3 months contract with a Local Authority
Job Summary:
* To commission placements and support services for Looked After Children and care leavers, ensuring that the needs of individual children and young people are closely matched within available resources and using Best Value principles and to have the lead responsibility for assessments on all IFA, Residential and Semi-Independent resources commissioned by Enfield.
Key Duties/Accountabilities (Sample):
* To ensure QA visits to all residential and semi-independent resources where a looked after child is placed prior to placement or within agreed timescale and critically evaluate the provision against Ofsted evaluation reports.
* The post holder will be travelling within Enfield and across the country. There will be an expectation that the post holder will undertake at least 6 assessment visits per month, with most placements being outside of the London Borough of Enfield.
* To collate and analyse the assessments information and to produce a report quarterly for the Team Manager, Senior Placements Officer and Head of Commissioning/AD – Strategic Commissioning.
* To ensure that robust management information is available to the Manager, Access to Resources and Head of Commissioning/AD-Strategic Commissioning in terms of quality, quantity and cost.
* The post holder will take the lead in developing an annual assessment programme for Residential, IFA and semi-independent provision reporting to the Senior Placements Officer and the Team Manager and to ensure that services are developed which are sensitive and responsive to individual needs and provide value for money.
* To ensure that placements are matched to children’s needs through evidence-based practice, relevant guidance, inquiry report conclusions and the principles of the legislative framework.
* Any other duties reasonably requested by management.
* Carry out all accountabilities in compliance with the Council’s Policies and Procedures.
* To commission a range of external care placements to meet the needs of the Council’s Looked After Children.
* To ensure the delivery of Value of Money in all the team’s commissioning processes.
* To negotiate the costs of individual and volume agreements to deliver ongoing efficiencies.
* To develop the provider market.
* To ensure that the appropriate contract framework is in place for each placement made.
* To play a major role in developing and implementing the Service Centre Plan of the Integrated Commissioning Team.
* To advise social workers or other staff on the most appropriate placement option available.
* To ensure that all children and young people in external placements are safeguarded from harm and have the appropriate care packages in place to meet their needs.
* To act as an interface between external agencies and the operational services to maximise placement stability and minimise placement disruption.
* To contribute to the development and implementation of the Department’s service strategy, its performance and its contribution to the Council’s objective.
* To manage within a quality and equalities framework based on Council policy and performance targets, professional standards and best practice.
* Contribute to the development and delivery of services in a manner that reflects the diversity of the group’s users and staff.
* To support the Team Manager (Access to Resources) and adhere to the Council’s standing orders and financial regulations.
* To work closely with partners in Health, Education and other Council groups, external providers and the private and voluntary sector, to ensure that the most appropriate joint planning/funding arrangements are agreed and progressed.
Skills/Experience:
* Knowledge of the range of complex needs of Looked After Children and an understanding of the most appropriate interventions to meet those needs.
* Excellent organisational skills, including the ability to manage competing demands, respond to emergency situations and manage your workload effectively.
* Experience in partnership working with statutory sector partners.
* Experience of market management and working with external providers.
* The main requirement of the post holder will be an expectation to travel across the country to undertake detailed assessments and monitoring visits to all Looked After Children’s resources.
* The post holder is expected to be resilient with regards to the emotional demands the work may pose.
* The post holder is expected to work on a flexible basis with some unsocial hours.
Additional Information:
* It is desired that the post holder should be a car driver.