Tribunal Support Specialist

Fixed Term, Full Time

£25,959 to £27,613 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Closing Date: 28th April 2026

This position has been classed as an anywhere worker role but has an expectation that the successful candidate will attend the office, in Chelmsford 2-3 days per month, with the remaining time for visiting sites and remote working if desired, in line with the organisation’s needs.

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The Opportunity

The Tribunal Support Specialist provides vital administration and support to the SEND Tribunal Team, playing a pivotal role in ensuring the smooth operation of our tribunal services. 

You can expect to collaborate with our dedicated Tribunal Officers and the wider SEND Teams, assisting them in handling SEND Tribunal appeals.

Your organisational skills and attention to detail will be invaluable in meeting tight deadlines. We are looking for someone who is highly organised and possesses excellent IT and problem-solving skills.  You will be confident in dealing with professionals and members of the public on the telephone. You will be required to deal with highly sensitive and confidential information.

Accountabilities

First point of contact for schools, stakeholders and members of the public contacting the Tribunal Team. Assessing and prioritising a range of queries by telephone and email in a courteous, prompt and efficient manner, responding directly or referring them to the appropriate person or team. Track and monitor the Tribunal Team inbox.
Use skills to provide a comprehensive support service to the Tribunal Team, allocating work to other support staff where appropriate, reviewing all correspondence and tracking replies within the appropriate timescales.
Collate, prepare, print and send the legal bundles by email or post for the Tribunal Team ensuring that all Tribunal Service deadlines are adhered to.
Provide day to day administrative functions, using ECC office systems, maintain, monitor, and ensure records are accurate and current. This includes, but is not limited to, coordinating the team calendar ensuring court deadlines are accurate and updated. Planning and organise meetings on behalf of Tribunal Officers. Provide information for Subject Access Requests and Freedom of Information requests.
Register new appeals on the database and set up all associated folders in readiness for allocation of appeals to officers. Close appeals and archive folders.

Ensure that business systems are kept up to date and that all key information about an appeal is recorded at the time of notification. Update, modify and retrieve data on both manual and computerised systems, assist in preparing standard and non-standard reports, cross-checking data held on different systems to ensure accuracy.
Be responsible for personal continued learning and development to maintain a commensurate level of understanding of ECC policies and maintaining the necessary skills to use new systems and software when introduced.

The Experience You Will Bring

GCSE level (Grades A-C including English) or equivalent NVQ 3.
Proven IT skills including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Evidence in use of databases, spreadsheets (preferably Excel) and word processing (preferably MS word) to support data analysis and reporting requirements within given timescales.
Evidence in using case management systems.
Experience of working on own initiative and organising workload to achieve deadlines within an administration environment.
Experience of partnership working and dealing with the public.
Experience of working within an administrative environment.
Good communication and interpersonal skills.
Ability to take a proactive approach to problem solving, act calmly under pressure and respect confidentiality.
Excellent IT skills and ability to provide reports and analyse accurate data.
Ability to organise and prioritise workload to achieve deadlines.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR) on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wider operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond, transporting service users and their belongings and to be able to do so in an emergency. Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email jamielea.wallis@essex.gov.uk

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