About the role
Are you looking for a new challenge?
Can you make a difference for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability?
The Education Health and Care Team are looking for new EHC Officers to join the Council, as part of our ambitious transformation programme.
The EHC Officer is responsible for ensuring statutory timescales are met for his or her area. This is both statutory assessments and annual reviews.
This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore subject to an enhanced DBS certificate. It is also a regulated activity and will be subject to a Children List check. West Northamptonshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
What will you be doing?
Duties may include:
- Making decisions to agree EHC needs assessments and issuing EHC Plans
- Attending formal mediation
- Managing a team of caseworkers and admin staff
- Making decisions based on annual review reports
- Liaising with schools and other professionals and parents
About you
Successful applicants will have experience of working with families, children and young people in a professional capacity and will need to evidence that they have worked as an effective team member and leader.
You will have significant experience working with children and young people with SEND, and have the skills to empathise, mediate and support families with complex processes, including giving difficult messages. You will need to be able to organise competing priorities.
Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be required to complete a One Page Profile and give a short PowerPoint presentation as part of the selection process.
If you are interested in this exciting opportunity and want to make a real difference to young people and families, we look forward to receiving your application.
If you would like to discuss this position, please email Paulette.Wright@westnorthants.gov.uk
Our benefits
We offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:
- Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 28 days annual leave per year, 29 days for senior managers (pro rata, depending on how many hours per week you work), plus bank holidays. An additional 5 days, linked to continuous service, and ability to purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year.
- Cycle to Work scheme.
- Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.
- Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
- Car Lease scheme
- Payment of professional subscription / membership - If your job description requires that you are registered with or are a member of a professional body, WNC will pay for your professional subscription or membership fees.
- Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
- Commsave- Free membership to Commsave Credit Union who provide a variety of savings accounts, loans, a monthly lottery draw and more!
- Ongoing training and development opportunities.
- A variety of flexible working options to support your work/life balance, including full or part time, term time, 9-day fortnight, etc. (subject to business needs).
- Our West Ways of Working – We want our workforce to thrive, and we equip our employees with the right technology to support hybrid and collaborative working, on or off site, depending on the role.
- Making a difference - If you want to use your skills and experience with an organisation that are genuinely invested in making a difference, are committed to improving people's lives, and whose success has a direct impact on the wellbeing of your family, friends and people in your local area, then West Northamptonshire Council is the place for you.
About us
At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.
Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.
Hear more from our Chief Executive, Anna Earnshaw, about what it's like to work at West Northants Council https://youtu.be/lV0EfeUF4aU
We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential. We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner
The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.
If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email careers@westnorthants.gov.uk for support.
West Northants Council, where careers thrive.
Attached documents
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