Project Support Officer - Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

North Northamptonshire Council; Kettering; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A local council in the UK is seeking a Project Support Officer to join their Children's Services Transformation Team. This role involves supporting the SEND Improvement Programme, coordinating project activities, and ensuring inspection readiness. Candidates should have strong organizational skills, experience in project management, and be proficient in Microsoft Excel. The position offers hybrid and flexible working arrangements, generous leave, and opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

Employee Assistance Programme

Wellbeing support

Competitive salary

Pension scheme

Generous leave entitlement

Qualifications

• Highly organised and efficient.
• Proficient in Microsoft applications.
• Resilient and able to work independently.

Responsibilities

• Support delivery of SEND Improvement Programme.
• Coordinate key workstreams and maintain project documentation.
• Monitor progress against improvement actions.

Skills

Excellent organisation and planning skills

Ability to build rapport and credibility with senior managers

Excellent written and verbal communication

Excellent interpersonal skills

Experience of analysing complex processes

Education

Degree level or equivalent NVQ qualification or proven relevant experience

Formal project management training (PRINCE II Foundation or equivalent)

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Do you have experience supporting projects in a large, complex organisation and a passion for improving services for children and young people? We have an exciting opportunity for a Project Support Officer to join our Children's Services Transformation Team, focusing on the delivery of our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Improvement Programme and SEND Priority Action Plan. You will play a key role in supporting inspection readiness and driving improvements that make a real difference. We have an exciting opportunity to recruit a Project Support Officer, to support the delivery of transformation projects within the Children's Services Transformation Programme at North Northamptonshire Council. You will report to the Programme Manager for this service, and will be accountable for a variety of project related activities, supporting strategic projects delivering transformative change across multiple service areas. It would be advantageous if you have understanding of how projects are delivered within complex organisations, including knowledge of project management methodologies, processes and documentation. Above all, we are keen to attract people who, with solid experience of supporting administrative functions and projects within a corporate environment, will embrace the values and behaviours of the Council to support services to innovate and implement improvements which positively impact our service users.

Key Responsibilities

As part of the SEND transformation team you will be supporting the delivery of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Improvement Programme and the SEND Priority Action Plan, working alongside the Programme Manager, Project Managers, and Change & Engagement Manager within the SEND transformation team. Your role will include coordinating key workstreams, maintaining project documentation, monitoring progress against improvement actions, and ensuring evidence and records are prepared for inspection readiness. Please see the attached job description and person specification for full details of the main job accountabilities and essential qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience needed for this role.

We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and are committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process. North Northamptonshire Council re-signed the Armed Forces Covenant in June 2024 and achieved silver status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) and we are now working towards Gold status.

Values

Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services. They are also at the forefront of our decision making and delivery and are:
Customer-focused, Respectful, Efficient, Supportive, Trustworthy

Key Commitments

Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

Qualities & Skills

You are highly organised and efficient. You should be proficient at using Microsoft applications and in particular, be experienced and skilled with Microsoft Excel. You will be resilient and able to work independently from the team, who are working from various locations across North Northamptonshire. You should be approachable and calm and able to prioritise your workload on a daily, if not hourly basis. You will ideally possess the following qualifications:

• Degree level or equivalent NVQ qualification or proven relevant experience of supporting business change
• Formal project management training to at least PRINCE II Foundation level or equivalent

You will possess the following minimum levels of knowledge, skills and experience required for this job:

• Excellent organisation and planning skills
• Ability to build rapport and credibility with senior managers, members and Corporate Directors
• Knowledge of project management and organisational change / efficiency programmes
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to gain the respect of multi professional teams
• Experience of analysing and solving complex process and systems problems and supporting others to develop this skill
• Experience of effectively handling multiple, sometimes competing agendas, meeting challenging deadlines and delivering under pressure

Benefits

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, and supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we're transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You’ll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think! Why choose us? We offer a vibrant working environment with:

• a competitive salary
• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.