Strategic Commissioner

About Haringey

Haringey is a fantastic place to live and work – the world in one borough.
A place brimming with creativity, personality, radicalism, and community.
It is a place where we stand up for each other.
A place that is proudly distinctive.
We’ll be celebrating all this and more as the “rebel borough” when we are the 2027 London Borough of Culture.

Our history champions change-makers and everyday rebels; revelling in our differences, battling discrimination, championing equality, and doing things our own way.
Haringey’s people are a huge asset, with knowledge, expertise, and passion.
Our staff members embody our organisational values:
Caring, Creative, Courageous, Collaborative and Community-focused.
These values keep us looking forward, ambitious for the future, and continuously striving to do our very best for all of our residents.

About the Team

As a Strategic Commissioner, you will be working as part of the Children’s Commissioning team within the Commissioning and Programmes Business Unit.
Here are six key points about the team:


Our team is a dynamic and ambitious group of professionals dedicated to achieving the best outcomes for children and families in Haringey.

We believe in a collaborative and innovative approach to commissioning, working closely with other directorates and external agencies to ensure services are needs-led, evidence-based, and of the best value.

We are committed to providing high-quality commissioned contracts and services that are performance managed, allowing for organizational development solutions that can deliver positive outcomes to the community.

Our team is driven by a strong sense of purpose and strives to ensure compliance with relevant statutory and legislative frameworks.

We value smart and collaborative working and encourage our staff to be innovative and creative in their approach.

We offer opportunities for leadership and management development within the directorate, linking in with corporate leadership development initiatives.

Working for Haringey

At Haringey Council we are committed to creating a workplace culture where all our people feel valued, included, and able to be their best at work, and we recognise the benefits of a diverse workforce so welcome applications from all ethnicities and communities so that we continue to make a difference to our residents and community.
Our benefits package includes a leave entitlement of up to 31 days + bank holidays, potential hybrid working opportunities, health and wellbeing support, a generous local government pension scheme and a range of discount schemes across leisure and culture that provide both financial and money-saving discounts.

Please note:
we reserve the right to end this advert before the noted deadline if we receive sufficient applications.
If you wish to apply for this role please ensure that you do so as soon as possible.

Additionally, we are aware that automated emails may be diverted through to junk email folders.
Please continue to check these through the application process.
If you have any questions about the status of you application please contact

About You

To succeed in this role, the candidate will need the following skills and values:


Strategic thinking:
The ability to develop and implement strategic commissioning plans that meet the identified needs of children and their families.
The successful candidate will be able to create and manage the commissioning strategy, ensuring contracts are well-managed, within budget, and meet the needs of the service.
They will also be able to develop and implement strategies that transform the management and quality of the children’s directorate and secure significant and sustained improvements for children, young people, and families.

Leadership:
The ability to lead and manage a wide-ranging portfolio of commissioned services, some of which will be statutory, for the Children’s Directorate.
The successful candidate will be able to lead on the development and implementation of the directorate’s business service standards, outlining expectations and ways of working ensuring responsibilities and accountability.
They will also be able to lead and ensure the continuous improvement of the quality and impact of the commissioned services, developing the mechanisms to ensure the effective management of services performance, data management, and the monitoring and evaluation of services.

Strategic management:
The ability to work as a strategic partner with the business on all aspects of commissioning, quality assurance, and organizational development.
The successful candidate will be able to help the children’s commissioning directorate management team focus on key business priorities and diagnose workforce-related challenges.
They will also be able to ensure an appropriate balance between business-specific and holistic needs, working with colleague children’s commissioning managers, commissioning stakeholders, and partners to make sense of challenges that span directorate boundaries and designing and implementing high-quality solutions.

Relationship management:
The ability to manage relationships with leaders of commissioned services, ensuring the expectations of Haringey are clear, that statutory legislation is fully adhered to, and that the delivery of services gives positive outcomes for children, young people, and families.
The successful candidate will have excellent communication skills, with the ability to build and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.

Change management:
The ability to facilitate change and innovation, building a working culture that encourages innovative, smart, and collaborative working.
The successful candidate will have experience in driving cultural change and new ways of working, and representing and promoting the reputation of the service within the council.

Management:
The ability to provide leadership and management of the service, leading and managing and being accountable for the day-to-day management and operations of the Commissioning Officers and Quality Assurance Contract Officers.
The successful candidate will be able to operate a continuous improvement cycle to review contracts and provision as needed, making recommendations for change.

About the Role

We are seeking a Strategic Commissioner to work within our Children's Commissioning team, reporting to the Head of Service, Children's Commissioning.
The successful candidate will be responsible for delivering high-quality commissioned contracts and services that meet the business objectives and priorities of Children's Commissioning