Service Manager – SENDSAR (Dispute Resolution)

Sheffield City Council

We are seeking an experienced and motivated Service Manager to lead Sheffield’s SEND Statutory Assessment and Review Service (SENDSAR) with a focus on dispute resolution, mediation and tribunal activity.

This is a key leadership role within Sheffield’s SEND service, with responsibility for overseeing statutory processes where there is disagreement or challenge, ensuring the Local Authority meets its legal duties while working constructively with families and partners to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

About the role

You will provide strategic and operational leadership for SENDSAR’s dispute resolution function, ensuring a strong focus on partnership working, early resolution and high-quality statutory practice.

You will:

Lead the service’s approach to SEND disputes, mediation and SEND Tribunal activity
Provide oversight and management of complex and high-profile cases
Ensure statutory processes are delivered in line with the Children and Families Act 2014, SEND Code of Practice and legal timescales
Work closely with schools, families, health and social care partners to resolve concerns at the earliest opportunity
Lead and support managers and staff across SENDSAR to ensure consistent, high-quality decision making
Coordinate responses to appeals, complaints and mediation, ensuring accurate and timely submissions
Provide strategic advice to senior leaders and elected members on SEND dispute trends, risk and service development
Use learning from complaints, mediation and tribunals to strengthen practice and improve outcomes across the service
Support wider SEND transformation and continuous improvement activity across Sheffield

About you

We are looking for someone with:

Significant experience of SEND statutory processes and legal frameworks
Strong knowledge of mediation, SEND Tribunal processes and dispute resolution
Leadership experience in SEND, education or children’s services
A strong commitment to inclusive education and improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND
Excellent communication, negotiation and relationship-building skills
Experience of working effectively across education, health and care
Confidence managing complex situations and balancing competing priorities
The ability to analyse information, assess risk and make informed decisions
Strong organisational skills and the ability to lead teams through change and service improvement

Most importantly, you will be collaborative, solution-focused and committed to working with families and partners to resolve issues constructively while maintaining a clear focus on children and young people’s needs.

Join us

This is an exciting opportunity to lead an important area of Sheffield’s SEND service at a time of improvement and development. If you are passionate about inclusive practice, experienced in SEND statutory work and committed to building positive relationships that deliver better outcomes, we would love to hear from you.

For further information, please refer to the job description and person specification attached to this advert. Any enquiries can be answered by emailing Jo.Laidlaw@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.

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.

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.