SEND Tribunal Officer

Job Title: SEND Tribunal Officer
Starting Salary: £37,035 progressing to £40,476 pa
Hours: 37.0
Location: Based at Stevenage or Hemel Hempstead with travel countywide
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Childrens Services

About the team

Do you have a high level of experience in SEND? Are you looking for your next development opportunity?

Are you looking to advance your career and gain valuable experience in legal representation and multi-agency working? This role offers an excellent opportunity to do just that. With comprehensive support and training, you'll be well-equipped to succeed and contribute to ensuring every child receives the support they need.
This position is perfect for an EHC Officer or someone in a similar role who is ready to step up and broaden their experience in the tribunal area.

Our goal is to create a tribunal service that is accessible, transparent, efficient and fair for everyone. You'll be an essential part of our team, collaborating with parents, carers, young people, schools and other key stakeholders within the SEND statutory and legal framework. You'll join a well-established team, who are always seeking new ways to innovate and improve, and your input will be crucial in shaping the future of our service to meet the evolving needs of our SEND community.

About the role

This is an exciting and varied role, placing families and young people at the core of what you do.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Casework: You will ensure high-quality casework is carried out in relation to the cases held, encouraging resolution and reconciliation for appeals received from the Tribunal.
• Representation: You will represent the Local Authority at the Special Educational Needs and Disability First Tier Tribunal.
• Coordination: You will use your negotiation and influencing skills to work with parents, schools, and multi-disciplinary practitioners to seek resolution to the appeal.
• Development: You will develop the multi-agency response to a Tribunal, including creating chronologies, arranging and chairing case planning meetings and other multi-agency meetings, and preparing and collating evidence to support the Local Authority's position.
• Policy Contribution: You will contribute to the development of policies, procedures, and provisions for children with SEN. This includes staying updated on SEN casework, national legislation changes, and departmental policies, as well as supporting the induction, training, and support of team members.
• Database Management: You will input and maintain accurate and comprehensive database records as required and participate in the Local Authority's systems for monitoring and quality assurance for children and young people in appeal.

About you

Essential:

• A high level of experience working with families or children in or aligned to SEND with extensive experience of the statutory EHCP process (2-3 years plus).
• A high level of experience working with both internal and external agencies across the SEND Partnership.
• A good working knowledge of the law governing SEND.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Ability to facilitate dialogue, promoting collaboration and resolving disputes through influence and negotiation.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent organisation skills and ability to work unsupervised, managing multiple cases to tight deadlines.
• Ability to remain resilient when under pressure while navigating complex issues and challenges.
• Excellent IT skills.
• Ability and willingness to travel across Hertfordshire for meetings as needed.

Desirable:

• Experience of advocacy and representing at Tribunals or similar.
• Knowledge of relevant case law.
• A qualification relating to SEND.

This job role is within the Health and Social Care Services, level HSC10 job profile. Please locate this via:

Job profiles - Health and social care

To hear more about this opportunity please contact vanessa.croxford@hertfordshire.gov.uk or hilary.evans@hertfordshire.gov.uk for an informal discussion about the role.

Interview Date: 5th March

Benefits of working for us



How to apply

As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.

Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

Safeguarding
This role has been identified as requiring a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.