About the role
This role is to manage and lead a small team to award, monitor and manage a range of Home to School transport contracts totalling around £17M pa, ensuring suppliers are compliant both with the contract and with legislation and regulations. Accountable for ensuring invoices are paid in a timely manner and that all financial and contract records are accurate and processes and regulations are complied with. Deciding upon and imposing appropriate sanctions for breach as allowed under the individual contracts with transport providers.
The postholder will also be the Designated Safeguarding Lead for the Home to School Transport Team, providing safeguarding advice and support to staff and service providers where necessary, managing safeguarding concerns, allegations or incidents reported to the team and managing referrals to key safeguarding agencies (e.g. Social Services or Police) of any incidents or allegations of abuse and harm.
What will you be doing?
This is a busy role with many potential distractions, so you need to be organised and able to manage your varied workload effectively.
You will be leading and managing a team to manage and supervise Home to School Transport contracts. You will be responsible for ensuring your team award contracts in accordance with legislation and Council procedures, and for ensuring that invoices and other bills and commitments are checked, approved and paid promptly. As the designated safeguarding lead for the service you will be responsible for making sure that concerns raised to the service about the welfare of our clients are responded to appropriately, involving relevant agencies and bodies as necessary. You will take an active interest in the development of effective working relationships with our service providers and in ensuring that they deliver the required service safely and as in as cost effective a manner as possible. From time to time you may need to support your team with site visits and inspections including visits to educational establishments and commercial premises, and representing the Council and the Home to School Transport team in events and activities.
About you
You will be a competent and effective manager, both of your own workload and of a team. You will have an understanding of procurement process and financial processes, especially as this applies to Local Authorities. Your leadership skills with teams or groups will be employed in developing effective working relationships both within the team and the wider Council as well as externally. Experience with transport operations, especially in Home to School and SEN would be an advantage. Because of the need to visit educational establishments from time to time, as well as the role as safeguarding lead, you will require an acceptable high level clearance of DBS for working with both children and adults, together with a good understanding of Safeguarding for all age groups.
Our benefits
We offer:
- a competitive salary
- a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
- opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
- generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
- agile and flexible working arrangements to help you with a healthy work-life balance.
About us
We are a new unitary council, established in April 2021; we are one of the largest unitary councils in the country. Our vision for North Northants is to be 'A place where everyone has the best opportunities and quality of life'.
Our priorities are:
- helping people live active fulfilled lives
- caring for our young people, providing them with high quality education and opportunities
- enabling a thriving and successful economy
- leading on a green and sustainable environment
- ensuring our communities are connected so they can shape their lives and where they live
- providing modern public services
Our values, as chosen by our staff, are - Customer-focused, Respectful, Efficient, Supportive and Trustworthy.
Your differences make us different - Achieve Together.
We are undertaking consultation with the Trade Unions on terms and conditions and the future NNC pay structure and during this time are appointing new employees on interim spot salaries. You will be advised of the outcome and any impact on your role once this work is complete.
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