Lead Resources Officer – Children’s Integrated Commissioning

Hackney is ambitious, pioneering, and proud. We are looking for a dynamic and experienced senior leader to join our Children’s Integrated Commissioning Service.

The Children’s Integrated Commissioning Service is the architect 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 are looking for passionate, creative, and determined people to join our team and to lead wider strategic thinking across the Council and the NHS, aligning the developments within children’s and education services to wider corporate plans and cementing relationships with providers both within and beyond our community.

About the Role

We have two, full-time permanent positions we are recruiting to.

As a Lead Resources Officer, you will work with the Resources Manager to support the day-to-day operations of the Commissioning & Resources Hub to source individual packages of care, support, and educational provision for children and their families. The post manages the most complex cases, leads on practice development, and provides expert consultation. You’ll be a role model and mentor to the rest of the team, driving up quality standards and help develop junior members of staff.

You will be our expert on quality assurance for externally commissioned care, support and education arrangements and support rigorous financial monitoring and oversight, maintaining effective relationships with Council officers. All this whilst improving outcomes for children and families whilst securing best value for Hackney.

As a Lead Resources Officer, you will:

– Promote Best Value: Lead the commissioning of complex care, support, and education packages, focusing on securing the best outcomes for children with the highest needs in regulated settings.

– Lead from the front: You’ll regularly step up in a duty manager role, building and providing expert coaching, development, and training to a team of up to 9 staff members

– Be a Guardian of Quality: Ensure every pound counts by undertaking quality assurance and rigorous financial monitoring of commissioned arrangements, ensuring full compliance and delivering the best value to the Council.

– Champion Compliance: Uphold the highest standards by ensuring all procurement and individual commissioning processes comply with financial regulations and Contracts Standing Orders , while managing service reviews and contracts.

– Drive Service Improvement: Shape the future of our service by contributing to commissioning projects, including market analysis and options appraisal, and preparing strategic information for senior managers on emerging trends and opportunities

– Inspire a culture of change: Act as a catalyst and a coach, building momentum and empowering our teams to embrace new ways of working.

– Embed Our Values: Ensuring all commissioning activity is embedded in Hackney’s systemic, trauma-informed, and anti-racist approach to working with children and young people.

Who are we looking for?

You’ll be a highly skilled negotiator with excellent communication skills who is able to manage demanding relationships with stakeholders and suppliers. You will be driven by a relentless desire to make things better for children. You are curious, brave, and you believe in the power of collaboration

You will bring:

-Considerable knowledge and experience of commissioning and purchasing and/or management of care, support, or educational arrangements for children and their families

-Expert Commissioning & Negotiation: You will bring a considerable understanding of commissioning and monitoring techniques, be a highly skilled negotiator, and demonstrate the ability to analyse, challenge, and interpret complex financial data to deliver best value for the Council.

-Strategic Problem Solving & Data Analysis: You need the ability to analyse quantitative and qualitative information , design creative and cost-effective solutions for the diverse needs of children and young people , and effectively communicate complex information to diverse audiences.

–Stakeholder and Relationship Management: You will have the ability to manage demanding relationships with stakeholders and suppliers , utilise influencing skills to reach mutually agreeable solutions, and build purposeful working relationships with key stakeholders and peers to command trust and confidence.

-Exceptional organisational skills: You’ll be comfortable working in a fast paced, high-pressure environment demonstrating initiative and effective workload management, and managing conflicting deadlines and priorities.

-Commitment to Our Values: A deep and demonstrable commitment to anti-racist practice. You will be able to think creatively and apply a systemic, trauma-informed approach to your leadership, processes, and policies.

-Resilience & Communication: The ability to thrive in a complex, fast-paced environment, with highly developed communication skills to influence senior stakeholders, partners, and providers.

Why Hackney? 

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

-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 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. 

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

Ready to build the future with us?

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

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: 14 December 2025 (22:59)

Interview date: W/c 12 january 2026

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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