Commissioning and Contracting Team Leader

We are recruiting a Team Leader to join our Adult Social Care Commissioning and Contracting Team. We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced line manager to join our team on a temporary basis (12 month secondment cover). This will be a challenging but rewarding role for the right individual with a genuine commitment to improving service delivery. (There is a possibility the post may be extended / become permanent, but this is not guaranteed.) In this critical role you will support the team to help shape and deliver strategic commissioning priorities across adult social care, working with a range of stakeholders, to improve outcomes for local people. If you have strong team management skills, have experience in project management, contracting or commissioning and are passionate about driving positive change, we would love to hear from you. The team is based at Haylock House, Kettering. The ability to travel between sites across North Northamptonshire, and occasionally further afield, is a requirement of this post. Interviews are planned for Tuesday 13 October 2026.What will you be doing? Join our Commissioning and Contracting team to manage the operation of the contracting support function, including a team of business support staff. Collectively you will design, coordinate and administer the business processes that support the Commissioning and Contracting service. You will work closely with internal and external stakeholders, directing staff to deliver a professional and timely support service. You will support a range of projects, as well as leading on your own areas of responsibility. You will:

• Be responsible for the management and operation of the contracting function.
• Manage contractual arrangements throughout the contract lifecyle, including compiling terms as well as issuing, varying, novating and terminating contracts.
• Interpret and report on a range of information across Commissioning, including national, local and service level data.
• Support the wider Commissioning and Contracting team and other colleagues to develop and deliver services to meet local need.
• Lead a team of business support officers.
You will be expected to attend the office and face to face meetings as needed to support the team and service delivery. The minimum requirement is 40% (averaging 2 days a week) face to face, with office attendance on a Thursday for the whole team., Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services. They are also at the forefront of our decision making and delivery and are: Customer-focused Respectful Efficient Supportive Trustworthy Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

The right candidate will:
• Be able to work autonomously with minimal supervision
• Be an effective team member, supporting colleagues when needed
• Have excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Have good attention to detail, particularly in reviewing legal documents
• Be familiar with a range of information sources and research methodologies, including the analysis of complex demographic and demand led trends
• Have excellent communication skills and the ability to build effective working relationships with a diverse range of individuals and groups
• Understand the benefits of co-production and working in this way
This role will suit you if you:
• Enjoy a challenge
• Are a capable and confident team manager / line manager
• Can work across multiple project activities
• Can effectively manage competing deadlines and changing priorities, and direct and support others to do the same
• Have a positive mindset and are solutions-focused
  
  We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.
  
  Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we're transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.
You'll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think! Why choose us? We offer a vibrant working environment with:
• a competitive salary
• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.