Job Description

A senior commissioning and governance role at the heart of integrated health and social care.

Join us in a high‑impact leadership role where you’ll work across Cornwall Council and the NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB) to provide strategic oversight of Section 117 aftercare, ensuring strong governance, financial control and effective commissioning outcomes.

The Service and Team

You’ll join the Safe and Caring Communities directorate, working within the People Commissioning team – a forward‑thinking service dedicated to improving lives through integrated health and social care. Working alongside experienced commissioners, purchasing managers, and NHS partners, you’ll help shape services that support people out of hospital and into the community. Collaboration, co‑design, and innovation are central to our approach, ensuring sustainable markets and person‑centred outcomes for the people of Cornwall.

The Role

This is a senior commissioning role for an experienced, outcome‑focused commissioner with a strong track record in managing complex portfolios, budgets and system relationships. It offers strategic ownership of a high‑value commissioning portfolio at the heart of integrated working between the Council and the NHS.

The role is focused on providing clarity and assurance through clear processes, robust governance, defensible decision‑making and strong financial control across a complex pooled fund.

This post is subject to an enhanced criminal record disclosure check.

As Pooled Fund Manager and Strategic Lead for Section 117, you will:

• Lead the day‑to‑day and strategic management of pooled Section 117 funding, ensuring strong governance, compliance and financial control
• Provide assurance to senior leaders on expenditure, decision‑making and statutory responsibilities
• Establish clear, consistent processes for eligibility, funding decisions and dispute resolution across partners
• Use data, market intelligence and performance insight to improve commissioning outcomes and value for money
• Build strong, credible relationships with commissioners, finance leads, legal colleagues and NHS partners to support effective joint working
• Produce clear, accurate reports and briefings that stand up to scrutiny and enable confident decision‑making

You will work closely with the Head of Commissioning and the ICB Mental Health Programme Lead, acting as a key professional lead for Section 117 arrangements across Cornwall.

What You’ll Need to Succeed

You’ll bring:

• Proven experience in commissioning, contract or pooled budget management, with demonstrable accountability for budgets, governance and decision‑making within health or social care
• A strong understanding of statutory responsibilities, governance and financial assurance, including Section 117 aftercare
• A highly organised, methodical and process‑driven approach, with the ability to bring clarity and consistency to complex systems
• Strong analytical skills, with experience producing robust financial and performance reporting for senior audiences
• Excellent relationship‑building skills, with the ability to challenge constructively and resolve issues pragmatically

Please read the role profile for the full details of this role attached below in this advert

Why Join Us?

• Strategic influence: Play a central role in shaping how statutory aftercare is commissioned and funded
• Senior exposure: Work closely with leaders across the Council and NHS
• Clear purpose: A governance‑critical role with tangible impact on service quality and sustainability
• Flexibility: Hybrid working with occasional presence at Truro County Hall

What you’ll get in return:

Cornwall Council’s ambition is to be an employer of choice, a high performing Council and a learning organisation. We commit to providing a reward and benefits package to attract, motivate and reward our employees. We offer a range of flexible working options to our staff. This helps provide our employees with a greater work/life balance. Whilst still ensuring that service needs are met.

Our core employee rewards and benefits include:

· a competitive salary.

· a defined benefit pension scheme, based on your career average earnings. This includes the option for extra voluntary contributions

· a generous annual leave entitlement with the potential to purchase additional leave.

· A national award-winning employee health and wellbeing programme

· Employee benefits scheme giving employees access to a wide range of discounts to local and national goods and services.

Additional Information:

Please note, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role

The full role profile is attached here

We recommend saving a copy of this to refer to if you are invited to an interview.

For more information or an informal chat about the role please contact Karen Hooper - karen.hooper@cornwall.gov.uk

Application Process

Please attach a supporting statement to your application, you can add your Education & Qualifications details manually using the application form timeline or you can upload your CV. Remember to demonstrate why you are suitable against each of the points marked as ‘Application’ on the Role Profile using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work / personal experience, which clearly illustrates what you did and the effect it had. Guidance on how to complete your application can be found here – The application process

Existing employees must apply using their Cornwall Council email address through the Opportunity Marketplace on Oracle.

Cornwall Council deliver services to more than half a million local people and over five million visitors a year. Working here - Cornwall Council

We are happy to talk about flexible working options such as part-time or compressed hours. More examples of our flexible working opportunities can be found here - flexible working options

Fairness and inclusion are at the heart of our vision for Cornwall. In order to best serve our communities, we are striving to achieve a diverse workforce that is inclusive of all backgrounds, cultures and identities; e.g., race, disability, sex, gender reassignment status, age, religion and sexual orientation. We are an equal opportunities and Disability Confident employer, and we will assess applicants on their merits.

Cornwall Council is committed to safeguarding and following safer recruitment principles to help make sure our staff and volunteers are suitable to work with children, young people and adults at risk. It’s a vital part of creating a safe and positive environment and making a commitment to keeping all service users safe from harm.