Job info	Job info details
Job title	Commissioning and Finance Support Officer
Strategic team/Directorate	Public Health
Service	Public Health
Business unit	Health Improvement
Responsible to (day to day issues)	Head of Public Health Improvement
Accountable to (line manager)	Head of Public Health Improvement
Salary grade	G
JE ref	PH16

1. Key purpose of job

• To provide support across the Public Health Team for activities undertaken across all aspects of the commissioning and procurement cycles, including services jointly commissioned with internal and external partners.
• To provide support to the Public Health Team for issuing and managing robust contracts.
• To develop and maintain systems to quality assure the commissioning process and ensure the maintenance of professional and ethical practice, both internally and externally. 
• To develop, maintain and support review process for commissioned services.
• To manage or provide support to the project lead on specific projects undertaken within Public Health, which will include working with a range of internal and external stakeholders. 
• To provide financial management support and expertise to ensure timely and accurate payments to service providers and other creditors and collection of any sums owed by debtors, including day to day monitoring of contracted services expenditure and to flag any variation against predicted spend to senior management. 
• To co-ordinate and produce the financial components required for contract monitoring and re-procurements. This includes the production of comprehensive regular budgetary information and reports to support the management of contracts and grants, and budget documentation to ensure effective re-procurement of services. 

2. Anticipated outcomes of post

• To provide capacity and support across all sectors, to enable Public Health Officers with a commissioning responsibility to develop and implement commissioning strategies and manage contracts with greater efficiency, delivering against the agreed outcomes of specific projects, either as project lead or in a support capacity. 
• To provide quality assurance for the commissioning process. 
• To provide commissioning support in the development implementation and monitoring of services to ensure quality, effectiveness, efficiency and value for money of all services. 
• Contribute to the financial development of the contract and monitoring process and meet deadlines in relation to Public Health Team payments in line with the annual contract values ensuring the accuracy of financial data and database system and managing invoicing as required. 
• Support Torbay Council budget setting and reconciliation processes to ensure financial balance for the Public Health department.
• To ensure standards of professional and ethical practice are compliant with professional, commissioning, procurement and organisational values as well as recognising the principles of equality and diversity. 
• To support services to continually improve and implement best practice. 

3. List key duties and accountabilities of the post

• As an Employee of Torbay Council all roles are expected to work in a way that ensures vulnerable children and adults are safeguarded and report any safeguarding concerns in accordance with established policies and procedures. The Designated Senior Lead for Safeguarding is the Chief Executive and Director of Children’s Services.
• To assist with the development of service specifications and other tender documents including procurement planning (timetabling, scheduling and arranging stakeholder and market warming events) and engagement with key stakeholders. 
• To lead on, or provide support for, specific projects undertaken by the Public Health Team as required, including the delivery of project outcomes and reporting to the relevant project board on key targets and milestones. 
• To contribute to the development of contracts and Service Level Agreements to ensure financial accountability for commissioned services and to inform budget monitoring. 
• To manage the payments process to providers including the processing of any necessary purchase orders for the Public Health Team. Authorising on behalf of Torbay Council the transfer of funds by BACS, in accordance with varying contract types.  Also, to promptly recover overpayment of monies due to the Authority. 
• To undertake preparatory work for formal contract review meetings by identifying highlights and exceptions in performance and processes and to represent the Public Health Team in multi-agency meetings as appropriate to the service area and participate in local, regional and national working groups as required. 
• To provide commissioning support across a diverse range of Public Health agendas, to have an understanding and working knowledge of each area and be prepared to manage the effective change from one area to another within conflicting priorities. 
• To provide support to Public Health Officers with a commissioning responsibility when undertaking strategic consultation with providers, service users, other key stakeholders and partners.  Carrying out such activities as cross authority working, planning events, carrying out consultation activities and collating, analysing and reporting on the feedback given. 
• To work with individual service providers to embed performance management and monitoring of services. To support the implementation, delivery and achievement of service improvement plans. 
• To lead on finance reconciliation and finance returns for contract and specific projects undertaken by the Public Health Team. 
• To support the development and sharing of best practice across service providers, through supporting collaboration between partners and individual service support and associated working groups, as appropriate. 
• To conduct relevant research in relation to changes in Government policy, contribute to strategic needs assessments, best practice across other Local Authorities, benchmarking and the development of local policies, procedures and protocols. 
• To gather collate and analyse feedback from key stakeholders to inform the quality review process for individual services. 
• To contribute to informing strategic need and service delivery changes as required. 
• Primary contact for providers and service users for any financial aspect of the Public Health Team’s commissioning functions.  Undertaking various finance functions including preparing financial statements, escalating variations in expenditure or income and managing the processing of payments and income collection. 
• To lead on the response coordination for Freedom of Information requests for Public Health either as the response author or coordinate information gathering to answer Freedom of Information enquiries. 
• Performance Monitoring to provide benchmarking information to determine value for money and best value practices in provider costs.  Assist in the assessment of unit costs information, identifying those contracts which are over-priced and high-cost schemes. 

