Senior SEN Placement Officer

Job Title: Senior SEN Placement Officer
Starting Salary: £42,839 progressing to £47,181 per annum (pro rata for part time)
Hours: 37.0
Location: Stevenage
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Childrens Services

About the team

The Brokerage Accommodation Team sits within Children’s Services and plays a vital role in supporting children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), particularly those who are Looked After Children (CLA). The team is responsible for sourcing and managing bespoke educational placements that meet complex needs, ensuring quality, compliance, and value for money.

The vision of the service is to deliver timely, well-matched placements that improve outcomes for children and young people, while promoting inclusion and safeguarding. The goal is to shape a responsive and intelligent commissioning approach that integrates education, social care, and market providers.

The Senior SEN Placement Officer role is central to this team, acting as a specialist broker and interface between internal departments and external providers. The team also includes roles focused on CLA placements, contract management, and quality assurance, creating a dynamic and collaborative environment.

This role interacts frequently with:

• Commissioning
• Education and Learning
• Social Care
• Independent Specialist Schools
• Multi-agency panels (e.g., SEND Extra Panel, PARP)

The role is well-established, but there is significant scope for the postholder to shape future practices, especially in market intelligence, service development, and integrated pathways for SEND children who are looked after.

About the role

This role involves a range of specialist tasks with direct impact on service delivery and outcomes:

• Broker specialist educational placements for children and young people with SEND, ensuring quality, compliance, and value for money.
• Consult with providers and negotiate costs for education and support packages.
• Gather and assess information on children’s needs to identify suitable placements within required timescales.
• Advise lead professionals on placement options, including quality assessments and cost-benefit analysis.
• Build and maintain relationships with independent specialist schools and key stakeholders.
• Support contract management, quality assurance, and performance monitoring of providers.
• Participate in multi-agency panels and contribute to strategic placement decisions.
• Record and communicate activity effectively across departments to ensure continuity of casework.
• Lead and support staff, contributing to team development and service improvement.

About you

We are looking for someone with a strong blend of leadership, specialist knowledge, and practical experience.

Essential:

• Demonstrable ability to lead and motivate staff, promoting effective service change.
• Evidence of working with SEND and inclusion at both policy and operational levels.
• Experience of multi-professional collaboration and working directly with families.
• Strong negotiation and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and report-writing abilities.
• Detailed knowledge of the Children & Families Act 2014, SEND Code of Practice, and Education Act 1996.
• Experience managing large budgets and using financial/IT systems.
• Understanding of contract regulations and quality monitoring.

Desirable:

• Supervisory experience in school or education services.
• Experience producing management reports using data and information sources.
• Familiarity with market shaping and provider relationship management.

This is a rewarding and impactful role for someone passionate about improving outcomes for children with SEND. You’ll be at the heart of shaping placement strategies, influencing service development, and driving quality improvements.

It’s an excellent opportunity for career development, offering exposure to strategic commissioning, multi-agency working, and leadership responsibilities. The role is fundamental in exactly shaping change across SEND services and ensuring that children receive the best possible support tailored to their needs.

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

This job role is within the Operational Services, level OPS1 job profile. Please locate this via:

Job profiles - Operational services

To hear more about this opportunity please contact Sha-Lee Worrell (sha-lee.worrell@hertfordshire.gov.uk)

Interview Date: 27th January 2025

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.

Additional information

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.

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.