About the Borough This special place in South West London between the capital and the country has been a Royal borough longer than anywhere else - it is where the first kings of England were crowned. Today it is a vibrant and diverse borough, with a long history and strong cultural and community heritage. Kingston's riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of our district town centres (Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington) have something unique to offer. Situated in Zone 6, Kingston is among the best-connected town centres in London – with direct train links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and Tramlink. Kingston’s people are innovative and entrepreneurial, and have a strong sense of community pride. The borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years, reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival and Kingston University, which boasts more new graduate business start-ups than any other. We have seen tremendous generosity and compassion within our communities, particularly in response to COVID-19, which is a demonstration of Kingston’s key strength. The council offers a strong level of support to vulnerable groups and those who need additional support, which has also increased significantly as a result of the pandemic. Like most places, the average age of our population is rising as more people are living longer, so we are working closely with residents to help them maintain their independence and further improve the cost effectiveness of our service to meet the ongoing rise in demand. Kingston is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds, which helps to create the rich sense of community shared across the borough. In particular, Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK. About the Role The role is key in developing and embedding a strong strategic focus across the commissioning and service development work in RBK’s Adult Social Care (ASC) services. This will include leading on strategic commissioning and service development programmes, as well as the development of strategy and policy, always guided by key principles of improved outcomes for our residents, collaboration, value for money and innovation. Key activities of this role include: Support the Head of Service to develop and embed a robust strategic approach to commissioning and transformation in ASC Develop effective working relationships with providers, partners and our communities to collaboratively design and deliver solutions for adults with disabilities, mental health and older people. Maintain the commissioning roadmap through robust project management and ensure alignment to corporate goals and the wider ASC ambitions Responsible for managing the interface between commissioning strategy objectives, operational requirements and care market management Managing a small team of commissioners, and working closely with peers and senior leads, to deliver the wider strategic commissioning programme in ASC. About Us The Council is focused on delivering the best possible outcomes for its communities. To do this the Council needs managers who thrive in a networked organisation and who can provide strong operational leadership. The Strategy and Transformation lead role sits immediately beneath the Head of Service and is responsible for the management of the Strategy & Transformation portfolio of the Team. We are a small supportive team, working flexibly with many different stakeholders in often fast paced and complex environments. Our team deals with demanding projects which means our way of working is based on trust, autonomy and resilience; we have adopted a hybrid working style. About You To be successful in this role, you will: Have strong leadership skills, modelling a performance culture and constructively building achievement, confidence and skills in others Question and challenge conventional thinking, with a continual eye on the bigger picture in terms of the corporate context and external environment Role model agility and adaptability in mindset and ways of working Work successfully with key stakeholders including Members, residents, social care teams, businesses, communities, partner organisations and other public services Demonstrate a high level of innovation and creativity. Experience of managing complex strategic and transformation projects with a focus on innovation and continuous improvement Knowledge and understanding of key aspects of the Commissioning Cycle Expert knowledge of effective service development, redesign and improvement methodologies Expert knowledge of commissioning, client groups and care markets Understanding and awareness of key legislation for Public Sector social care, including health, housing and social care