4. Budgetary/Financial Responsibilities of the post

• FIMS authoriser for the Public Health team in line manager’s absence. 
• Responsible for managing transfer of income/expenditure to/from Torbay Council in accordance with contractual/grant agreements (The post holder does not hold a budget). 
• Create finance reports and detailed budget information for senior management, contract review processes, in preparation for a procurement or for submitting grant returns. 

5. Supervision/Line Management Responsibilities of the post

• None. 

6. Working environment and conditions of the post

• Normal working environment and conditions.

7. Physical demands of the post

• Normal physical demands.

8. Specific resources used by the post

• Normal resources. 

9. Key contacts and relationships

• External: 
  • Devon Integrated Care System (or Equivalent).
  • Commissioned provider services and organisations. 
  • Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. 
  • Devon County Council. 
  • Plymouth City Council. 
  • NHS England. 
  • Service user and carer representatives. 
  • Voluntary sector organisations. 
  • Devon and Cornwall Constabulary.
  • Devon and Cornwall Probation Service.
  • Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner. 
  • Other organisations. 
• Internal: 
  • Staff across all levels and departments across Torbay Council. 

10. Other duties

• To undertake additional duties as required, commensurate with the level of the job. 

Other Information

• All staff must commit to the Workplace Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Practice and Policy.
• Torbay Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo the checks appropriate to the post applied for.
• The post holder is expected to work in a way that ensures vulnerable children and adults are safeguarded and report any safeguarding concerns in accordance with established policies and procedures. And are aware that the Chief Executive and the Director for Children’s Services are the Safeguarding Leads for the Council.
• The post is eligible for both hybrid and permanent home working.
• You will be asked to complete a Criminal Records Self Declaration Form. Criminal convictions will only be taken into account when they are relevant to the post. You will only be asked to disclose ‘unspent’ convictions.
• The Council operates a Smoke-Free Policy and the post-holder is prohibited from smoking in any of the Council's buildings (including Council owned and Council leased buildings, but excluding designated areas in residential schemes), enclosed spaces within the curtilage of buildings, and Council vehicles. The Council does not permit smoking breaks within work time, however, in services where the flexi-scheme is in operation, employees may take reasonable break times outside of core hours, in accordance with flexi-time arrangements. Employees should follow the flexi-scheme procedure for agreeing time away from their duties in the normal manner with their immediate colleagues and line manager, with break start and finish times being recorded, as with any other break-time arrangement. 
• The post-holder is expected to familiarise themselves with and adhere to all relevant Council Policies and Procedures.
• The post-holder must comply with the Council’s Health and Safety requirements as outlined in the H&S policy appropriate to the role.
• The post-holder must be committed to the Council’s Core Values for employees – “Torbay Council employees are committed to being forward thinking, people orientated and adaptable - always with integrity”. Evidence will be sought during the probation and appraisal processes.
• If this post is customer facing, it will require the ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence and fluency in English.
• If you are required to access a government system such as HMRC, DWP or The Public services network (PSN) as part of your role with the Council you will be required to complete a basic disclose with your line manager before you can access these systems. Your manager will be required to complete a verification form that confirms your identity, nationality and immigration status, employment history and unspent convictions (third party).
• If you are required to use your own vehicle on Council business or drive a council vehicle you will be asked to provide information on any driving endorsements by accessing gov.uk/view-driving-licence and providing a code to your Line Manager in order to share your driving licence information with the Council.

