Redbridge Council are looking for a Strategic Commissioning Officer.

Market Sustainability and Fair Cost of Care Commissioner

We are seeking an experienced commissioner to join Redbridge Strategic Commissioning Team to lead on an exciting opportunity to develop creative solutions in a challenging market for commissioned services.

In September the Prime Minister confirmed the government will be providing funding to support local authorities move towards paying providers a fair rate of care. The 2022 - 2023 funding is designed to ensure local authorities can:

• Prepare their markets for reform (particularly the impact of understanding their self-funder market and plan for section 18(3)
• Move towards paying providers a fair cost of care, as appropriate to local circumstances

To prepare markets, the successful candidate will carry out activities such as:

1. Undertake a cost of care exercise

• Surveying local providers for 65 plus residential and nursing care and 18 plus homecare to determine a sustainable fee rate for different care settings.
• Exercises will need to accurately reflect local costs such as staff pay and travel time
• The exercise is to cover all key markets including Supported Living, Respite provision as well as the residential, nursing and homecare sectors.

2. Produce a report publishing the exercises and findings

• A provisional market sustainability plan setting out Redbridge's strategy for the next 3 years (2022 to 2025) - using the cost of care exercise as a key input
• The provisional plan will demonstrate the pace at which Redbridge intends to move towards a sustainable fee rate
• Consider the impact of section 18(3) as well as other pressures identified
• Strategic planning for changes in types of provision in response to local need with other local areas, taking into consideration the role of new models of care (including housing)
• Identify the trends and impact of key drivers which affect market sustainability such as workforce capacity, the demand and complexity of cases, and how these in turn contribute to the fair cost of care calculation
• Identify specific risk factors and the current resilience of the local market

3. Produce a spend report

• Detailing how money has been allocated in line with funding expectations to achieve a more sustainable local market

This is a significant piece of work and as such we require a commissioner with extensive experience of undertaking market engagement and analysis, strategy development, excellent research and written skills and partnership working.