SEND Team Leader

Job Description

Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Salary: PO6£52,584 - £55,620

Contract Type: Full Time/Permanent

Working hours per week: 36

Application Deadline: 11/08/2025

Proposed Interview Date(s): TBC

Reference: 1833

About Us:

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.

We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

About the role:

The purpose of the SEND Team Manager (PO6) role is to lead and manage the delivery of services within the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) service. This will include:

• Leadership & Management: Oversee teams delivering SEND services, ensuring high-quality support for children, young people, and their families.
• Service Delivery: Ensure the effective management of complex caseloads and the provision of specialist support.
• Compliance & Standards: Guarantee that services meet all Council, professional, and legislative standards, including safeguarding protocols.
• Strategic Development: Lead policy development, service improvement, and strategic planning aligned with Council goals and government legislation.
• Partnership Working: Collaborate with internal teams, health services, schools, and external agencies to deliver integrated and person-centred support.
• Performance & Quality Assurance: Monitor team performance, conduct audits, and ensure continuous improvement in service delivery.
• Resource Management: Allocate and manage resources efficiently, including budget responsibilities related to Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).
• Expert Advice & Representation: Provide professional advice to stakeholders and represent the service in tribunals or legal settings when required.

>> Click here to download the Role Profile <<

Key Responsibilities:

• Plan and ensure service delivery meets quality, legislative, and professional standards.
• Develop team plans aligned with strategic business goals.
• Lead policy, systems, and performance criteria development.
• Manage complex and sensitive issues within the service area.
• Provide professional advice and support to colleagues and stakeholders.
• Ensure safeguarding standards are maintained.
• Lead and develop staff to maintain a competent workforce.
• Manage resources to meet service objectives.
• Ensure professional standards in case management and risk management.

Skills and Experience:

• Substantial experience in the service area.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and best practices.
• Ability to lead and manage a specialist team.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Good planning, organizational, and ICT skills

Terms and conditions:

The below terms and conditions apply to this role:

Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;

Satisfactory declaration of interest;

This role is subject to safer recruitment practices as it involves work with children and/ or vulnerable adults;

Satisfactory DBS check;

Suitable driver’s license;

As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This requirement does not refer to any particular English language qualifications, regional or international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not require staff to speak only in English.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.

Contact Information:

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Dorothy Hadleigh at dorothy.hadleigh@walthamforest.gov.uk

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk.

The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.

Click here for further information on the Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.