Assistant Service Manager – SENDSARS (Locality-Based SEND Reform)

Are you an experienced SEND leader with a strong grasp of statutory responsibilities and a passion for inclusive, place‑based education?

We are seeking an Assistant Service Manager to join our SENDSARS team, providing operational leadership within a locality‑based SEND system. This role is central to embedding SEND reform, strengthening the graduated approach, and improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND aged 0–25.

About the role

This is a critical leadership post within a complex statutory service. You will:

Provide day‑to‑day operational leadership to SEND Inclusion Officers within a defined locality or localities
Oversee the quality, timeliness and compliance of EHC assessments, plans and reviews
Support consistency and confidence in the delivery of the graduated approach, aligned to SEND reform expectations
Lead and support staff through supervision, performance management and reflective practice
Manage and resolve complex and high‑risk cases, including escalation and dispute resolution
Work closely with education, health and care partners to support integrated, locality‑based solutions
Contribute to service improvement, performance monitoring and reform implementation

You will act as a visible and credible leader, supporting schools and partners while maintaining clear accountability for statutory processes.

About the service

The SENDSARS team is responsible for statutory SEND processes, including EHC assessments, planning and placement decisions, working in close partnership with families and a wide range of professionals.

This is a pivotal time for the service as we continue a programme of transformational change, responding to SEND reform and delivering focused improvements following the CQC Local Area SEND inspection. Sheffield is embedding a locality model to:

strengthen early intervention and inclusion,
improve consistency and equity across the city,
and ensure children, young people and families experience a more joined‑up system.

The Assistant Service Manager will play a key role in translating reform principles into high‑quality operational practice at locality level.

About you

We are looking for a leader who:

Has strong experience of statutory SEND processes, including EHC needs assessments and plans
Has an excellent standard of written and verbal communication
Can make sound, lawful decisions in complex and emotionally demanding situations
Understands and champions inclusive education and locality‑based working
Has experience of leading staff and managing performance in a pressured environment
Is confident working across multi‑agency systems and building effective professional relationships
Is organised, resilient and able to lead through change

Experience of contributing to service improvement, SEND reform activity or inspection response work is highly desirable.

Enquiries

For full details, please refer to the job description and person specification.
Informal conversations are warmly welcomed. Please contact the service manager Lisa Eyre on lisa.eyre@sheffield.gov.uk

We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups. We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.

It is a great time to join us and we welcome your application.

Under the Guaranteed Interview scheme, applicants who are disabled, care leavers, or armed forces veterans will be guaranteed an interview if they meet the essential criteria and indicate their eligibility on the application form. Sometimes, if lots of people apply, we might not be able to interview everyone who qualifies for the Guarantee. In these cases, we’ll interview the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all individuals, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for everyone and where appropriate to the role the successful applicant will be required to undertake relevant safeguarding checks.

Full-time employees work 37 hours for 52 weeks of the year and we offer a generous holiday entitlement. We are open to discussions about a wide range of flexible working opportunities which benefit you and the Council, including reduced hour contracts, working part time or as a job share.

If you are appointed to this role, your starting salary will be at the bottom of the grade. If you provide payslip evidence that your basic pay is greater than the bottom of the grade, we will consider starting you at the point of minimum advantage within the grade.

Equality of pay is extremely important to us. All roles at Sheffield City Council are going through an evaluation process which may result in changes to some pay arrangements from 2026. Find out more on our Sheff news page.