Senior Programme Officer (SME Children’s Social Care)

Overview

In this PMO role, you will support the Children in Care sufficiency programme by ensuring the delivery of governance, assurance and evidence-based insights. You will collaborate with social work teams, commissioners and the PMO leadership to keep the workstreams on track and to spot risks early. You will translate complex demand and cost data into clear programme intelligence for senior decision-makers. You will contribute to shaping the council’s strategy for looked after children and placement sufficiency through rigorous reporting and cross-functional coordination. This is an opportunity to help deliver meaningful improvements for children in care in Barnsley through structured, data-guid

Responsibilities

• Maintain programme governance and assurance infrastructure
• Monitor milestones and track progress across the Children in Care workstream
• Analyse complex demand and cost data and translate into actionable insights
• Prepare reports and briefings for senior leadership and gate decisions
• Collaborate with social work teams, commissioners, and PMO leadership to manage risk and drift
• Identify and escalate risks early to prevent issues
• Support the development of internal residential provision and commissioning activities
• Contribute to the overall evidence base and governance for the programme

Key requirements

• Subject matter expertise in looked after children, placement sufficiency or commissioning
• Strong analytical skills with experience handling complex data
• Ability to interpret trends and translate analysis into programme intelligence
• Excellent written communication for reports and leadership briefings
• Understanding of social work practice, commissioning, or programme delivery
• Ability to spot drift and escalate risks proactively
• Experience working with cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders

• Analytical thinking
• Clear written communication
• Stakeholder collaboration
• Data interpretation
• Programme reporting
• Governance and assurance

…