Strategic Manager (SEND Development)

Hampshire County Council; Winchester; Hybrid; GBP 54,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading local authority in Hampshire is looking for a Strategic Manager to enhance the delivery of services to children and young people with SEND. This role involves overseeing initiatives and collaborating with various teams to ensure better outcomes. The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of SEND and the educational landscape.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Opportunity for personal development

Supportive work environment

Qualifications

• Understanding and experience of SEND and the education system.
• Experience in managing large initiatives and leading teams.
• Excellence in stakeholder management and relationship building.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the Education Action Area of Local Area SEN work.
• Collaborate with teams to design new areas of work.
• Drive the delivery of the Transforming SEND programme.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder Management

Critical Thinking

Project Management

Education

Degree level education or equivalent

Tools

MS Office

Job description

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Strategic Manager (SEND Development)

Job Reference: HCC621589
Salary Range:£54,539 - £61,124 per annum
Work Location: Elizabeth II Court, Winchester (Hybrid Working)
Hours per week: 37 (part-time hours will be considered)
Contract Type:Permanent
Closing Date:13 July 2025
Interview Date:w/c 14 & 21 July 2025

Do you want to make a difference to the way that Hampshire delivers high quality services to children and young people with SEND?

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an inspirational and motived leader to be part of our team that is focused on improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND in Hampshire. We are looking for a strong leader with an understanding of SEND and the education system, with experience of designing and managing projects and/or initiatives that have led to lasting quantifiable impact.

The Role:

A key part of the role will be to drive the delivery of ourLocal Area SEN actions, and Transforming SEND (TSEND), brought together through the governance of the TSEND board, which you will also manage.

What you’ll do:

• Oversee, co-ordinate & monitor activity and progress of all aspects of the Education Action Area of Local Area SEN work and wider Transforming SEND programme, ensuring that the work delivers improved outcomes.
• Strong leadership and management skills to drive the delivery of the programme and board, including:-
  • Risk management, including mitigation and escalation
  • Oversight and influence of targets and other performance indicators
  • tracking progress against targets and milestones, and managing the DSG to ensure that information supporting cost avoidance is up to date
  • managing the board agenda and papers
• Develop plans to return children to mainstream provision, rebalancing the system so that children are in the right places, with the best provision to meet their needs.
• Collaborating and working with wider teams to design and plan new areas of work in response to identified needs, ensuring that they deliver improved services, experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and align to the Local Area Vision.
• Providing advice, guidance and coaching to colleagues involved in work and projects that report to the TSEND board.
• Oversight of work and projects reporting to the TSEND board to ensure that they remain on track to meet targets and remain on time and within budget.
• Regularly reporting progress as directed to boards, senior leaders and stakeholders.
• Leading defined project work as directed that delivers improved services and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
• Line managing one or more members of the team as directed.

What we’re looking for:

• Degree level educated or equivalent, with understanding and experience of education and SEND.
• Understanding of the SEND landscape in Hampshire and how it relates to the national SEND landscape and DfE agenda.
• A full understanding of the principles governing successful service delivery including ability to build and lead teams, staff deployment, professional development and budget management.
• Experience of leading large and complex initiatives and/or projects, ideally involving multi-disciplinary teams.
• Ability to deal with ambiguity and complexity.
• Solid political awareness and a good understanding of the major issues affecting local government, including their impact on policy and process.
• Strategic thinker supported by excellent interpersonal, stakeholder management and relationship building skills (communication, leadership, influencing).
• Ability to apply critical thinking and analysis to solve complex issues.
• Excellent ability to understand budgets and finance.
• Ability to manage, supervise and coach others.
• Proficiency in MS Office software and other business systems.
• Opportunity to make a real difference to the outcomes of children and young people with SEND across Hampshire.
• Opportunity to further develop your knowledge of SEND and to shape and improve services.
• A commitment to on-the-job personal development.
• Hampshire County Council is recognised nationally as one of the highest performing local authorities in the UK. A modern, forward-looking local authority, it offers a pleasant, supportive, and collaborative working environment.
• Hampshire County Council is also a flexible employer interested in making the most of your skills and offers a great work life balance.

Our benefits package includes details of the holiday entitlement, pension scheme, flexi-time scheme, family friendly policies and interest free travel loans and discounts. We offer a flexible, motivating and inclusive workplace. We have created an environment that you can look forward to being a part of, where you are empowered to be your best and a workplace built on teamwork where people can grow and develop in their roles.

If you think you have what it takes to make a real difference in Hampshire, get in touch!

Please note that under safer recruitment requirements for Children’s Services, references will be requested prior to interview.

Contact Details for an Informal Discussion:

Hampshire County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment.

In order to combat discrimination, no unnecessary conditions or requirements will be applied which could have a disproportionately adverse effect on any one group. All sections of the population will have equal access to jobs. No applicant or employee will receive less favourable treatment because of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership and pregnancy or maternity, unless a Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR) applies.

We are a Disability Confident Employer - committed to ensuring that our recruitment and selection process is inclusive and accessible.