Community Commissioner – Adult Social Care

We are bold and ambitious in our plans, with a clear vision and direction for the future. Our status as one of the UK’s fastest growing towns is driving transformational change across our organisation, most significantly within our highly valued Adults’ Services teams.

We are seeking an experienced commissioner who can actively shape the market and competently manage the associated end-to-end procurement.

Your next role

You will be leading on targeted commissioning activity to reduce the budget pressure associated with commissioning spend. It is imperative that when commissioning services you are focused on ensuring good quality outcomes for the people supported by those services as well as ensuring the delivery of associated savings.

We are looking for two fixed term contract commissioners;

Focus of role one:

• Introducing a new enablement and independence service for the working age adults we support who have a learning disability, autism and/or mental health need.
• The purpose of the new service is increasing independence and enabling people to achieve their outcomes whilst reducing reliance on restrictive formal packages of care.
• It is vital this commissioner has experience working with the cohorts of people listed above and an in-depth understanding of the types of services and providers we will be looking for.
• You will need to be able to write a high-level business case for the new service as part of going through the process of the commissioning cycle which will go to Cabinet in early 2025.
• You will need to be able to work collaboratively with our front-line social work and occupational therapy teams and use insights from the people we support and existing providers to develop a specification for the new service.
• You will need to be able to shape the market to ensure that we have providers bid for the new service opportunity that could successfully deliver on the service specification and outcomes required.
• This is an exciting opportunity to develop a new innovative service which will enable people in Swindon to achieve better outcomes.

Focus of role two:

• This role will be focused on a combination of specific opportunities in relation to home care, day services and placements.
• It is vital this commissioner has experience working with these types of providers and has an ability to understanding the building/housing aspect of placements.
• We have several SBC owned buildings used for placements which the commissioner will need to work with the relevant property teams at the same time as shaping the market so that the outcome of the commissioning and procurement process is delivering best value for support for people, as well as from our SBC owned buildings.
• You will need to have a good eye for data to understand the demands and needs of the people we support.
• You will need to work with a variety of internal colleagues as part of progressing this work for example; property teams, front-line social workers, contract managers, other commissioning colleagues and HR (if any TUPE requirements are identified).
• You will need to be able to shape the market to ensure that we have providers who are willing and able to deliver on the identified requirements.

If you believe you have the skills and experience to deliver in these exciting and challenging roles, we want to hear from you.

Candidates are invited to either apply for one or both roles. Please use the supporting statement to highlight which role or roles you are applying for.

About the service you will be joining

You will be joining our Commissioning team within our Commissioning, Improvement and Assurance service. You will be working with like-minded, hard-working and passionate people who are excited to have someone new joining us to deliver on our Adult Services Strategy.

You must be fluent in the English language (as a requirement of Part 7 of the Immigration Act “for the effective performance of a customer-facing role”).

Your next package

Please see our Rewards and Benefits offer for more details.

As an employee, you will receive a diverse and exciting environment in which to work, encouraging creativity and innovation whilst recognising the need to support ongoing personal development and a flexible work life balance.

For Swindon to thrive in the future, we need to lay the foundations now. It’s why our regeneration and transformation programmes are already underway. So, you’ll be joining us at an exciting time on our journey. We’ll look to you to share your knowledge, influence decisions and drive real, positive change. With your contributions, we’ll achieve our vision of a prosperous, re-vitalised Swindon together. And you’ll be proud to say it was made better with you.

Please see our Vision and Values page for more details.

Please see our new Swindon Plan

Potential applicants are sometimes put off if they don’t meet 100% of the requirements. We think individual experience, skills and passion make all the difference, so if you meet the majority of the criteria, we’d love to hear from you.

Your next steps

Read the role profile and select the Apply button where you will be redirected to the Swindon Borough Council website to complete our online application process. Clicking the ‘Apply’ button on this job website is not an application, you must register on the Swindon Borough Council website in order to be considered for the role.

For further information about the role please contact Grace Lynch, Director of Commissioning, Improvement and Assurance, at glynch@swindon.gov.uk

As an inclusive employer, we welcome applications from a diverse range of communities, and in particular disabled people and people from ethnic minorities. Read our statement of commitment to equality & inclusion.

If you are experiencing technical issues submitting your application please email resourcing@swindon.gov.uk