• Job Description

  Req#: 2103

  Placement Brokerage Officer (Children's Brokerage & Specialist Placements)

  PO2: £43,542 pa rising in annual increments to £46,437 pa incl LW

  Hybrid Working / 3 days a week in office (minimal traveling may be required)

  Permanent / Full Time / 35 hours

  About Lambeth Children Services:

  
  Lambeth is a borough of huge diversity, strength, and possibility. Lambeth is home to approximately 63,000 children aged 0-18, representing nearly 20% of our borough’s population. Our Lambeth partnerships have the highest ambitions for our children and want them to grow up to be happy, safe and thriving in supportive communities. We have a rich network of good and outstanding schools, a passionate voluntary community sector and an exciting youth and play offer. Children growing up in Lambeth are surrounded by beautiful green spaces and a borough with a rich history, arts, and music scene.

  Despite this, our children also face challenges and adversity. There are several health and wellbeing indicators that are higher in Lambeth than other boroughs, including children in need due to parent disability, first time entrants to youth justice system, and children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. We have significant demand for mental health and emotional wellbeing provision and have critical challenges regarding placement sufficiency for our Children Looked After. Lambeth is the fifth most densely populated borough in the UK with sharp contrasts between wealth and poverty. It is estimated that 27% of our children and young people are living in poverty, rising to 43% when housing costs are factored in; we know Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated challenges for many families in Lambeth and created a new set of problems for others.

  It’s an incredibly exciting time to come and work in Lambeth. There’s plenty to get your teeth into – be it leading the implementation of our strategy for youth services, overseeing the transformation of our emotional health and wellbeing provision, or presiding over the development of a new team delivering efficient brokerage for our teams.

  We’re passionate about integration of services and teams across education, health and social care to ensure our population can access services that are joined-up and seamless. All of these roles play very important roles in partnership development with internal and external stakeholders.

  A message from The Assistant Director:
  

  You’ll be joining high-performing, passionate and diverse teams of individuals who are dedicated to reducing inequality and improving outcomes for our residents. You must have exceptional customer service, client relations and problem-solving skills. An in-depth understanding of local authority’s payment systems and platforms would be an advantage. We anticipate that you’ve had experience in complaint handling.

  The successful applicant shall build effective working relationships with key suppliers and the wider market, working with accounts payable to to shape and develop innovation in processing and payment of suppliers’ invoices promptly and efficiently.

  About You:

  A key aspect of the Placement Brokerage Officer’s role is sourcing stable placements for children looked after aged 0-18, supported accommodation for young people aged 16+, and supporting young people leaving care with securing settled accommodation often within tight timeframes. You will be working collaboratively with your colleagues across Children Services, Housing and with external providers, to deliver high-quality and well-matched placements for children looked after and accommodation for care leavers. You will also need to ensure that budgets and other resources are used in accordance with Lambeth priorities and financial regulations, and that expenditure is accurately monitored and within budget.

  You must have what it takes to bring positive energy, enthusiasm, and passion to the role. You must have the tenacity to lead, shape and develop a team, bringing creativity and innovation to the way we commission placements for children and young people. You must have a clear focus on achieving positive outcomes for the children and the young people we care for. You must have excellent written and verbal communication skills, and an ability to build relationships with colleagues in social care, finance, and commissioning, as well as with external providers. You will also have knowledge of financial systems and controls, and standard Microsoft products (Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint).

  If you have any queries in relation to this job vacancy, please contact the Assistant Director: Andrews Osei, AOsei1@lambeth.gov.uk

  Why Lambeth:-

  • Fantastic, modern working environment in the award-winning Lambeth Town Hall and Civic Centre buildings
  • Competitive Salaries
  • Up to 35 days annual leave, dependent upon continuous service
  • 5 Minutes from London Underground and excellent transport links into the centre of London
  • Hybrid/Flexible working
  • Cycle to Work Scheme (including City Bike Hire scheme)
  • Attractive Local Government Pension Scheme

  We are a Stonewall diversity champion; a Living Wage Employer and we guarantee to interview all disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria of the role. Please click here for a full list of our accreditations.

  Successful candidates will be asked to apply for an Enhanced Certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Further information about the DBS can be found at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/agencies-public-bodies/dbs

  You will also be required to undertake a Cifas check. Further information about Cifas can be found here Cifas

  How to Apply

  Please note we operate an anonymised application process, therefore, remove your personal details when uploading your Supporting Statement and CV.

  Interested, click on the apply button and complete an on-line application, clearly evidencing how you meet the criteria marked with an 'A' on the person specification pages within the job description. Please upload your Supporting Statement via the 'cover letter' link. Please also upload your CV via the CV link.

  You must upload a Supporting Statement and CV for your application to be considered.

  We actively support applications from Lambeth Care Leavers

  Please note this vacancy may close earlier than stated if we receive an overwhelming response

  Job Description and Specification

  Closing Date: Sunday 9th February 2025 at 11:55PM

  Lambeth aims for quality services and equal opportunities for all and is committed to safer recruitment

• About the company

  Lambeth London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Lambeth in Greater London, England.

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