Mediation and Tribunal Manager

Mediation and Tribunal Manager
MB4 (£46,479 - £53,051)
37 Hours, Full Time
Permanent
Hybrid Stopford House, Stockport, with travel between Stockport sites and regular visits to schools or work sites across the borough or regionally. A minimum level of office presence is required of 2 days per week

Application Deadline: 11:59pm 6th December 2026
Please be aware that we may close this vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Shortlisting Date: w/c 7th Dec
Interview Date: w/c 14th Dec
Interview Type: In-person interview and assessment

Join us at Stockport Council Best for Inclusion winner at the Greater Manchester Good Employment Awards 2026

Your Role

We are looking for a Mediation and Tribunal Manager to join our team. You will help secure positive outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). As Mediation and Tribunal Manager, you’ll lead complex appeal casework, prepare robust, well-evidenced submissions and represent Stockport Council at SEND Tribunal hearings.

Working with families, schools, legal services and other professionals, you’ll promote early resolution, lead mediation and negotiations, and ensure statutory deadlines are met. You’ll coach colleagues across the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) service, respond to complaints and use learning from disputes and tribunal outcomes to strengthen practice, improve services and uphold children’s and young people’s rights.

About You

You’ll bring experience of managing SEND services, leading professionals and preparing cases and representing families or a local authority at SEND Tribunals. You’ll have thorough, up-to-date knowledge of SEND legislation, statutory guidance and tribunal procedures, alongside strong negotiation, advocacy and professional writing skills. Collaborative, resilient and organised, you’ll manage competing priorities, make sound decisions from complex evidence and build respectful relationships with families and partners. You’ll demonstrate ongoing professional development, plus management and relevant SEND legal qualifications or training, or a commitment to work towards them. Above all, you’ll keep children, young people and families at the heart of your work.

About Us

Join the EHCP Team within Children’s Services Education and help shape how Stockport resolves SEND disputes. This role combines complex casework with the opportunity to influence strategic practice, develop colleagues and turn learning from mediation and tribunals into service improvements. You’ll work across education, health and other partner services, promoting co-production with children, young people and families. Based at Stopford House, the role offers hybrid working with required office attendance and travel. We value teamwork, ambition and respect, and are committed to wellbeing and inclusion, including reasonable adjustments to support colleagues with disabilities.

At Stockport Council we are one ambitious team on a mission to create opportunities for everyone who lives, works and spends time in the borough. Working at Stockport Council means contributing to one of the most thriving towns in the North. We’re keen to recruit people with the right values and behaviours that can help us ensure our workplace values are at the heart of everything we do.

We are proud to be recognised under the Good Employment Charter as an organisation committed to the wellbeing of our colleagues. As members of the charter, we have been recognised as a great place to work for all colleagues and pledge to pay the real living wage, engage staff in key decisions and endorse fair and flexible working conditions.

If you would like to find out more about the role, please contact Christopher Harland at christopher.harland@stockport.gov.uk for an informal discussion.

Stockport Council holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not currently qualify.

Please note that we have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers and ex-military personnel. As part of the Guaranteed Assessment Scheme you will therefore be guaranteed to be shortlisted for Assessment if you meet both the criteria for the scheme and the essential job role criteria.

Find out if you meet the criteria here: https://www.greater.jobs/our-guaranteed-assessment-scheme

If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme, please indicate this within the ‘About You’ or ‘Supporting Statement’ section of your application. Please also email recruitment@stockport.gov.uk.

Privacy Notice

Eligible at-risk employees are entitled to have their applications considered ahead of internal employees in line with the Council’s Recruitment and Selection Policy. At risk employees are either employees in the last three months of their fixed term contract, or those who have been notified in writing that they are at risk by Human Resources following an employee consultation meeting. Employees wishing to be considered as an at-risk applicant are requested to email recruitment@stockport.gov.uk to inform Human Resources. At risk applications are only permitted for opportunities at the employees’ current grade or grades below.

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Stockport Council is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive workforce culture - a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and communities to join our workforce.

We want our employees to have a good work life balance and in many job roles we can offer a range of flexible/hybrid working arrangements. We also have inclusive employment policies and staff engagement forums to support our diverse workforce. We will listen to, learn from, and develop our workforce.

Supporting Documents