JOB DESCRIPTION
Post 1: Enhanced Support Model Implementation Lead
Post 2: Special Schools’ and Specialist Provisions’ Development Lead
Reports to: Director SEN Transformation (Post 1)
Director of Special Education (Post 2)
LEADERSHIP
Heads of Service are responsible for working flexibly and collaboratively with the relevant Chief Officer and Directors to provide leadership to the EA’s services and functions. Heads of Service are responsible for overseeing the delivery of high-quality, efficient services; ensuring alignment across directorates; leading service improvement initiatives; and contributing to corporate programmes and projects.
These positions demand demonstrated expertise in leadership and effective collaboration to ensure that our services enable schools to achieve optimal outcomes for children and young people.
In this context, the roles have responsibility for the following:
- As a member of the directorate’s senior management team, streamline structures, leverage strengths, and enhance EA as an excellent place to work.
- Provide effective services to schools and other stakeholders, while implementing projects and programs that align with EA's priorities, business plan, and both directorate and service-level objectives.
- Work collectively with other Heads of Service to inform, align, agree and progress corporate and directorate priorities.
- Support the Directors to ensure that the optimum structures are in place for the directorate and delivering any changes required to deliver these structures,
- Provide directorate and service-level leadership to empower and develop managers and staff and develop a culture of improvement and operational excellence.
- Assist the Directors in providing reviews of EA’s essential operations and current challenges to help create a more equitable organisational structure.
- Advance EA’s medium-term objectives for sustainability by ensuring that directorate and service delivery models are consistently aligned with its vision and strategic priorities.
- Provide support to Chief Officers and Directors in prioritisation of EA’s activities to determine which are essential and which may need to be discontinued, paused or reconfigured.
- Ensure that the service’s annual budget allocation is effectively managed.
- Ensure proactive performance management of services by implementing performance indicators. Promote a performance management culture through team and individual accountability.
- Work collaboratively with stakeholders including partners across the education sector, governing bodies, school leaders, trade unions, elected representatives, other related agencies, the media and the public.
- Maximise opportunities for improvements while promoting innovation and risk appetite.
- Provide leadership for any projects relating to the service’s delivery model while ensuring that EA adheres to relevant legislation and standards.
- Ensure that service delivery is shaped by service user input.
- Advise Chief Officers and Directors on policy issues and contribute to policy reviews in collaboration with counterparts in the Department of Education.
The above responsibilities apply to all Heads of Service.Whilst initially appointed to a specific post there may be opportunities to move to another position at grade in any directorate where there is a match between individual skill sets and experience, providing personal development opportunities for a wide-ranging and varied career and supporting the organisation in the most effective use of strategic leadership experience at this tier.
Key areas of focus for the post
The vision for SEN Transformation is to ensure that all children and young people with special educational needs can reach the maximum outcomes throughout their educational journey. That means that we will tailor services to meet the needs of the children and young people who need the services.
To reach this point we need to change the approach to supporting children with SEN, we need to listen to the expertise (teachers, principals and others) who deliver education on a day to day basis, we need to understand best practice through research and comparative studies with other jurisdictions, and we need to understand the needs of our children and young people with SEN.
In practice this means:
· A system that identifies the specific intervention required for the child to have the best education possible.
· A system that empowers local decision making to meet the needs of the children in local schools, disregarding of stage on the Code of Practice.
· A support offer which provides the options to meet the local need, across all stages of the Code of Practice.
Enhanced Support Model Implementation Lead
As Implementation Lead, you will be responsible for leading the end-to-end implementation of SEN Transformation Projects across the region, overseeing the development of operational frameworks, guidance and delivery structures to support a consistent, needs-led approach. You will drive cross-directorate and multi-agency collaboration, ensuring effective integration with education, health and partner services, while engaging proactively with schools, stakeholders and the workforce to support cultural and practice change. You will establish robust governance, performance monitoring and quality assurance arrangements, manage risks and resources, and ensure that implementation is aligned to strategic objectives, delivers measurable improvements in outcomes for children and young people with SEN, and supports sustainable service transformation.
