We are committed to the development of our workforce. This position is only available to applicants who already work for Surrey County Council. We thank you for your interest in our roles and would encourage you to review our vacancies which are open to all.

The starting salary for this position is £53,713 per annum based on a 36 hour working week.

This is a secondment opportunity until 31st March 2027. Please discuss with your current Line Manager before submitting your application.

We are excited to be hiring a SEND Education and Preparation for Adulthood (PfA) Commissioning Manager to join our vibrant and committed Commissioning team based at Victoria Gate in Woking. You'll be joining colleagues who genuinely care about making a difference, working together in a collaborative, compassionate and supportive environment.

This role is open to hybrid working and as a team we split our time between collaborating together in the office and working from home. The ability to travel to venues and educational settings across Surrey is crucial to the role.

Our Offer to You

26 days’ holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years’ service
Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
A generous local government salary related pension
Up to 5 days of carer’s leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents

About The Role

This is a pivotal role within CFL Commissioning for AND & Social Care, right at the heart of Surrey's Children, Families and Lifelong Learning Directorate. Here, you'll help shape and deliver the continued transformation of SEND services, guided by Surrey County Council's priorities and the needs of local children, young people and families.

As the SEND Education and PfA Commissioning Manager, you will provide strategic leadership across the SEND Placements and Alternative Provision Gateway teams, ensuring the delivery of statutory and essential commissioning activity that supports children and young people with SEND, needing a specialist school place outside to Key Stage Transfers.

A key part of your role will be coordinating new specialist and capital places, ensuring accurate reporting and managing associated risks. Working closely with Children with Disabilities and Social Care teams, you will support complex EHCP placements, oversee the vacancy monitoring dashboard, and ensure high quality data for High Needs Funding returns. You will lead the coordination of data on children requiring specialist and centre places, informing sufficiency planning and the SEND and AP Capital Programme. You will also manage responses to emerging SEND pressures, including weekly updates to key stakeholders.

As a Commissioning Manager, you will:

Lead and develop SEND Placements team (including Alternative Provision Placement Officers)
Drive strategic and operational performance, including: reporting clearly through KPIs, leadership updates and contributions to the Safety Valve return
Shape and oversee specialist education provision, including: Specialist schools and specialist centres, the annual high needs place change funding process and the development of new specialist provision
Strengthen relationships and partnerships by working with providers across all sectors of education provision, building strong collaborative relationships that support service improvement and innovation
Lead key operational processes including overseeing the in year specialist placement movement, ensuring high occupancy of the specialist estate and robust funding oversight
Drive improvement and alignment by leading process and policy development across all teams, responding to national changes, Ofsted priorities and Surrey's strategic direction
Communicate with impact by producing clear and insightful briefings, decision reports and performance submissions

This is a challenging role, but it's also highly rewarding. Every day you'll see the impact your leadership has on the experiences and opportunities of the young people we serve. The work is varied and fast paced, so you'll thrive if you enjoy problem solving, thinking creatively and bringing people together around shared goals.

Your Application

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours:

Commissioning experience, managing complex procurement projects and delivering outcomes within agreed budgets, with a track record of improving outcomes through commissioning
Experience working within the SEND Code of Practice, particularly around key stage transfers and movement of pupils with EHCPs, and the legal frameworks that shape SEND and Education delivery
An understanding of the needs of children/young people
Excellent communication and relationship building skills, with the ability to engage positively with a wide range of partners and communicate with senior leaders on areas of high priority
Strong collaborative approach, able to work confidently with colleagues in education settings and local services to develop and implement plans and actions that ensure improvement
Experience managing busy operational teams, with ability to track and drive performance against key KPIs, and evaluate data
Creativity, adaptability and pace, with the ability to identify opportunities and deliver solutions

To apply, we request that you submit a CV and you will be asked the following 4 questions:

Please describe a time when you led a busy operational team with a focus on SEND or school placements. How did you maintain pace and resilience during periods of high demand and competing priorities? What approaches did you use to communicate performance, progress, and KPIs to senior leaders and wider stakeholders?
Please tell us about a time you have successfully worked across services within Children, Families & Lifelong Learning, or other directorates to manage complex placements for children and young people with an EHCP. Describe why this was successful, what barriers you came across and what was your approach to mitigating these?
Please tell us about your experience using data to inform sufficiency planning. How do you ensure the quality and reliability of operational data? How would you coordinate and interpret data on children requiring specialist and centre places to support the SEND and AP Capital Programme and wider stakeholder planning?
What do you think will be the key priorities/challenges within the first 6 months of the role?

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 6th April 2026 with interviews planned to follow.

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description and Our Life at Surrey Handbook to get an insight into working at Surrey.

Contact Us

Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment. Please contact Gemma Trusler via email at Gemma.Trusler@surreycc.gov.uk.

We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.

An enhanced DBS ‘Disclosure and Barring Service’ check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children’s and Adults’ Barred List checks will be required for this role.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to two new unitary councils in April 2027. If you are employed by Surrey on 1st April 2027, your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of the new organisations, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities.

Join our dynamic team and shape the future of local government. Make a lasting impact with innovative solutions and improved services for our community. Help us build a brighter future for our residents! Please see more information here: Information for applicants on Local Government Reorganisation - Surrey County Council.

Our Commitment

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum criteria, we guarantee you an interview.

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we’re committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.

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