Person Specification

Note for Candidate

All Candidates

The supporting statement on your application form will be used to assess ability to meet the essential requirements of the role, so you should explain how you meet each of the numbered essential requirements within your supporting statement. In a competitive situation, the desirable criteria may be taken into consideration, so you are encouraged to show how you also meet each of the desirable criteria.

Candidates who consider that they have a disability

Reasonable adjustments will be made to the job, job requirements or recruitment process for candidates with a disability.

If you consider yourself to have a disability you should indicate this on your application form, providing any information you would like us to take into account with regard to your disability in order to offer a fair selection interview.

Where ever possible and reasonable we will make adjustments and offer alternatives to help you through the application and selection process.

If you have indicated that you have a disability on your application form you will be guaranteed an interview if you clearly demonstrate in your supporting evidence how you broadly meet the essential requirements of the role.

Job info	Job info details
Job Title	Commissioning and Finance Support Officer
Strategic team/Directorate	Public Health
Service	Public Health
Business unit	Health Improvement

Skills and effectiveness

Essential skills and effectiveness

• Interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with a range of people; service users, suppliers, all levels within the Authority, external agencies and partner organisations.
• Budget setting, oversight and management skills, including a working understanding of financial procedures and financial standing orders.
• Ability to meet challenging deadlines and work with competing demands across a diverse range of disciplines.
• Ability to interpret and critique complex information/data.
• Numerical and analytical skills.
• IT related proficiencies including MS Office.
• Time management skills.
• Ability to organise and record meetings.
• Research, analysis and evaluation skills.
• The ability to work effectively as part of a team as well as autonomously and use own initiative. 

Desirable skills and effectiveness

• Contract preparation, tender analysis and evaluation skills. 
• Negotiation skills.
• Skills in maintaining effective relationships with providers, service users, agencies etc. 

Knowledge

Essential knowledge

• Knowledge and understanding of all elements of the Commissioning Cycle.
• Knowledge of quality assurance frameworks.
• Knowledge of financial management processes and standards. 

Desirable knowledge

• Knowledge of local and national policy in relation to Public Health.
• Knowledge of the Public Health Team functions and key drivers. 

Experience and achievements

Essential experience and achievements

• Experience of budget management and income/payment processes.
• Experience of contract establishment and monitoring.
• Experience of performance management systems to achieve continuous service improvement. 
• Experience of managing projects and delivery within set deadlines. 
• Experience of maintaining, developing and manipulating spreadsheet and database records. 
• Experience of working with a wide range of partners and stakeholders.
• Experience of undertaking research, analysing data, interpreting and evaluating.
• Experience of effectively interpreting complex statistical information. 
• Experience of maintaining confidentiality / data protection. 
• Experience of dealing effectively with the general public and specific agencies. 

Desirable experience and achievements

• Experience of commissioning. 
• Experience of carrying out consultation activities.
• Budget monitoring experience.
• Experience of budget management and income/payment processes within Local Authorities. 

Qualifications/professional memberships

Essential qualifications/professional memberships

• Educated to ‘A’ Level standard or equivalent.

Desirable qualifications/professional memberships

• AAT (Association of accountancy Technician) qualification or consider working towards. 
• PRINCE 2 or equivalent project management qualification. 

Other requirements

Other requirements of the job role

• Demonstrates a commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people.
• Ability to travel efficiently around the South West in order to carry out duties.
• Ability to accommodate unsociable hours.
• Ability to accommodate occasional/permanent home-working.