Location: Southwark
Contract: Initial 3-month assignment
Hours: 36 hours per week
Rate: £33 per hour (via umbrella company)
Hybrid: Minimum 2 days in the office, up to 5 when on duty
Southwark Council is seeking a Senior Broker to join our Access to Resources Team (ART) in Children's Services. This is a senior-level role — not an entry point — and we are specifically looking for candidates with significant experience in brokerage, particularly within children’s placements.
About the Role: This fast-paced, high-responsibility role is crucial to ensuring that Southwark’s children and young people are placed in high-quality, proportionate placements that meet their assessed needs and support their development.
You will:
- Respond rapidly to referrals from social work teams
- Source, negotiate, and finalise placements in Supported Accommodation, Residential Care, and Fostering Agencies
- Work within a dynamic market to secure value-for-money placements that are safe, stable, and support outcomes
- Proactively monitor placement sufficiency and alert senior managers to emerging risks or gaps
- Maintain regular contact with providers and undertake Quality Assurance visits
- Liaise with the Fostering Service, Social Workers, and Managers to ensure a coordinated, child-focused approach
- Deliver responsive brokerage, with daily 9AM team meetings to monitor children awaiting placements
- Negotiate placement costs and support packages to ensure financial effectiveness
- Manage contracting, IPA agreements, and Mosaic financial systems
- Provide briefings to management on placement activity, pressures, and risks
- Support improvements in the quality of referrals from social work teams
- Keep comprehensive case records and maintain accurate placement and financial data
- Promote use of internal fostering and family placements to reduce reliance on external options
- Keep updated with legislation, Ofsted guidance, and best practice
- Significant experience as a broker in children's services is essential
- Strong knowledge of the children’s social care market, particularly in placements
- Skilled negotiator with a proactive, solutions-focused mindset
- Capable of working independently while knowing when to escalate or seek advice
- Confident managing competing priorities in a fast-paced environment
- Familiar with Mosaic or similar case management and finance systems
Apply now to make a lasting impact where it matters most.
