At Hillingdon, we put our residents first.
As one of London's largest and most diverse boroughs, we are committed to ensuring every child and young person has the opportunity to thrive, achieve and remain safe within their community. We are ambitious for our children and families and are delivering a significant programme of transformation across Children's Social Care, Education, SEND, Early Help and Family Support.
We are now seeking an exceptional strategic leader to join our senior leadership team as Assistant Director – Children's Commissioning & Sufficiency.
This is a unique opportunity to lead and shape commissioning, sufficiency and market development across Children's Services at a time of significant national reform and local ambition.
Reporting directly to the Corporate Director of Children's Services, you will provide strategic leadership across Children's Social Care, Education, SEND and Early Help, ensuring we have sufficient high-quality provision to meet the needs of children and young people, while securing value for money and long-term sustainability.
You will lead the development and delivery of our commissioning and sufficiency strategies, influencing local, regional and national partnerships to create innovative solutions that improve outcomes for children and families. Working across health, education, care and voluntary sector partners, you will play a pivotal role in shaping services that enable more children and young people to live, learn and thrive locally.
This is a role with genuine influence, offering the opportunity to drive transformation, shape markets, develop local provision and support the delivery of our ambitious vision for children and young people.
What You'll Be Doing
- Leading commissioning and sufficiency arrangements across Children's Social Care, SEND, Education and Early Help.
- Delivering strategic commissioning and market-shaping activity that improves outcomes and secures best value.
- Ensuring the Council meets its statutory sufficiency responsibilities across children's social care and education provision.
- Developing innovative local provision and strengthening market capacity.
- Driving transformation programmes and supporting financial sustainability across Children's Services.
- Building strong partnerships with schools, health partners, providers, neighbouring authorities, regional bodies and families.
- Leading a high-performing commissioning and sufficiency service that reflects Hillingdon's values and commitment to excellence.
About You
We are looking for an ambitious, collaborative and outcomes-focused leader with a strong track record of commissioning, transformation and partnership working.
You will bring:
- Significant senior leadership experience within children's services, education, health or another complex public service environment.
- Extensive experience of commissioning, service redesign and market development.
- Strong knowledge of Children's Social Care, SEND, education and sufficiency responsibilities.
- Experience of managing substantial budgets, securing value for money and delivering sustainable improvements.
- Highly developed influencing, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
- A proven ability to work successfully across organisational boundaries and complex partnership arrangements.
- A commitment to innovation, continuous improvement and delivering outstanding outcomes for children, young people and families.
Most importantly, you will share our determination to put children and families at the centre of everything we do.
Why Hillingdon?
This is an exciting time to join Hillingdon. National reforms, increasing demand and changing service models create significant opportunities to shape the future of children's services.
In return, we offer:
- A high-profile strategic leadership role with real influence and impact.
- The opportunity to shape commissioning and sufficiency across one of London's largest boroughs.
- A supportive and ambitious senior leadership team.
- Flexible and hybrid working arrangements.
- Generous annual leave entitlement.
- Local Government Pension Scheme.
- Leadership development and career progression opportunities.
- A commitment to employee wellbeing and professional growth.
Our Values
At Hillingdon, our values underpin everything we do:
Respect. Collaborative. Efficient. Integrity. Open and Honest. We are committed to creating a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve and welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds.
Join Us
If you are a strategic and values-led leader who wants to make a lasting difference to the lives of children and young people, we'd love to hear from you.
Join Hillingdon and help shape the future of commissioning, sufficiency and opportunity for children and families across our borough.