Children and Young People

Commissioning Team Children and Young People

Children’s Commissioning Strategic Manager

Ref: 001870

Contract: Permanent,

Salary: £53,051 - £56,293 per annum (Grade 10)

Hours: 36.66 per week

Location: Oldham Council, Spindles Shopping Centre, George Street, Oldham OL1 1LF

Closing Date: Friday 20 November 2026

Interview Date: TBC.

Role Overview:

Are you motivated by commissioning and improving services for children, young people and families in Oldham? We are recruiting for an experienced commissioning manager to lead on the commissioning of children and young people’s services. You must be a committed team player with proven experience of commissioning services for children and young people including experience of the development of specifications following co production principles.

If you have any queries or would like an informal discussion about the role please contact Andrea.weir@oldham.gov.uk

Key Responsibilities:

Leading the Children and Young People’s Commissioning Team in the planning and commissioning of services for children and young people and their families. This will include commissioning, managing the provider market, contract management, service redesign/de-commissioning and contributing to the development of the provider market.

To ensure that services are strategically relevant, meet identified needs and agreed outcomes, achieve performance targets and are high quality and cost effective. This will be within a joint commissioning approach with key partners.

To ensure that services are driven by evidenced needs and analyses and that service delivery meets the needs of children and young people and their families to improve outcomes for service users.

To lead on a full range of commissioning practices to meet existing and emerging themes based on core principles of co-production and partnership approaches. This will include ensuring all statutory requirements are met.

Lead on GMCA and RCC developments representing Oldham at a local, regional and national level as required

Key Requirements:

To succeed in this role you will need as a minimum:

• Experience of planning, commissioning and developing services and successful resource and financial management.
  
• Experience of leading and managing teams and delivering improved commissioning outcomes.
  
• The ability and experience to analyse and interpret data and present it effectively to various audiences to inform decision-making and commissioning intentions.
  
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively support senior managers and Directors, with confidence to challenge where appropriate based on evidence.
  
• Excellent organisational skills to agree, develop and manage the provision of appropriate services for children and young people, ensuring all partners have access to appropriate and timely information about services and Oldham.

About Us:

We want Oldham to have vibrant, safe neighbourhoods where people are proud to live with opportunities for healthier, more fulfilled lives; and a sustainable, thriving economy. As we look to the future, the challenges may be significant, but so are the opportunities. We’ve identified three missions with our residents and partners, focusing on what will deliver the biggest impact:

A Great Place to Live, Healthier, Happier Lives, and Green and Growing.

We’re looking for candidates who will support us to achieve our ambitions and we encourage you to download our Corporate Plan: Ready for the Future and our Oldham Plan for further information.

Our Values and Behaviours:

By driving innovation, investing in our people, and championing our communities, we will ensure that Oldham continues to be a place where everyone can live their best life. To support this, we have three core values which define who we are and how we operate. These are ‘Proud, Ambitious, and Together’, and they shape our culture, inform our decisions, and inspire us to deliver on our commitments to the people of Oldham.

We have translated these values into five behaviours which guide our actions and are the standards we hold ourselves to, day in and day out:

• Work with a resident focus
• Support local leaders
• Committed to the borough
• Delivery high performance
• Take ownership and drive change

You can find out more about our values and behaviours on our greater.jobs Oldham page

Our Benefits Package:

At Oldham Council we offer a great benefits package for our employees, which includes the following:

• 25 days annual leave which increases after 5 and 10-years’ service
• The option to purchase additional annual leave.
• An attractive LGPS benefit pension scheme with the option to make shared cost additional voluntary contributions.
• Discounted gym membership with Oldham Active.
• Staff discount scheme for shopping, entertainment, eating-out, eating-in, travel, motoring and more.
• Salary sacrifice scheme for home and electronics and Cycle to Work.
• Wellbeing support, including a Mental Health First Aider network and an Employment Assistance Programme that provides 24 hours access to advice and support.
• Staff recognition and celebration events.
• Peer support groups

Inclusive Recruitment:

We work closely with employees to help them work at their best, including making adjustments such as flexible working, describing available working patterns, providing equipment or making changes to the workplace.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and therefore expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you have lived or worked abroad for 3 months or more in the last 5 years or 12 months or more (whether continuously or in total) in the last 10 years whilst aged 18 or over, please refer to the link below for details for how to obtain your Certificates of Good Character. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

Unfortunately, at this time we are not able to offer sponsorship.

If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme please indicate this within the ‘About You’ or ‘Supporting Statement’ section of your application.

If you’re an applicant with disabilities and have previously been in or currently in care, a carer, someone who has served in the Armed Forces, or you’ve participated in the GM Elevate Programme, and you meet the essential criteria of the role, you are guaranteed to reach the first stage of assessment under our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme.

Data and Privacy:

For details of how we use your data please see our Privacy Notice

Important Information:

Please note that should a vacancy that has been released for internal or external recruitment be deemed suitable for a current employee at risk of redundancy, it can be pulled back at any point, up to the post being formally offered to a candidate who is not at risk of redundancy.

Right to Work in the UK from 1st July 2021.doc