Graduate SEND Tribunals Officer

Role Responsibility

As our Graduate Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Officer, you’ll be responsible for supporting our Senior Tribunals Officers to manage local authority appeals to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDT).

Your main responsibilities will include drafting responses to appeals on behalf of the local authority and ensuring all judicial deadlines are met. You’ll also support early resolution of appeals where possible through proactive case management, supported by senior officers. From arranging and attending pre-hearing meetings to maintaining positive working relationships with schools, social workers, and voluntary organisations you’ll do everything to ensure that all required evidence is efficiently collected, error-free and presented robustly.

Along with learning the ropes with support from your senior officers, you’ll also have the opportunity to complete a Paralegal Level 3 apprenticeship and work collaboratively with a variety of teams within the local authority and beyond. This role will give you access to the inner workings of Kent County Council, helping you grow your experience and exposing you to a number of possible career paths.

About You

You’ll need a 2:2 degree or equivalent in Education, Criminology or Psychology, along with GCSEs grade A-C (Level 4-9) or equivalent in English Language and Mathematics. With practical experience already from a relevant field, such as working with parents/carers or schools, you’ll bring ready-formed customer or service-user facing skills with you, a current understanding of SEN legislation, and knowledge of data protection, GDPR and confidentiality guidelines.

Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to independently plan your workload to meet specified timescales are a must. You’ll also be energised by working under pressure, able to switch between competing priorities, and comfortable using your initiative. Finally, you’ll have the skills to analyse and interpret information from a wide range of sources, and excellent written and verbal communication skills which mean you can summarise that information concisely.

We are currently operating hybrid working giving the flexibility for individuals to work from home or in one of our reconfigured office buildings.

This post is subject to a Basic Disclosure application to the Disclosure and Barring service.

Interviews will be held between Monday 25th September 2023 and Friday 6th October 2023.

Contact Details

For more information please telephone Clare Blundell on 03000 415 003 or email Clare.Blundell@kent.gov.uk.

About the Company

KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county's working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds and faiths, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

Please note – if you are interested, please apply as soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.