Special Schools and Specialist Provisions Development Lead
As Development Support Lead for the Special Schools’ and Specialist Provisions’ Division, you will drive the development and continuous improvement relating to SEND reform activity, ensuring that organisational frameworks, policy, guidance and processes, resources and governance arrangements are in place. Working collaboratively across the Division with Service Leads, the postholder will monitor progress and outcomes, support sustainable service transformation and improvement, drive cross-directorate and multi-agency collaboration, and engage proactively with schools and stakeholders to support change and ensure measurable improvements for children and young people.
Key Areas of Focus
- Develop, co-ordinate and manage identified projects and initiatives within the area of SEN.
- Drive service transformation through effective stakeholder engagement, cross‑agency collaboration, workforce mobilisation, and robust governance to ensure consistent, high‑quality SEN provision across the region.
- Ensure the EA fulfils all statutory duties relating to the identification, assessment and review of SEN under relevant legislation, including the Education (NI) Order 1996 and SEN legislation and guidance.
- Provide strategic oversight of statutory decision‑making processes, ensuring they are lawful, timely, consistent, transparent and defensible.
- Support staff wellbeing and resilience in a high‑pressure statutory environment.
- Provide clear, accurate and timely performance reports to support accountability and strategic oversight
- Lead effective engagement with parents, schools, health and social care partners, DE and other key stakeholders.
- Represent the EA in multi‑agency forums, regional groups and discussions relating to SEN statutory services.
- Support constructive relationships with MLAs, MPs, advocacy organisations and external regulators where required.
Other
- Any other duties related to the role which may be required from time-to-time by the Chief Executive and the Board.
- In accordance with Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act (1998), be expected to promote Good Relations, Equality of Opportunity and pay due regard for Equality Legislation at all times.
This job description will be subject to review considering changing circumstances and is not intended to be rigid and inflexible but should be regarded as providing guidelines within which the individual works.
To view the summary of terms and conditions for this post, click here.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Candidates must demonstrate on their application form that they meet the following essential criteria.
| Factor | Essential Criteria | Method of Assessment |
| Experience | 1.A minimum of three years’ experience of leading, managing and delivery of transformation programmes or projects within a large and complex environment. ‘large and complex'\: defined as cross-cutting across a number of business areas, involving internal and external stakeholders, and having an impact on multiple people/groups. 2. Experience of working collectively to effectively deliver a service that optimises the use of the organisation’s resources to deliver maximum value for the public/customers. 3. Experience of designing and embedding multi-disciplinary, needs-led service models, bringing together multi-disciplinary teams to improve quality, consistency and impact of support. 4. Experience of providing leadership with evidence of empowering, championing excellence and establishing momentum for continuous improvement that has delivered improved outcomes for the public/customers. 5. The successful candidate should also be a strong communicator with proven skills to engage across a wide range of stakeholders, demonstrating successful impact. 6. Demonstrates an understanding of the potential along with the challenges of delivering high quality effective support services to children and young people with SEN. | Application Form Presentation Interview |
| Other |
to have access to a suitable vehicle (appropriately maintained and insured for Education Authority business) that will enable them to carry out the mobility requirements of the post in an efficient and effective manner and thus meet this essential criterion; OR be able to provide sufficient information on the application form that will satisfy the employer that he/she has access to an appropriate alternative form of transport that will enable them to carry out the mobility requirements of the post in an efficient and effective manner and thus meet this essential criterion. | Application Form |
Our Values
Through the selection process we will also seek evidence that the personal values of candidates align with those of the EA. This will include evidence of commitment to equality and excellence in service delivery. These reflect our aim which is to meet the needs of all our children and young people equally, removing barriers to learning and ensuring equality of access to excellent education services so that every child can develop to his or her full potential.
DISCLOSURE OF CRIMINAL BACKGROUND
The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 defines working directly with children or young people or in specified places as ‘regulated activity’.
In the event that you are recommended for appointed to a post that involves ‘regulated activity’, the Education Authority will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure of Criminal Background. Please note that you WILL be expected to meet the cost of an Enhanced Disclosure Certificate. Details of how to make payment will be sent to you at the pre-employment stage.
Further information can be accessed at NI Direct or the Department of Justice.
APPLICANT GUIDANCE NOTES
To view the applicant guidance notes, please click here.
For more information, the candidate information pack can be viewed here
To learn about the many great benefits of joining the Education Authority, click here
The Education Authority is an Equal Opportunities Employer.
Contact Details:
Education Authority (Northern Ireland) Recruitment Team
