Hampshire and the Solent Combined County Authority
Relationship and Commissioning Officer
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The Role
As the Relationship and Commissioning Officer, you’ll be responsible for coordinating activities to achieve the ASF plan's outcomes. You will lead the development of service specifications, undertake market engagement activities, and support procurement processes in line with relevant legislation, regulations, and organisational policies.
What you’ll be doing?
In this role, you’ll play a crucial part in ensuring our teams have the tools, knowledge, and processes they need to deliver a high‑quality service. You will:
- Commission skills interventions to deliver the outcomes of the ASF Skills Strategy and Commissioning Plan.
- Develop and implement future commissioning plans that support organisational priorities and service objectives including how the service will be commissioned and delivered.
- Whole life cost planning for the service to be commissioned, including input to options assessment. This includes developing the cost assessment and preparing the basis of estimate and supporting assumptions.
- Understanding reporting requirements to central government as part of the service to be commissioned to ensure this is accounted for in contracts.
- Assess and mitigate service risks in the commissioning process and subsequent delivery by providers. Maintain and analyse the service risk register, highlighting patterns of risk and identifying solutions.
- Undertake data analysis and options assessment in advance of commissioning the services, documenting this to support evidenced based decision making by the HSCCA leadership. Analysis and options appraisal will be at both the strategic and tactical level.
- Undertake pieces of targeted research on specific skills needs emerging demand or gaps, in close liaison with policy colleagues and data analysts.
- Prepare business cases using the five-case model to document the options available for the service to be commissioned; to enable evidence-based decisions focused on outcomes and benefits to the HSCCA region.
- Design performance metrics, for the service provider, that drive the outcomes and benefits required, taking them beyond simple measures of outputs and applying a critical view to avoid unintended consequences.
What you’ll bring?
We’re looking for someone with:
- Degree level qualification and/or equivalent relevant professional qualification (e.g. CIPS, Prince2, APM) or equivalent professional experience
- Significant experience of the end-to-end commissioning lifecycle.
- Experience of outcomes-based commissioning, procurement, contract management or grant funding.
- Ability to analyse needs, define options and use evidence to inform investment decisions.
- Experience of stakeholder engagement, partnership working and provider relationship management.
- Strong report writing, financial and analytical skills, including business case creation.
- A continuous improvement mindset.
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Desirables include experience of public sector commissioning and/or experience of working in regional government, local authorities, or the Further Education / Adult Skills sector.
We do not expect you to meet every one of these criteria. If you are genuinely excited by this role and bring most of what we are looking for, we want to hear from you.
Why join the HSCC?
We are building the HSCCA on the basis that how we work is as important as what we deliver. We want people who bring enthusiasm, drive, and authenticity - who are proactive, open to challenge, and motivated by progress rather than process. We value collaborative leadership: the ability to bring people together across organisational boundaries, respect the expertise of others, and create shared direction without needing to own everything.
We act in line with the Nolan Principles. We use public money responsibly, make evidence-based decisions, and hold ourselves to high standards of integrity, inclusion, and accessibility. We expect feedback to be given and received constructively, challenge to be welcomed, and relationships to be built on openness, trust, and mutual respect.
This is a complex, fast-moving environment. We need people who are energised by that, not unsettled by it.
What the HSCC will offer in return?
As we take on new responsibilities devolved from Government, you will have a genuine opportunity to contribute to building a public service organisation that does things differently.
Our reward package includes:
- A flexible working environment, with hybrid working arrangements as standard (minimum 2 days per week in our office)
- A competitive salary and benefits package
- Investment in your professional development and leadership growth
- The chance to work alongside a leadership team that is committed to building an organisation where people thrive
- Membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme
The HSCCA is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive and accessible workplace where everyone feels valued and able to thrive. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and lived experiences, particularly those from groups that are currently underrepresented in our workforce. This includes people from ethnic minority communities, disabled people, neurodivergent people, LGBTQ+ people, parents and carers, and individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds. We are committed to removing barriers to employment and encourage candidates to let us know about any reasonable adjustments they may need at any stage of the recruitment process.
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Selection process
Your application will progress through the following stages:
Application Review
Your CV and supporting documents will be reviewed by Reed Recruitment against the essential criteria outlined in the Skills & Experience section of this advert. Please ensure your CV clearly demonstrates how you meet the required criteria in order to be considered.
Telephone Interview
If shortlisted, you will be invited to an initial telephone interview. During this stage, you will be assessed against the skills & experience criteria and your overall suitability for the position.
Face-to-face Interview
If shortlisted, you will be invited to a final face-to-face interview. During this stage, you will be assessed against the Skills & Experience criteria and your overall suitability for the position. This is the final stage of the selection process and will determine the outcome of your application.
Feedback
Feedback will be provided following the final face-to-face interview stage. Please note that feedback is only available to candidates who attend the final stage interview stage. Successful candidates will then be considered for an offer.
Further information
As a Disability Confident Committed employer, we run a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants. If you meet the essential criteria listed in the job description for this position and would like to be considered under this scheme, please state this in your application.
All data collected is anonymous and has zero bearing on your application. If there is anything we can do to accommodate your specific situation, please let the recruitment team know.
We are committed to fair and inclusive recruitment. As part of this, we use anonymous shortlisting to ensure candidates are assessed solely on their skills, experience, and suitability for the role.
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