SEND Operational Lead

Hackney Council | Education & SEND Services
£347.67 Day (Umbrella)

Hackney Council is seeking an experienced and values‑driven SEND Operational Lead to play a pivotal role in delivering high‑quality statutory SEND services for children and young people across the borough.

This is a senior operational leadership role with responsibility for overseeing the Education, Health and Care (EHC) process, SEND provision and placements, ensuring Hackney meets its statutory duties under the Children and Families Act 2014 while keeping children, young people and their families at the heart of everything we do.

As SEND Operational Lead, you will lead and manage SEND operational services on behalf of the Council, ensuring that processes are effective, compliant and centred around positive outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

You will:

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across SEND services, including EHC assessment and planning, provision and placements
• Ensure EHC Needs Assessments are completed on time and that EHC Plans are consistently high quality
• Oversee service performance, quality assurance and continuous improvement
• Work closely with the Head of SEND to ensure children and young people with SEND make good progress towards agreed outcomes
• Lead on complex casework, complaints, member enquiries, tribunals and statutory returns
• Manage significant budgets, ensuring effective use of High Needs funding
• Build strong partnerships with families, schools, health colleagues, commissioners and wider stakeholders, including representation at Pan‑London and national forums
• Lead, support and develop a multi‑disciplinary operational team to deliver excellent services

You will be an experienced senior SEND professional with a strong operational background and a deep understanding of statutory SEND processes.

You will bring:

• Qualified to Degree level or to demonstrate substantial level of experience in SEND
• Significant experience working at a senior leadership level across SEND services
• Expert working knowledge of the Children and Families Act 2014, SEND Code of Practice and associated legislation
• Experience of managing complex statutory processes and service performance
• Strong people‑management skills, with the ability to motivate and develop diverse teams
• Confidence working with complex budgets and High Needs funding
• Excellent relationship‑building skills, with experience of working collaboratively with families, education settings, health partners and other stakeholders
• The ability to use performance data and management information to drive service improvement

You'll also demonstrate Hackney's leadership qualities, including resilience, credibility, self‑awareness and a strong sense of purpose.

To Apply:

Get in touch with Jordan Peat, (url removed) to apply

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