Senior Policy and Delivery Officer

Overview

Are you passionate about driving inclusive growth and making a tangible impact on your community? Join us as a Senior Policy and Delivery Officer and play a pivotal role in shaping the future of adult skills funding and partnerships in Buckinghamshire. This is an exciting opportunity to work in a dynamic environment where your expertise in policy development, financial oversight, and stakeholder collaboration will be highly valued. Your work on the Skills Fund Devolution will be crucial in empowering local communities and ensuring that funding is effectively utilised to meet the diverse needs of our residents.

This is a 12-month secondment/ fixed-term contract opportunity.

About us

The Skills and Partnerships Team is dedicated to fostering inclusive growth by delivering skills and employment outcomes that benefit people, employers, communities, and the economy in Buckinghamshire. Our mission is to raise aspirations and promote continuous, inclusive learning and development to help employers and residents adapt and grow. We pride ourselves on our values of pride, ambition, collaboration, and trustworthiness, and we strive to maintain high standards, initiative, and accountability in everything we do.

About the role

As a Senior Policy and Delivery Officer, you will be responsible for:

• Developing funding rules for adult Skills Fund devolution: Responsible for creating funding guidelines that outline how subcontractor performance determines payment, while ensuring compliance with audit and performance requirements.
• Managing subcontractor performance and payments: Oversee the financial status of subcontractors, manage financial forecasts and payment schedules, and ensure payments are processed accurately and on time.
• Implementing policies and coordinating partnerships: Develop and apply policies, engage with internal and external partners, and maintain professional relationships across the skills sector.
• Managing risks and reporting on program outcomes: Evaluate complex data, recommend actions, address risks, and prepare reports tailored to different audiences.
• Overseeing a budget estimated at £5.9 million: Administer a significant budget with attention to financial oversight and accountability.
• Engaging with various stakeholders: Work with national, regional, and local stakeholders to deliver employability and skills programs such as Skills Bootcamps, Connect to Work, and Opportunity Bucks Jobs.

Any-Desk:

As an ‘any-desk’ worker, you’ll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will be required to work from the office a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements.

About you

We are seeking a highly skilled individual with a proven track record in complex organisations, particularly in the areas of adult education funding, contract management, and project delivery. The ideal candidate will possess excellent IT and communication skills, along with a comprehensive understanding of relevant systems, policies, and legislation, including Government policy on Devolution, Skills England, and Ofsted. A commitment to our core values of being Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative, and Trustworthy is essential. If you are ready to bring your expertise and dedication to our team, we would love to hear from you.

Other information

For further information on this role please see the attached job summary.

If you would like to have an informal conversation with the recruiting manager, please contact: [email protected] 

This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent cautions and/or unspent convictions

For further information on how long it takes for cautions and convictions cautions to become spent, please refer to our guide on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (updated 2023) | Nacro

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

About the Business Unit

Resources cover a wide range of specialisms, including Human Resources, Finance, ICT and Business Operations. Our main focus is supporting the other directorates to provide the best possible service to our residents. To do that, we have to make sure we have the right people in the right roles across the organisation. From our finance teams, working strategically to ensure the best value from public money; to HR keeping our employees healthy and happy, each service is vital in making sure Buckinghamshire Council has what it needs to run effectively and efficiently.

As well as providing high quality services to other areas of the Council, you could also be helping us build on the revenue which comes from our external clients. If you are ambitious, customer-focussed and bursting with new ideas, we want to hear from you.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/