Head of Service - Strategic Commissioning

Your leadership can transform lives. At Birmingham Children’s Trust, we are committed to making Birmingham the greatest city to grow up in. We are seeking an exceptional leader to head our Strategic Commissioning Service – a pivotal role in shaping services that deliver the best outcomes for children and families. As our new Head of Service of Strategic Commissioning, you will need to be passionate and innovative about shaping commissioning and procurement services for the Trust. It is pivotal that you are able to review contracts and services and have the knowledge and ability to be critical a friend to ensure impactful service delivery that are both cost effective services and deliver maximum social value to improve lives of children and families and workforce in Birmingham. You will be able to:

• Lead and inspire a high-performing commissioning team to deliver safe, loving and successful homes for Birmingham children.
• Develop and implement commissioning strategies that ensure sufficiency of placements, including fostering, residential care, and specialist provision.
• Drive transformation and innovation, embedding evidence-based practice and co-production with children, families, and partners.
• Oversee complex procurement processes, ensuring compliance with regulations while achieving value for money.
• Manage budgets and contracts effectively, using performance data to monitor outcomes and inform continuous improvement.
• Collaborate across sectors, building strong relationships with health, education, voluntary organisations, and private providers to create integrated solutions.
  
• Champion diversity and inclusion, ensuring services meet the needs of Birmingham’s diverse communities.
• Lead market development and sufficiency planning, ensuring the right services are available now and in the future.
• Embed quality assurance and performance frameworks, ensuring commissioned services meet Ofsted and statutory standards.

Did you know:

Birmingham Children’s Trust won the Supportive Social Work Employer of the Year award at the Social Worker of the Year Awards in October 2025. James Thomas, our (BCT) Chief Executive, said:

“Winning two Social Worker of the Year Awards is testament to the devotion and dedication of all our staff, from those working with and directly supporting children, young people and families to those who are providing extremely valuable support services to enable practitioners to thrive.”

We have been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted, following a 2023 inspection. This is a fantastic achievement for Birmingham Children's Trust, with many positive highlights focusing on areas including the quality of staff leadership, partnership working, safeguarding and corporate parenting.

This is a hybrid role based in Birmingham so you must have the correct right-to-work in the UK documents. Sadly, we do not support those who require sponsorship.

Interview date: 9th FebruaryAbout You:

• A high performing leader with significant experience in commissioning within children’s services or a related field.
• Strong commercial acumen and understanding of public sector procurement.
• Excellent negotiation and stakeholder engagement skills as you will be engaging with a diverse range of stakeholder
• Ability to analyse data and drive performance improvements.
• Passion for improving outcomes for children and families, with a commitment to trauma-informed and strengths-based approaches.

Our offer to you:

We offer a vast range of brilliant benefits to our BCT employees. Come join us to receive (not limited to):

• A generous annual leave package of 30 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days after 5 years of service and 35 days after 10 years of service.
• Generous Pension Scheme.
• Full access to our amazing internal employee benefits scheme including, Occupational Health services, Rewards Schemes, Benefits discounts (including the Blue Light Card), Health & Fitness and Personal Wellbeing support and much more!
• Free on-site parking at our offices on One Avenue Road (Aston) and Lifford House (Stirchley). We also provide onsite electric car charging ports which are free to use!
  
• Flexible and hybrid working policy - we are well adapted to a hybrid model of working which includes a combination of time spent in the office and at home and we offer a variety of working patterns, to support the needs of the Trust and to ensure a positive work/life balance for our employees
• You will receive a generous local government pension scheme in line with the Local Government Pension Scheme.
• and so much more!

Onboarding Process:

Please note as part of our onboarding process, the successful candidate will be required undergo a series of background checks with Experian Including Experian DBS, Right to Work, and Digital ID verification. These are essential pre-employment requirements.

Contact:If you’re a passionate, experienced childcare professional ready to help shape young lives while driving high standards of care, we’d love to hear from you! Please reach out to:

• Tracy Collins (Assistant Director - Commissioning & Provider Services) - 0759258515
• David Stringfellow (Director of Commissioning and Specialist Service) - 07830021498

*No agencies please*

Benefits

Help us to change children and young people’s lives!

At Birmingham Children’s Trust, we are committed to making a positive impact on the lives of over 10,000 children and young people in our city every day. Our mission is to support the most disadvantaged children and young people in Birmingham, ensuring they are safe, happy, and healthy.

Why Join Us?

• Impactful Work - be part of a team that makes a real difference in the lives of the city’s most vulnerable children.
• Supportive Environment - enjoy a supportive and collaborative work culture where your contributions are valued.
• Career Development - benefit from tailored development programs, supportive supervision, and a range of learning opportunities to enhance your skills and advance your career.
• Generous Benefits - take advantage of our competitive reward package including generous leave allowance, Local Government pension scheme, and additional benefits.

Our Values

We approach our work with care and compassion, actively listening to the needs of the children and young people we serve. We involve them in the decisions that affect their lives, ensuring their voices are heard and respected.

We are committed to using our resources wisely, ensuring that every penny is spent where it counts the most. We foster collaboration among schools, health professionals, and the police, working together to create a supportive network for our young people.

We believe that when we work as one cohesive team, the children and young people of Birmingham are more likely to thrive. Our unified approach ensures that we provide the best possible support and opportunities for their growth and development.

Join us and together, we can create a brighter future for all.

Safeguarding

At Birmingham Children’s Trust, we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.

Depending on the role, you may be asked to undergo the appropriate level of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check to assess your suitability for working with children and young people.

The level of check (Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List) is determined based on the specific responsibilities of the role and the level of contact with children and young people.

We are committed to the fair treatment of all applicants, including those with criminal records. Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar an individual from working with us. This will depend on the nature of the position and the circumstances and background of the offence.

Please note that we reserve the right to close the job early should we reach the required number of applications, therefore please ensure you submit your application and supporting statement early to avoid any disappointment.