SEND Tribunals and Complaints Service Manager

This role has a starting salary of £73,317 per annum, based on a 36-hour working week.

We are excited to be hiring a Service Manager to join our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) service.

This role is based in Woking and will require the post holder to work from the office or visit schools and settings for the majority of the working week, with some flexibility for agile working. You must be able to travel to schools and settings at short notice where the need arises.

Our Offer to You

26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service (prorated for part time staff)
Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
A generous local government salary related pension
Up to 5 days of carer's leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents.

About the Team

At Surrey, we are committed to ensuring that all children and young people with SEND receive an outstanding service, and we are well on our journey towards achieving this. We encourage our SEND and Inclusion Services to work closely and collaboratively to deliver timely and purposeful casework that supports the best possible outcomes for vulnerable children and young people. Relational and restorative working practices underpin our work with stakeholders, partners, children, young people and families.

About the Role

This role will provide strategic leadership and operational oversight across key areas of the SEND service, with a particular focus on strengthening service-user experience, supporting effective business-as-usual delivery, and contributing to continuous improvement across statutory SEND functions.

Key responsibilities include:

The development and implementation of a complaints prevention and resolution strategy, ensuring timely, effective and person-centred responses to parents, carers and stakeholders, while working closely with relevant service managers to reduce escalation and improve customer experience.
The oversight of SEND complaints, enquiries and dispute resolution, identifying learning from complaints and embedding continuous service improvement across SEND.
The development and implementation of the SEND customer journey strategy, ensuring children and young people, parents, carers and education providers are appropriately supported through the statutory SEND process and that EHCPs are co-produced.
The leadership and management of Mediation and Dispute Resolution Services, promoting early resolution of concerns and reducing escalation to formal complaints and tribunal activity.
The development and implementation of relational and restorative practice across the SEND service, strengthening relationships with families, schools and partner agencies.
The oversight of SEND responses to Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) enquiries and recommendations, ensuring risks are effectively managed and lessons learned are embedded.
The monitoring and reporting of key performance indicators relating to communications, complaints, dispute resolution, Ombudsman activity and tribunal trends.
Acting as a key point of contact for service users and, as a SEND Service Manager, contributing to the wider business-as-usual effectiveness of the SEND service by supporting clear communication, responsive practice and joined-up working across teams.

Working as part of the SEND senior leadership team, you will contribute to the strategic development, operational effectiveness and continuous improvement of SEND services. This will include supporting statutory compliance, driving service transformation, contributing to improvement programmes, and providing expert advice on SEND legislation, disputes and tribunal practice. You will also represent the Local Authority at partnership forums and help manage emerging operational, legal and reputational risks.

You will provide leadership for the SEND Tribunal,…