Early Years Expert at Hand Advisor

Leicestershire County Council; Glenfield; On-site; GBP 41,000 - 44,000; Full time

Job summary

Leicestershire County Council is recruiting an Early Years Expert at Hand Advisor to support developmentally young children across settings and schools. You will promote inclusion, welfare and education, providing guidance to families and professionals and ensuring high-quality practice.

You will model strategies, travel between venues, and participate in training as part of ongoing professional development within the SEND Inclusion Team.

Qualifications

• Hold a relevant level 6 qualification in Early Years with evidence of SEND professional development.
• Excellent knowledge of school readiness and ways to support settings, schools and families to help development.
• Experience observing and evaluating quality learning and providing feedback to staff.
• Well developed organisational skills and willingness to travel to appointments and venues.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills to engage schools and settings during challenging circumstances.
• Ability to promote inclusion by modelling best practice and providing guidance to Early Years settings.
• Active listening to gain trust and respect in the role.

Responsibilities

• Model strategies and advise settings and schools to support developmentally young children.
• Support schools and childcare sectors to develop inclusive provision and curriculum.
• Offer advice and guidance to parents and professionals and signpost to other support agencies.
• Keep records as required by senior SEND advisors.
• Travel to various locations and occasional after-hours work.
• Attend training courses and meetings as required by the service.

Skills

Communication skills

Listening

Relationship building

Flexibility travel

Teamwork

Education

Level 6 Early Years qualification

Job description

Job Description

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: County Hall, Glenfield, LE3 8RA

Salary: £41,259 - £44,109 per annum (pro-rata for part-time)

Working Hours: 37 hours per week

Contract Type: Fixed term until March 31st 2029

Closing Date: 28th September 2026

Interview Date(s): 7th/8th October 2026

We have an exciting opportunity for you to join our Early Years, Inclusion and Childcare Service as an Early Years Expert at Hand Advisor.

About the Role

The post will allow you the opportunity to join and work with a highly skilled, enthusiastic team. This is a new role created to support early years and developmentally young children as part of the SEND reform, Expert at Hands. You will be supporting the work of settings and schools in promoting the education, development, welfare and inclusion of developmentally young children.

If you are passionate about supporting children with additional needs this is the perfect job for you.

Key Responsibilities

• To model strategies and give advice for settings and schools to support to developmentally young children
• To support schools and the childcare sector to develop high quality inclusive provision and appropriate curriculum
• To offer advice and guidance parents and professionals in meeting the special education needs of children and signpost to other support agencies including the family hubs
• To keep records as required by the Senior SEND Advisors.
• The nature of the work may involve the jobholder carrying out work outside of normal working hours
• The post holder may be required to attend, from time to time, training courses, conferences, seminars or other meetings as required by his/ her own training needs and the needs of the service
• An ability and willingness to travel to various locations.

If you are passionate about supporting children with additional needs this is the perfect job for you.

About You

To apply for this post

• Hold a relevant level 6 qualification in Early Years (e.g. Qualified Early Years Teacher, Early Years Professional) with evidence of further appropriate SEND professional development.
• Excellent knowledge of school readiness and ways to supports settings, schools and families to help children who are developmentally young by advising and implementing effective strategies to support their learning and development.
• Experience of observing and evaluating the quality learning and providing feedback to staff to help children's learning.
• Well developed personal organisational skills, with the flexibility and willingness to travel to appointments and a range of venues as required.
• Excellent communication, listening and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage and support schools and settings during challenging circumstances.
• Ability to promote inclusion by modelling best practice, sharing expertise and providing guidance to Early Years settings and schools.
• To be an active listener to gain trust and respect from those you work with.

An enhanced with barred list DBS check is required for this post.

For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex-offenders, please see our policy statement.

In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our residents. You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process.

Interested in Flexible Working?

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term-time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.

For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:

Ruth Melluish - Team Manager (Early Years SEND Inclusion Team)

Telephone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

About Us

About Leicestershire County Council

At Leicestershire County Council, we're committed to making a real difference in people's lives. Our aim is to work with communities and partners to deliver public services that make Leicestershire the best possible place to live and work for everyone.

Our employees play a key role in supporting this goal and helping us deliver the vital services we provide to the people of Leicestershire. Whether you're starting your career or looking for your next challenge, you'll find a place with us where your ideas are valued, and your work has purpose.

For further information on what it's like to work for us and the benefits we offer, please refer to the following:

Our Recruitment Process

Our Organisational Values

Our Employee Benefits

Working for Us