Placements Officer
Hourly Rate: £25ph
Contract Duration: Until August 2026
Location: Borough Hall, MK42
Hours: Monday - Friday 8.45am - 5.20pm
Responsibilities
- To be accountable and responsible for searching thoroughly and sourcing suitable quality placements, taking full responsibility in managing placement searches for children looked after and care leavers, including for complex cases.
- To quality assure placement referral search forms, provider documents, checking providers have been regulated and highlighting where this isn't the case.
- To manage competing demands and have the ability to work in a high-profile area and prioritise requests.
- To ensure service managers' approval for all searches and commissioned placement packages.
- To negotiate packages and costing with external providers.
- To collaborate with social work teams, particularly the fostering team, when sourcing placements to ensure internal options are exhausted before looking externally.
- To manage a range of database systems to record and maintain up-to-date information about providers, commissioned packages, external placements, and develop infrastructure for effective use of this information by the wider council.
- To contribute to tender/framework development, evaluation and monitoring.
- To record, maintain, analyse and share data for management and budgetary information, and other monitoring data including attending resource panel, monitoring meetings as required, such as Freedom of Information requests, auditing and reviews.
- To manage respite requests from in‑house foster carers and find suitable respite matches.
- To communicate with compassion and confidentiality as placements often involve sensitive circumstances.
- To manage payments to external stakeholders for placement packages.
- To communicate clearly with external stakeholders and respond to payment queries.
Blue Arrow is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to helping find great work opportunities for great people.
#J-18808-Ljbffr