Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Salary: PO8 £59,511 - £62,766

Contract Type: Full Time/Fixed Term (2 years)
Working hours per week: 36

Application Deadline: 18/05/2026

Proposed Interview Date(s): TBC
Reference: 2115

About Us:

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.

We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

About the role:

The postholder will provide strategic leadership for the commissioning of SEND services, ensuring that provision is effective, high quality, delivers value for money and meets statutory duties and local priorities. Working within a complex organisational and partnership environment, the role will shape, influence and deliver commissioning activity that improves outcomes for children, young people and families in Waltham Forest.

The role requires knowledge of SEND, including relevant legislation, policy frameworks, best practice and emerging developments, alongside a deep understanding of the needs and experiences of children and families. The postholder will lead major programmes and projects, assess the impact of change, manage risk, and develop innovative and evidence‑based commissioning solutions in response to current and future demand.

A key aspect of the role is building and sustaining effective relationships with internal colleagues, elected members, health partners, providers and other stakeholders. The postholder will lead partnership working, represent the Council externally, and operate with credibility and influence in complex or politically sensitive contexts to secure positive outcomes aligned to the Council’s priorities.

The postholder will provide advice, challenge and assurance on commissioning, procurement, contract management, quality assurance and performance management. Strong analytical, communication and negotiation skills are essential, alongside the ability to use data, ICT systems and performance intelligence to drive continuous service improvement and ensure accountability across commissioned services.

>> Click here to download the Role Profile <<

Key Responsibilities:

Provide strategic and professional leadership for the commissioning of SEND services, ensuring provision meets statutory duties, local priorities and delivers high‑quality outcomes for children, young people and families.
Lead the design, development and delivery of commissioning strategies, plans and programmes, informed by needs analysis, data, evidence, co‑production and market intelligence
Manage and oversee complex commissioning programmes and projects, including assessing the impact of change, managing risk, and developing innovative and sustainable responses to current and future demand.
Lead provider and market management activity, including shaping markets, influencing provider behaviour, and ensuring services are responsive, high quality, inclusive and financially sustainable.
Ensure effective contract management, quality assurance and performance management arrangements are in place, including monitoring outcomes, compliance, and value for money.
Lead and sustain effective partnership working across council services, health, education, providers and other stakeholders, representing the Council in external forums and partnership boards as required.
Build strong, credible relationships and influence at senior levels, including operating confidently in complex or politically sensitive environments.
Contribute to and support procurement and contracting activity, ensuring compliance with Council policies, governance arrangements and relevant procurement legislation.
Use data, research and performance intelligence to identify issues, diagnose complex problems, evaluate impact and drive continuous improvement across commissioned services.
Communicate complex information clearly and effectively, producing high‑quality reports, briefings and recommendations to inform decision‑making by senior leaders and elected members.
Promote and embed co‑production, equality and inclusion in commissioning activity, ensuring the voices and lived experience of children, young people and families inform service design and delivery.
Ensure effective use of ICT systems and tools to support commissioning, performance management and reporting.

Qualifications and Requirements:

Terms and conditions:

The below terms and conditions apply to this role:

Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;
Satisfactory declaration of interest;
Satisfactory DBS check;

How to Apply:

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.

Contact Information:

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Kate Howell, Service Manager at Kate.Howell@walthamforest.gov.uk

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk.

The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.

Click here for further information on the Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.