Placement Commissioning Lead - Care Resources

Job Description

Discover yourself in Lewisham where what you do makes a difference to our vibrant and culturally diverse communities!

We have a rich history of welcoming people from all over the world and are proud to be recognised as the UK’s first Borough of Sanctuary, for our work in championing the rights of refugees and migrants.

Introduction

Lewisham is recruiting a Commissioning Lead – Children’s Placements to lead the strategic and operational commissioning of homes for children and young people in care. This is a key role in ensuring children have access to safe, high-quality, stable placements that meet their needs—while delivering best value and supporting Lewisham’s sufficiency ambitions.

You’ll lead on commissioning across foster care, residential care and supported accommodation, overseeing the commissioning cycle from needs analysis and service design through procurement, contract management and review. Working closely with operational teams and external providers, you will help shape the market, improve quality, and secure the right homes at the right time.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the commissioning of homes for children and young people, aligned to statutory duties and local priorities
• Oversee the home-finding function, ensuring robust quality assurance, accurate data and performance reporting
• Build strong relationships with providers and partners, driving improvement and innovation
• Monitor quality and performance, leading contract reviews and ensuring regulatory compliance (including Ofsted requirements)
• Negotiate placement costs and specifications to achieve value for money
• Line manage and develop the placements team, providing leadership in a high-demand environment
  
  

About you:

• Significant experience in commissioning and/or brokerage (ideally within children’s placements)

Strong understanding of safeguarding legislation and relevant regulatory frameworks (including Children Act 1989 and placement-related regulations)

Proven ability to manage provider relationships, contracts and budgets

Excellent negotiation, communication and stakeholder engagement skills

A leadership style that motivates teams and delivers results under pressure

What’s in it for you?

Our Vision –What Good Children’s Social Work Looks Like in Lewisham

In Lewisham Children’s Social Care, we know what good social work looks like and we are passionate about creating the right conditions and culture for good practice to thrive.

• Families are respected and supported to stay together, whenever there is safety.
• Families will tell us they understand why we are involved.
• Children will tell us their social worker has made a difference to their lives.
• Children who are in our care know we care, and we won’t give up on them.
• Young people who have been in our care feel confident about their future.
  
  

We have taken a whole system approach to improving our services to children and young people in our borough using Signs of Safety as our practice model. Ofsted recognised the progress we have made noting that:

• Staff talk positively about their manageable caseloads, regular supervision, team meetings and access to a range of training, including the social work model of practice.
• Senior leaders demonstrate a clear focus on hearing the voices of children to develop and improve services.
• Leaders know the service well. They have a clear understanding of areas for development that are being appropriately addressed.
  
  

In January 2024, Ofsted's report lauds significant improvements in our children's services. Praised areas include strong leadership, high-quality support for families and children, and positive outcomes across all criteria.

The Executive Director for Children and Young People and his team are credited for driving these improvements, with particular focus on enhancing workforce stability, early help services, and partnerships with stakeholders.

• Noteworthy practices include creative life-story work and culturally sensitive social work approaches, crucial in a diverse borough like Lewisham.
• The Council's anti-racist practice network and safe space platform also garnered praise for supporting staff from black and global majority backgrounds.
• Overall, the report highlights a commendable commitment to improving outcomes for vulnerable children and young people in Lewisham.
  
  

Why choose Lewisham?

“Lewisham has so much to offer any social worker. I feel supported, respected and valued every step of the way” (Social Worker).

Our social workers benefit from working in small, supportive teams with caseloads on average between 15-20 children. Our Signs of Safety family-led practice framework means we are committed to working in a relationship-based way with children and families, focussing on strengths in the family network to effect change. A positive learning culture which promotes opportunities for reflection and relationship-based practice is important to us. We are committed to developing our practice using reflective practice spaces such as case mapping, thinking spaces and group supervision.

Our permanent and stable senior management team are visible and approachable. Our dedicated workforce team supports professional development across the service so that you will;

• be supported through our comprehensive learning and development offer, which includes subscription to ‘Research in Practice’.
• receive regular supervision and appraisal.
• have 1-1 practice development coaching as a case holder, and professional development coaching as a manager.
• have access to regular Signs of Safety training
• have access to external leadership development opportunities such as the Black and Asian Leadership Initiative (BALI).
• have a clearly defined career progression pathway with opportunities for professional development at all levels.

opportunities to become a practice educator and work with students and newly qualified social workers.

What We’re Looking For

If you want to work in a thriving borough and our social work vision connects with your professional values, then we are interested in hearing from you. We are looking for people to join our team who:

• value the importance of communication and seeking feedback
• can inspire and motivate those they work with, manage and lead
• are committed to developing their skills and expertise to deliver an excellent service
• are professionally curious and value thinking slowly and calmly in a balanced way
• work inclusively, collaboratively with others recognising their strengths
• take responsibility and make a positive contribution by focusing on solutions
• are transparent, are appreciative in enquiry, reflect and learn.
  
  

In return, we’ll offer excellent development opportunities, the opportunity to make a real difference to our local community plus a range of benefits including:

• Generous leave entitlement
• Local Government Pension scheme
• Flexible working and family friendly policies
• Season ticket and bicycle loans
• A range of staff discounts including local subsidised gym memberships
• Supportive staff networks
  
  

Location

The job is primarily based in Laurence House in Catford SE6. There are 2 local train stations 3-5 minutes’ walk from the office, and the train journey from London Bridge is approximately 15 minutes. There are also numerous bus routes that stop right by the office.

We operate a hybrid approach where you will be required to work both in the office and from home on a regular basis.

Creating an Inclusive Lewisham

A core value of Lewisham Council is to 'draw on the diversity of our communities to create a more inclusive Lewisham'. We believe that freedom from discrimination and equality of opportunity are fundamental rights, and that each person should be valued regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, or age. Social inclusion lies at the heart of everything we do as a Council in our roles as an employer, a provider of services and a community leader.

Diversity

Lewisham Council is a Disability Confident employer. We welcome and encourage job applications of all abilities. If you require any reasonable adjustments in the application or interview, please contact the lead contact on this advert. We will make reasonable adjustments to make sure our disabled applicants and those with health conditions are supported throughout our recruitment process. We support the access to work scheme, further details are available at www.gov.uk/access-to-work/apply

The Council has a dedicated employment support service, Lewisham Works , which offers Lewisham residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you want to join Lewisham Works, please email LewishamWorks@lewisham.gov.uk and an advisor will be in touch with you.

Your Application

The recruitment process is anonymous, and we don’t accept CVs.

Applicant handbook - please read the guidance in this handbook when applying. It is essential that you complete the application fully and that your supporting statement covers how you meet each of the person specification criteria listed.

Please click here to view the Job Description and Person Specification

Please click here to view Our Vision and Values

Please click here to view Letter from the Director

Special conditions

• The job is subject to a DBS check (Basic/Enhanced)
  
  

For an informal discussion about this job, please contact pathfinder@lewisham.gov.uk

Salary

£57,495 - £59,574 per annum (SCP PO6)

All appointments will be offered at the minimum spinal column point (SCP) for the grade of the role. The only exception to this will be when matching current salary (up to the maximum of the scale), which is subject to evidential proof.

The Council reserves the right to close adverts early if there is a large response.

Let’s stay connected, follow us on social media:

LinkedIn Facebook X Instagram