Principal School Transport Officer

The Opportunity

Salary: Hay A £55,057 to £58,829 per annum

Contract Type: Fixed Term / Secondment until 31 December 2027

Working Pattern: 37 hours per week, full time, Monday to Friday

Location: County Hall Chichester

Please note: Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you discuss and agree this with your manager before applying.

Closing date: Wednesday 28 January 2026

Interview date: Thursday 05 February 2026

Make a Difference Every Day

Help shape the future of school transport in West Sussex. This is your opportunity to lead a vital service that ensures thousands of children and young people get to school safely and efficiently. As Principal School Transport Officer, you'll take the strategic lead on policy, planning, and delivery for a £20m service that underpins education across the county.

The Role

This is a senior leadership position where you will:

• Drive Strategy: Develop and implement school transport policies aligned with council objectives.
• Manage Resources: Oversee a £20m budget, ensuring efficiency and value for money.
• Influence and Collaborate: Work closely with schools, parents, transport operators, elected members, and colleagues across the council.
• Solve Complex Challenges: Apply policy to sensitive cases, including those involving children with special educational needs.

You'll be the professional lead for school transport, advising members and managers, analysing service provision, and shaping long-term strategy. This is not a route-planning role - it's about leadership, innovation, and impact.

This role requires lengthy periods of concentrated mental attention to prepare budgetary reports, school transport appeals, input, and update pupil data.

About You

This role requires you to have knowledge and/or understanding of Local Authorities, Home to School Transport, Special Educational Needs (SEN) transport provision for children educated other than at school, post 16 transport policy, and the School Crossing Patrol service.

We're looking for a strategic thinker and strong leader who can:

• Make sound, pragmatic decisions with wide service impact.
• Influence and negotiate effectively at senior levels.
• Analyse complex data and produce clear, actionable reports.
• Lead and motivate teams, driving performance and innovation.
• Manage significant budgets and deliver results under pressure.

Essential qualifications and experience:

• Degree-level qualification or equivalent experience.
• Extensive leadership experience within a statutory agency setting.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and policy.
• Proven ability to work in partnership with diverse stakeholders.

For more information on the Key Skills, Qualifications and/or Experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached. Please refer to the key skills in your cover letter as these will be used for shortlisting criteria.

About Us

The School Transport service is part of the Education & Skills Directorate. This function has responsibility for Local Authority statutory and non-statutory functions including corporate capital programmes, Place Planning, Admissions, Home to School Transport, Children Missing in Education, Attendance and Investigations, Elective Home Education, the Family Information Service, Free Entitlement and SENDIAS (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information and Support service).

A key outcome is for children and young people across West Sussex to be ready for school and work. This requires strong collaboration across the Department and wider Council in planning for sufficiency of quality education places in the early years, in schools, and in post 16 provision.

For more information about West Sussex County Council, please visit our WSCC About Us page.

Benefits

As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance, and are rewarded for the work they do.

For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.

Upon joining us you will have access to a range of benefits including the following:

Employer Pension Contribution: 18.70% (this alters per annum on the 1 April each year).

Annual leave: 30 days holiday + Bank Holidays = 38 days

Professional Development: Opportunities to grow and develop your career.

Flexible Working: Hybrid options to support work-life balance.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CAFHE06086.

For an informal conversation about the role, contact Graham Olway, Head of Service for Organisation & Planning, at

How to Apply

To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter.

In your cover letter please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.

This post is subject to a basic DBS check, five years referencing, and an occupational health check.

Equity, inclusion, and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.