Strategic Commissioning Manager (Information, Advice & Guidance)

About the Borough

The London Borough of Sutton is situated less than 30 minutes by train from Central London, with direct connections to London Victoria and London Bridge. Found in zone 5 with good transport links in and out of London, Sutton boasts award winning parks and open spaces, low crime rates, affordable housing and great schools. As well as high levels of resident engagement and satisfaction, providing quality services and success in addressing our financial challenges, whilst involving residents in key issues and high street changes.

Sutton is continuously investing in the health, wellbeing and education of our residents and the future generation, as set out in the “Ambitious for Sutton” corporate plan. We are home to the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research. Together with the development of the London Cancer Hub, Sutton will be the world’s leading life-science district, specialising in cancer research and treatment. Our vision will create around 13,000 jobs while contributing £1.2bn to the UK economy each year, a vibrant community of scientists, doctors and innovative companies intended to deliver real benefits for cancer patients and drive economic growth. With the regeneration of the local areas with new homes and schools, Sutton is passionate about working closely with our residents and vulnerable groups to help them maintain their independence and create a balance between support and independent living.

The Council is seen as a driving force within the South London Partnership of five outer south west London boroughs focused on strategic growth, regeneration and investment. As we strive to improve our services and spaces for our residents as set out in the ‘Ambitious for Sutton’ corporate plan, Sutton aims to shape the future of the borough and adapt to the needs of its residents to make our Borough a great place to live, work and raise a family.

About the Service and Team

As part of the newly formed Commissioning, Insights & Delivery Division, the Strategic Commissioning Service are committed to using the commissioning cycle to make evidence-based decisions about the services we provide and how we deliver them. Our ambitious plans for Sutton’s residents require us to think differently about the way we work and the ways in which we finance and commission our services and make best use of all available assets. We are a dynamic service seeking to build on the reputation we have developed for successful delivery of collaborative and innovative initiatives. Our work strives to ensure vulnerable residents are safe and can thrive by understanding their needs and making best use of resources with our partners to ensure optimum impact from delivery and funding.

Within the Strategic Commissioning Service, the Strategy and Transformation Team supports the development of strategies for commissioning and the improved delivery of services and resources that enables individuals and communities to make informed choices about their health and wellbeing, contributing to new ways of working with partners and within the Council itself.

For more information about the role and/or an informal conversation please contact, Donna Wiggins, donna.wiggins@sutton.gov.uk or David Millen david.millen@sutton.gov.uk - StrategicCommissioning Lead

About the Role and Our Ideal Candidate

We have an exciting opportunity to join us as a Strategic Commissioning Manager in the Strategy and Transformation Team. Reporting to the Commissioning Lead, you will drive the review and development of the commissioning strategy for the council’s information, advice and guidance offered to Sutton residents.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Lead consultation and engagement with external voluntary, public sector partners, and community groups to understand how communities access the council’s statutory and non-statutory IAG offer (Together for Sutton contract and Sutton Information Hub).
• Lead the development of the council’s commissioning strategy for all statutory and non-statutory Information, Advice, and Guidance (IAG) services.
• Ensure commissioned services are needs-led, evidence-informed, cost-effective, and shaped by the knowledge and experience of Sutton residents and partner organisations.
• Undertaking consultation and engagement using a range of approaches, including where appropriate co-production.
• Building and nurturing constructive connections with residents, partners, community organisations, and stakeholders.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of engagement activities, collecting data, and reporting on social impact and outcomes.
• Engaging the community and partner organisations including the voluntary sector in designing services that deliver the council’s statutory and non statutory obligations for information, advice and guidance.
• Identify, map, and cultivate strong relationships with diverse stakeholders, including residents, community groups, businesses, and elected officials, ensuring that there is a focus on cultural competency in recognition of the borough's changing demographics..
• Foster collaborative working relationships with a wide range of voluntary and statutory sector organisations.
• Undertake face-to-face consultation to gather comprehensive feedback and insights from key stakeholders, community members, and service users.
• Analyse qualitative and quantitative consultation responses to generate insights, technical reports, and comprehensive recommendation documents.
• Ensure all feedback is meticulously captured, tracked, and documented.
• Draft clear, accessible, and accurate consultation materials (e.g., FAQs, newsletters, brochures) for public dissemination.
• Organise workshops and online surveys to effectively gather public and stakeholder feedback
• Working to agreed timescales with clear outputs and deliverables.

Candidates will need;

• Proven ability to plan strategically and develop high-quality services, with the capability to lead activity including high-quality provider, stakeholder, and service user involvement.
• Experience in leading project teams (including joint working and partnerships) to successfully achieve strategic goals and deliver service improvements, with evidence of success in managing performance and achieving targets.
• Experience in working with the voluntary and community sector
• Experience in developing and implementing strategies to achieve financial efficiencies or reduce expenditure.
• Excellent and proven project management skills, including the ability to successfully manage multiple priorities and tasks to a successful outcome within tight deadlines.
• Strong, proven ability to interpret data and utilise financial analysis skills to deliver efficiencies through procurement or contract management.
• Ability to analyse both qualitative and quantitative data effectively. This includes using data, information and effective communication to influence and inform decision making.
• A high level of IT literacy, particularly in spreadsheet development and data analysis.
• Proven experience in community engagement, stakeholder management, or project management.
• Excellent communication, negotiating, and influencing skills, including excellent presentation and report writing abilities.
• An understanding of the relevant policy and market landscapes is essential.

Your expertise in strategic commissioning, market shaping, and management is essential. As the Strategic Commissioning Manager, you will be integral to the delivery of commissioning intentions aimed at enhancing the information, advice, and guidance available to residents and achieving desired community outcomes.

The team works closely with partners to develop joint commissioning priorities and strategies. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to make a real difference to the way we commission information, advice and guidance for residents in the borough.

This role is a great opportunity for an established Commissioning Manager that’s looking to gain experience within a different sector or service area.

Our Offer to You

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits to enable staff to achieve a work life balance, some of which include:

• A generous annual leave entitlement of 26-32 days plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply) depending on service and grade
• Enhanced Maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependents leave
• Two volunteering days per year
• Flexible Working - Smarter Working Scheme (dependent on the role)
• Adjustable and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks
• Learning and development portal offering a range of courses
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Electric vehicle leasing scheme
• Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support

Application Process

Apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application and check your CV details have been uploaded correctly in the relevant sections.

We understand and recognise the benefits of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace and are embracing AI where appropriate, to boost our productivity and streamline how we deliver our Council services efficiently; to provide the best possible outcomes for our residents and communities.
However, we reserve the right to reject applications where it is apparent that AI-generated content has been used in isolation and without personalised responses. At Sutton we value authenticity and are looking for individuals who can clearly demonstrate their own skills, experience and motivation for the role that they are applying for and embrace and demonstrate our PRIDE values.
Here at Sutton we have core values of Transparency and this is to be demonstrated during the application process and completion of the supporting statement and will be further tested at interview and selection stage for those who progress forward.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

As part of our award winning Diversity Programme we anonymise all applications received to reduce conscious and unconscious bias enabling every application to be reviewed on the knowledge, skills and experience shown in your application. We encourage our interview panels to be as diverse as possible (age, cultural, neurodiverse etc.) to reduce bias where possible. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce.

Additional Information

We are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough and we strive to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and instil a sense of belonging in our staff. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce, therefore we welcome applications from under represented groups.

To support our workers and their families we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are also proud to be a disability confident employer and guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role. As an accredited London Living Wage Employer all our employees are guaranteed the London Living Wage regardless of their length or type of contract.

The UK has a points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance. Sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.