Commissioning & Contracts Officer – Children’s Commissioning

Up to 18 months Fixed Term Contract / Secondment Opportunity

London Borough of Hackney Children’s Integrated Commissioning Service

Join the London Borough of Hackney in making a difference to children and families!

– Do you believe we can do better for children and young people?

– Are you an experienced professional with a passion for improving the lives of children and young people?

This isn’t just another job. Its a mission, to build a better, brighter, more connected future working for every child in Hackney.

The Children’s Integrated Commissioning Service are the architects of a system that supports our children to thrive. We don’t just manage contracts; we design the entire network of services for children and families. We bring together health, education, social care and VCS partners to work as one, ensuring every child gets the right help, at the right time, in the right way.

We’re looking for passionate, creative, and determined people to join our team and in this role you will:

– Be a catalyst for change: You won’t just follow the path; you’ll help create it.

– Connect the dots: You’ll work across different organisations, breaking down barriers and building powerful collaborations.

– Use your voice for good: You’ll champion the needs of children and families, ensuring their experiences are at the heart of every decision.

Why Hackney?

– Our Systemic, Trauma-Informed and Anti-Racist (STAR) practice model informs everything we do.

– We provide wide-ranging and excellent training and development opportunities; we will help you to develop excellent practice, leading to career advancement at your own pace.

– Following on from our Anti Racist Summit in October 2023 we remain committed to dismantling systemic racism, discrimination, injustice and making anti-racism a foundation of our practice.

– We pride ourselves on offering a high quality level of personal and workbased supervision, with a strong clinical offer and an approachable/visible management presence.

– We are an innovative borough where we collaborate to support change for the children and families we work for and for each other.

Who are we looking for?

You might be an organisational powerhouse, a data whizz, a natural relationship builder, a strategic thinker, or a creative problem-solver. Whatever your background, you are driven by a relentless desire to make things better for children. You are curious, brave, and you believe in the power of collaboration.

If you’re ready to move beyond the ordinary and do work that truly matters, we want to hear from you.

About the Role

Commissioning & Contracts Officers (Up to 18 months fixed term)

We are recruiting two Children’s Commissioning & Contracts Officers to help us plan, buy, and manage the critical services that support our most vulnerable young people.

In both of these roles you will play a critical role in ensuring high-quality and effective service design and commissioning activity, bringing your strategy, commissioning and project management expertise, whilst engaging stakeholders to shape and design and review our services. You will work to clear governance frameworks, and work closely with programme leads and wider colleagues across the Children and Education Directorate to achieve our vision.

In these roles, you will: 
– Analyse needs and shape the market
– Review and design services to be delivered by the Council or to be procured from external organisations     
– Manage tenders and contracts
– Work with providers to drive quality and innovation 
– Ensure every pound we spend makes a difference

Ready to build the future with us?

For an informal chat about our vision, please contact Kiyanni Okonta-Romulus, Service Coordinator at kiyanni.okonta-romulus@hackney.gov.uk or 0208 3563836

Further reading: 

Children’s Integrated Commissioning Strategy 2025/26-2026/27

As a Council, our most outstanding asset is our staff, who are highly dedicated to serving our residents and committed to our goals as an organisation.

If you want to work in a place where you can represent our values so we achieve the best for our residents, please click on the apply button below.

We operate a fair and open anonymous selection process. Therefore, we do not accept supporting statements or CV’s.

To proceed with your application, you will need to create an account and submit your application.

As part of the application process, you will need to complete a number of competency based questions. These questions allow you to demonstrate your suitability for the role and provide examples of your skills, knowledge and experience outlined in the job description.

We understand the benefits of using AI in the workplace. However, if you are thinking of using this tool to submit your application, we ask you to think about what value it will add. AI tools tend to lack the personal touch and authenticity we value in candidates. We encourage you to showcase your unique knowledge and skills using your own voice.

Closing date for applications: 10 August 2025 (22.59)

Interview and assessment date: W/c 18 August 2025

We are also working towards our vision, which is to be a place for everyone; where residents and staff can be proud; a place that celebrates diversity and where everyone can feel valued, included and involved. In order to achieve this, we look for people who are: Proud; Ambitious; Pioneering; Open; Proactive; Inclusive.

Hackney Council works to eradicate discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We also recognise that people can be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will also work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class. We also welcome those interested in flexible working. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people, as this group is currently under represented in our workforce.

The Council has a dedicated employment support service (Hackney Works), which offers Hackney residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you are thinking about applying for a job, please contact the Hackney Works team to find out what support is available: hackneyworks@hackney.gov.uk

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