Team Manager SENAT

The Opportunity

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

Contract Type: Permanent

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

Location: County Hall, Chichester, with hybrid working

Closing date: 13 April 2026

Interview date: 21 April 2026

Do you have experience of managing and leading a team?

Are you passionate about supporting children and their families?

As Team Manager for the Special Educational Needs Assessment Team (SENAT) you will manage the effective operation and performance of a team of staff within SENAT.

SENAT provides referrals, assessment placements, monitoring and review services for children and young people from 0-25 in accordance with the Children & Families Act 2014 (Part 3) the SEN Code of Practice 2014, Education Act 1996, and related legislation.

You will act as the principal decision maker in respect of children's assessment, the contents of statutory Education Health & Care Plans (EHCPs) and educational placements for children/young people with an EHCP on behalf of WSCC.

You will support the inclusion of children/young people with EHCPs within early years settings, schools, colleges and provision of specialist placements and services. You will act as the Lead Officer and represent WSCC at SEND Tribunals, working directly with parents and young people with SEN in especially complex situations and at all stages of disagreement resolution.

Key responsibilities of this role include:

• Direct responsibility for a small budget (circa £750,000).
• Shaping the future team and service by reviewing and planning development and provision.
• Project management and support.
• Delivering an effective customer service.
• Providing professional advice and guidance.

What You Need To Succeed

We are looking for someone who is a subject matter expert, solution focussed with problem solving skills and is confident in making decisions based off research and knowledge. If you are excellent at communicating, challenging, and influencing others, we would love to hear from you.

For more information on the Responsibilities, Key Skills, Qualifications and/or Experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.

Please refer to the key skills and experience in your cover letter as these will be used for shortlisting criteria.

Experience:

• You must have experience of working within a Statutory SEND service.

Key Skills:

1. Ability to make sound pragmatic problem-solving decisions, which will have a wider service impact. The ability to provide comprehensive professional advice and support within the service specialism, including tackling difficult problems of a technical, professional, resource or people related nature.
2. Excellent communication skills with ability to influence actions by others and negotiate effective business solutions.
3. Research and knowledge management skills.
4. Able to analyse and make judgements based on understanding of principles.
5. Ability to challenge existing practices and identify innovative solutions within the required framework.
6. Ability to set timescales and review effectiveness of service delivery.
7. Effective people management and performance management skills and the ability to provide direction and support to individuals and teams.
8. Ability to apply project management principles and practices.
9. Sound and accurate IT and keyboard skills, for general office duties for example producing reports and undertaking research.

About Us

The Special Educational Needs Assessment Team (SENAT) manages the decisions and processes concerned with statutory education health and care needs assessment process for learners with an education, health, and care plan (EHCP), the placement of children in learning settings and the allocation of resources to settings.

The team considers suitability of and where appropriate arranges the assessment and placement of children, young people, and young adults with special educational needs in accordance with the provisions of the Children and Families Act 2014 (Pt 3, SEN) and associated regulations including the SEN Code of Practice to ensure that the statutory assessment procedures are followed and proposed EHCPs are issued and reviewed within the timescales laid down by the regulations.

This will be achieved through direct work with parents, educational settings, young people, health, Social Care and other external customers and partnership organisations to establish the best ways to support learning for children and Young People (0-25).

For information about SENAT and the different roles within the SEN Assessment Team, please visit West Sussex SEN Assessment Team (SENAT).

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

How to Apply

The reference number for this role is CAFHE06088

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Aaron Swain, Service manager at .

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 three 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.