Tribunals Officer

Job Title: Tribunals Officer
Starting Salary: £37,035 per annum, progressing to £40,476 per annum
Hours: 37.0
Location: Stevenage or Hemel Hempstead with travel countywide
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Childrens Services

About the team

Join us as a Tribunal Officer and play a key role in supporting our diverse community by ensuring fair resolutions for everyone. Our goal is to create a tribunal service that is accessible, transparent, and efficient. You'll be an essential part of our team, collaborating with Parents/Carers/YPs, schools and other key stakeholders both internal and external within the statutory and legal framework related to the SEND process. While our team is well-established, we're always seeking new ways to innovate and improve. 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 varied role with families and young people, at the core of what you do, you will focus on the following:

• Casework: You will handle high-quality casework, encouraging resolution and reconciliation for appeals received by the Tribunal.
• Representation: You will represent the Local Authority at the Special Educational Needs and Disability First Tier Tribunal, defending the proposed service provision for individual children and young people.
• Coordination: You will coordinate robust multi-agency plans, using your negotiation and influencing skills to work with parents, schools, and multi-disciplinary practitioners, defending the appropriateness of provision for the child.
• Development: You will develop the multi-agency response to a Tribunal, including creating chronologies, chairing and arranging conferences and multi-agency meetings, and compiling other tribunal paperwork.
• 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 Criteria

The ideal post holder will demonstrate:

• An extensive background working in SEND 2-3 years' experience of working in or aligned to SEND with an awareness of the services provided.
• Previous experience of working within complex systems and processes, preferably in a children's services or legal setting.
• Previous experience of working with families or young people.
• Exceptional skill in building and maintaining relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders, and ability to negotiate and influence.
• Knowledge of law and procedures governing statutory assessment including the Children and Families Act 2014, SEN Code of Practice 2014 and the Equalities Act2010.
• Excellent organisation skills including an ability to work unsupervised, systematically and an ability to manage constraints and conflicting demands and work to tight deadlines.
• Excellent customer service skills using verbal and written communication methods.
• Excellent IT skills including the ability to compile reports, analyse data and ensure the respective database is used to plan and monitor to meet statutory deadlines.
• They have the experience and expertise to liaise with multi- disciplinary agencies, parents and carers.
• They hold a recognised vocational or professional qualification plus broad experience in area of expertise, and/or a degree and significant experience relating to SEND.
• They hold a driving licence and will attend the office as required.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of Tribunals including representing at the same.
• Will have full knowledge of the law in this area including up to date knowledge of recent caselaw.

This role offers rewarding challenges, such as navigating complex cases and making a tangible difference in the lives of children and young people. It's an excellent opportunity for career development, providing valuable experience in legal representation and multi-agency coordination. As a Tribunal Officer, you will play a fundamental role in driving positive change within the SEND community, ensuring that every child receives the support they need. Join us and be a part of a team dedicated to making a lasting impact.

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 for an informal discussion about the role.

Interview Date: w/c 9th December 2024

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.

Driving required
You'll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport or a company car to travel to other locations.

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.