young people in Coventry can access the right support at the right time, across Children's Services and Education.

You will lead the commissioning of services for children, young people, and their families, including the implementation and mobilisation of provision within communities and the development of sustainable contracting arrangements that secure value for money across health and social care. This includes overseeing / commissioning of services such as:

• Therapies, including Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT) and Occupational Therapy (OT);
• Provision required to deliver Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) outcomes, including mental health support;
• Transformation commissioning-related changes identified within SEND and as part of the reforms, such as the Experts at Hand (EAH) model;

While the role has a strong commissioning focus, it also encompasses wider service development across SEND. You will work in partnership with social care, education, health, and the broader system to identify needs, shape provision, and support the development of integrated and innovative models of care. Through collaborative partnership working, you will contribute to delivering high‑quality, evidence‑based services for children and young people with SEND needs, including disabilities and/or mental health conditions, enabling them to live independent and fulfilling lives. This includes supporting the implementation of new reforms in Coventry, such as Experts at Hand.

The role offers opportunities to jointly commission serviceswith local partners and agencies, as well as to deliver on priority areas already identified within the commissioning programme.

All candidates must have the Right to Work in the UK. We are currently not offering sponsorship for this role.

This post is exempt under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Appointment is therefore subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Who are we looking for?

You will be an experienced and knowledgeable commissioner/programme officer, capable of leading commissioning processes, research, managing multiple complex projects, facilitating change/service developments, ensuring clear processes are in place, and building strong relationships with stakeholders. Your ability to identify solutions and shape a diverse range of services across health and social care will be essential. Equally important will be your capacity for innovative thinking and your commitment to developing effective, efficient provision that improves outcomes for children, young people, and their families.

You will bring excellent analytical and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to interpret and use complex information to develop evidence that informs the design of services across social care, health, and education. Strong communication skills are essential, including a proven ability to produce clear, high‑quality reports and papers that support collaboration and secure commitment from partners to develop services collectively.

You will have a sound understanding of health and social care, alongside the ability to engage confidently in commercial discussions and overse…

Guaranteed Interview Scheme - As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long‑term health condition

Interviews will be held in the week commencing 05 October 2026.

About Coventry

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting‑edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 4800 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

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