Children's Placements and Quality Assurance Manager

Overview

Children's Placement & Quality Assurance Manager - 3-month interim contract (with potential to extend) South London / Hybrid working £500 p/day Inside IR35 (via umbrella)

CVs are being reviewed immediately, with interviews taking place week commencing end of this week / early next.

Baltimore Consulting are seeking an experienced Children's Placement & Quality Assurance Manager for an initial 3-month period to join a Local Authority south of London. This is an exciting opportunity to join a small but busy Children's Team where you'll need to hit the ground running, quickly building relationships with social workers, managers, providers, partners, and colleagues across Children's Services and the wider council.

Your Role as the Children's Placement & Quality Assurance Manager

• Establish and lead a new Children's Placement Commissioning function, covering supplier relations, brokerage, contracts, and quality assurance.
• Support integration of Independent Non-Maintained Special School placements and develop models to meet SEND needs with a robust QA framework.
• Lead placement sourcing, matching, and management (including emergency and long-term care), ensuring sufficiency, compliance, quality, and value for money.
• Build and maintain strong provider relationships, oversee frameworks, contracts register, due diligence, and QA processes.
• Develop sufficiency strategies, provide insights to the Strategic Placement Board, and implement information-led reporting mechanisms.
• Manage and develop a team of Home Finding & QA Officers and a Contracts Officer, setting KPIs and reporting on performance.

Your previous experience as a Children's Placement & Quality Assurance Manager

• Proven experience in children's placements, including commissioning, brokerage, and quality assurance.
• Strong track record of building relationships with providers, partners, and internal stakeholders.
• Experience developing frameworks, sufficiency strategies, and robust QA processes.
• Demonstrable leadership skills with experience managing and developing staff.
• In-depth understanding of Children's Social Care and SEND placement requirements within a Local Authority setting.

If you're interested in discussing this opportunity in more detail or know someone who may be suitable, please contact Lucy Connick on or apply today.

We offer a senior referral scheme upon successful placement of your recommendation, so please do get in contact.

Our clients are committed to creating and evolving a diverse workforce and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant. Recruiting decisions are based on experience and skills. Any reasonable adjustments will be fully supported during the application and hiring process.