Job responsibilities
The Head of Business
Development & Commissioning (HoBD&C) plays a critical role in the
successful coordination and delivery of childrens placements at The Childrens
Trust. You will lead the strategic and operational management of individual placements,
ensuring robust business and pathway processes are in place and embedded across
the placements team and wider multidisciplinary workforce. This includes
ensuring that all placements are appropriately managed, funded, and aligned
with the childs clinical and care needs.
You will
be responsible for securing appropriate funding for all placements, ensuring
full cost recovery, and contributing significantly to income generation through
budgeting, forecasting, and strategic business development. A key part of the
role is driving core business growth by identifying and developing new
opportunities to meetand where possible, exceedincome targets.
The postholder will lead
and develop the business development, placements and commissioning team
members, offering clear guidance, direction, and support for ongoing
professional development. You will manage key accounts and referral pipelines,
working to ensure seamless commissioning processes and proactive engagement in
frontline business development. This includes building and maintaining trusted
relationships with local authorities, commissioners, international embassies,
NHS colleagues, and families.
The role will also involve
attending external events, supporting the implementation of our key accounts
plan, and representing The Childrens Trust to external partners and referrers
as a credible and strategic ambassador for the organisation.
Duties and Responsibilities
Placement Management Lead and manage all bed
planning activities, including coordination of admissions and discharges.
Monitor the impact of delays and capacity changes, escalating issues and
factoring in staffing implications to optimise bed occupancy. Chair and coordinate
internal admission and discharge panels, ensuring decisions are timely,
well-informed, and communicated appropriately to all relevant stakeholders. Oversee the development,
implementation, and continuous improvement of policies, procedures, and systems
that support the full placement journeyfrom enquiry and referral through to
admission, case management, discharge, and transition. Maintain oversight of
processes relating to changes in tier, status, and placement type
(day/residential), ensuring these are proactively identified, actioned, and
reviewed to support quality of care and business continuity.Commissioning and Contract Management In collaboration with the
Medical Director, manage and maintain pricing and costing models that reflect
each childs holistic needs while ensuring full cost recovery for the
organisation. Lead the annual inflation
uplift process, taking into account market trends and organisational
priorities. Implement mechanisms for funder notification, negotiation,
tracking, and internal reporting. Oversee contract position across all
placements, ensuring robust processes are in place to govern the
responsibilities of each party involved, minimising and mitigating risks to The
Childrens Trust whilst maintaining the best interests of the child. Where
relevant, escalate to and work alongside colleagues in the legal team to manage
contract variations and disputes. Support the finance team in
billing activities, particularly in the recovery of unpaid fees, by ensuring
alignment with key account management processes and commissioner engagement
plans. Collaborate closely with clinical and
operational teams to ensure that commissioned activity, KPIs, and service level expectations are
consistently met. Lead reporting activity, both internally and externally, and
support the development and implementation of remedial plans where needed. Take the lead on strategic
and block contract negotiations, working alongside the Medical Director,
Executive Team, and other senior stakeholders to secure sustainable funding
arrangements that meet both organisational and
commissioning priorities.
Strategy development and implementation
Support
development and implementation of the organisations overarching strategy and
subsequent business development strategy to drive referrals and income
generating activity, leading where required on relevant modelling, scenario
mapping, landscape analysis etc.
Stay
abreast of the commissioning landscape, both public (NHS national, regional
and local, and local authority) and private sector (insurance, medico-legal,
international and self-pay) ensuring our commissioning processes, contracting
and associated arrangements and processes align accordingly.
Support
the Senior Business Development Marketing Manager, Business Development &
External Affairs Advisor, and wider leadership team in monitoring and analysing
the scale of potential demand; the activities of competitors; and the markets
in which The Childrens Trust operates to identify opportunities to improve our
service offering, and highlight risks, providing mitigation options to reduce
exposure.
Champion
the work of The Childrens Trust externally to keep stakeholders, taking a
senior role in building and maintaining relationships to enhance and maximise
opportunities aligned to our strategy, objectives and priorities.
Business Development
Lead
on development of the organisations Business Development Strategy as directed
by the Medical Director, working in collaboration with the Business Development
& External Affairs Advisor, Senior Business Development Marketing Manager,
Lead Analyst and Impact Manager, and other directors & leads as required,
ensuring all services are considered for maximising opportunities to promote
our work and grow our reach.
Support
development and implementation of the organisations key account strategy
(which forms part of the Business Development Strategy), working in close
collaboration with the Senior Business Development Marketing Manager. Where
required, provide hands-on management of allocated key accounts.
Specifically
lead on management of the organisations contractual relationship with NHS
England and associated regional NHS Boards, and local ICBs, harnessing support
from colleagues to ensure effective relationship management. This will include
the management of reporting (monthly, quarterly, and as required), facilitating
and chairing meetings, leading on contract negotiations supported by Medical
Director, and ensuring performance is optimised to maximise contractual
benefits.
Work
closely with senior leadership team colleagues, Head of Communications &
Marketing, and Business Development & External Affairs Advisor where
relevant to manage communications with professional audiences (through key
account/relationship management) and those accessing our services. This will
include scoping and creating sensitive and confidential messaging, ensuring
appropriate sign-off, alignment to organisation-wide communication plans and
effective distribution. Manage, monitor, and escalate response as required.
Support the Senior Placement Managers to
promote effective working relationships both internally and externally.
Promote
the work of The Childrens Trust, as required externally at meetings and
conferences.
Business
Planning and Budget Management
Take
full ownership of the relevant income and expenditure budgets, ensuring
delivery against agreed financial requirements and targets.
Work
collaboratively with frontline directors and service leads to align operational
delivery with planned activity levels, budgeted occupancy, and income goals.
Develop
accurate, timely, and realistic income forecasts, clearly reporting performance
against target. Where there is financial risk, lead the development and
implementation of mitigation strategies in collaboration with the Medical
Director, Lead Analyst and Impact Manager, and other relevant colleagues.
Contribute
to and support the development of robust business casesparticularly those
related to service growth or expansion of capacityby providing financial
modelling, scenario planning, and regular monitoring. Collaborate closely with
the Business Development & External Affairs Advisor, Senior Business
Development Marketing Manager, and other stakeholders as appropriate.
Leadership
Produce
and present high-quality reports on core business activity for the Senior
Leadership Team (SLT), relevant committees, and the Board. Collaborate with the
Business Development & External Affairs Advisor, Senior Business
Development Marketing Manager, and Lead Analyst and Impact Manager, ensuring
all outputs are reviewed and signed off by the Medical Director.
Chair
the Placement Business Meetings (PBM), ensuring effective agenda setting,
oversight of key performance metrics, and follow-through of agreed actions.
Provide
strong leadership to direct reports, motivating and supporting them to achieve
high performance aligned with The Childrens Trusts values, policies, and
strategic goals.
Communicate
organisational strategies and priorities clearly to your team, ensuring
consistent understanding and alignment with wider objectives.
Lead
on induction, training, coaching, and development of team members. Conduct
regular performance and development reviews, supporting professional growth and
continuous improvement.
Adhere
to the policies and procedures of The Childrens Trust.
Maintain
professional boundaries and professionalism at all times.
To
undertake other or additional duties that are within your skills and abilities,
as the organisation may reasonably require from time to time.
