Job Details:
Salary Range : £46,140 - £51,445 per annum
Location: Elizabeth II Court, Winchester (Hybrid Working)
Contract Type: Permanent
Hours: 37
Closing Date: Monday 15 July
Interview Date: Tuesday 30 July
The Role:
Are you passionate about making a difference for Children and Young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)?
Hampshire County Council’s Children’s Services Directorate are seeking a proactive and dynamic Category Manager to work within the Sufficiency Service. The Sufficiency Service commissions capacity in the external market to contribute to Childrens’ Services meeting a range of statutory sufficiency duties. This includes commissioning placements for children in care and children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Our agile team must respond to a dynamic operating environment.
As a highly organised Category Manager, you will assist with the sufficiency of Independent Non-Maintained Special School (INMSS) places and Alternative Provision places across Hampshire and out of county. You will support in developing and implementing commissioning strategies. You’ll liaise with service providers, shaping the provider market to facilitate service developments that meet current and future needs in line with the commissioning strategy and SEND policy direction.
As Category Manager you’ll lead a diverse portfolio of activity to support the delivery of statutory services for children and young people in Hampshire. As a manager, you’ll lead on commissioning projects and will manage large contracts and multiple suppliers. Your commercial experience and acumen will enable you to manage effective supplier relationships, shaping the market to respond to the needs of children and young people, and to build long term partnerships that secure market capacity and deliver best value for the Directorate.
You will have excellent analytical and IT skills including the ability to manage, manipulate, analyse and present data to demonstrate findings and trends that inform strategic decision-making. With strong data skills you’ll lead on analysing and scrutinising cost models, negotiating on block purchasing and other commercial arrangements, to ensure best value and to monitor service delivery against spend.
You’ll use your partnership working experience, stakeholder management and influencing skills to maintain constructive relationships across internal stakeholders, external suppliers and partner organisations. With a positive, solutions-focussed approach and a drive for continuous improvement you can make an exceptional contribution to your category, the Sufficiency Service, the Children’s Services Directorate and most importantly to the outcomes for Hampshire’s children and young people.
If you are a clear communicator with a passion for ensuring quality services and you have a keen interest in services for children and young people with SEND, we would love to hear from you. In all aspects of the role, you will be motivated by getting the best out of people and by ensuring that the service you are delivering is of a high standard, delivering positive outcomes for children and young people, and ensuring best value for the Directorate.
Applicants must have excellent verbal and written communication skills, strong numeracy and analytical skills are essential as well as proficiency with IT and business systems. This role provides an exciting opportunity for the right candidate to have a real impact on the educational experience and life chances of children in Hampshire.
The selection process will involve a pre-interview assessment and an interview.
Additional Information:
Senior Category Manager
Vetting Requirements:
This post is subject to a Criminal Records Check. As such, and as per safer recruitment requirements, please note, we will take up references prior to interview.