Project Manager - Children's Residential Home (Procurement and Opening)

At Sandwell Children's Trust, we firmly believe that the voice of the child should be at the centre of everything we do . We are on an ambitious journey to ensure that children and families in Sandwell are safe and empowered to thrive.

Our'Sandwell Deal',brings together our new improved offering that make Sandwell Children's Trust a great place to work; it also sets out our expectations of you as a member of staff.

What we can offer you:-

• Generous annual leave of up to 31 days, plus 5 additional days for long service recognition.
• Your birthday off paid in addition to annual leave entitlement and 8 Bank Holidays, plus a concessionary day at Christmas.
• You will receive a generous local government career average pension scheme with employer contributions of 21.6%.
• We recognise individual loyalty with service awards from 2, 5, 10 and every 5 years onwards.
• Flexible working patterns that suit you and all of our roles have well-defined career progression.
• We provide competitive expenses for both mileage (55p per mile) and subsistence, plus access to a comprehensive employee benefits scheme.

Please visit The Sandwell Deal via this hyperlink

Fixed Term Contract until 31st December 2026

As part of the Trust's Sufficiency Strategy and under the Trust's Transformation Plan Priority 4, it is looking to introduce (in co-ordination with Sandwell MBC) a minimum of two SCT run Children's Residential Homes.

Reporting to the Programme Manager Transformation - Priority 4, the Project Manager will lead and oversee the end-to-end procurement, development and opening of a minimum of two SCT controlled children's residential homes within the Sandwell Borough. Working closely with internal and external stakeholders. The post-holder will ensure the successful delivery of the project by the end of December 2026, within scope, on time, and within budget.

Key responsibilities:

• To research, develop, manage and execute a detail project plan, incorporating timelines, milestones, budget and resource allocation to deliver the Residential Homes by 31 December 2026.
• To provide expertise, resilience and capacity and ensuring that risks and issues are identified, in a high-impact transformation programme (Priority 4 "Integrated Approach to Care") ensuring alignment with the Trust's vision and strategic objective.
• To ensure the delivery of a new service model by April 2026, aligning with SMBC, SCT, DFE and Ofsted frameworks and achieving long-term sustainability.
• To ensure compliance with relevant legislation, regulations and best practices for Children's Residential Care.
• To make sure that the project is aligned and integrated within the Trust and the wide Transformation Plans, maximising their collective impact and management of risks across the programme, ensuring prompt escalation and resolution.
• To drive cost-effective solutions, identifying and delivering significant savings whilst making sure of high service standards.
• To work within the budget restraints as set out in the Trust's MTFP. To work closely with the Programme Manager and other Stakeholders in establishing, agreeing, and monitoring targets for service delivery and management performance for the service.
• To provide additional support to the Programme Manager Transformation - Priority 4 in the delivery of the Trust's Sufficiency Strategy as and when required.
• To Lead the procurement process for identifying and contracting with suitable partners, suppliers, and contractors. This includes the development of procurement specifications and tender documents in collaboration with legal, finance, commissioning and operational teams and to evaluate the bids, negotiate contracts, and manage supplier relationships to ensure value for money and high-quality service delivery.
• Monitor the quality of services provided during the procurement and construction phases.
• Support the development of operational policies, procedures, and training plans in preparation for the home's opening.

Person requirements:

• Proven experience leading and implementing complex, multifaceted transformation project
• Knowledge and expertise within Children Services (or Social Care) Residential Homes and understanding ofOfsted, Residential Homes, compliance requirements and inspection readiness
• Comfortable working within a governance environment, regularly reporting on progress to senior executives and stakeholders and being subject to scrutiny.
• Desired - Appropriate professional project management qualification (such as Prince2, APM or MSP) or equivalent experience.
• Desired - Experience in procurement and contract management.

When people join the team at Sandwell they say it feels like they become part of the family they have . With the work that we have done so far and with the ambitions we have for the future, it's a really exciting time to join Sandwell Children's Trust and to become part of our Family.

So, if you think your future could lie with Sandwell Children's Trust, then we'd love to hear from you.

Sandwell Children's Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable groups including children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. An Enhanced DBS is required for this position.

To apply please click on the link below to complete an application form and view the Sandwell Deal:-