SEND Travel Enablement Manager

This is a Gloucestershire County Council job located at Shire Hall, Block 5, 3rd Floor. The salary is £46,731 - £49,764 per annum for 37 hours per week on a permanent contract. This post is not open to job share.

Are you an experienced leader who is passionate about supporting children and young people with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND)? Do you want to work in a team that is dedicated to ensuring that Gloucestershire’s children and young people are provided with safe and suitable travel arrangements to access education? If so, this could be the role for you.

About The Team And The Role

We are looking for a dynamic, committed and experienced manager to lead the Special Education Needs Transport Enablement Team. Every day we enable around 2000 children and young people with complex special educational needs to travel safely to and from school. Ours is an essential, front line and demand led service area, working in partnership with schools, parents, children and young people, transport providers and our in-house Integrated Transport Unit working hard to provide safe and cost-effective travel solutions.

Your role will involve allocating work, supervising and supporting staff as well as quality-assuring team members’ work and monitoring data to help inform efficient service delivery. You would be joining a team who are committed to making a difference to the everyday lives and experiences of some of the most educationally disadvantaged learners in the county, and their families, ensuring they have the appropriate travel solutions to enable them to access education, achieve their best outcomes and as much independence as possible as they transition to adulthood.

This is a challenging and demanding area of the council’s work. However, you would be joining a team who are committed to making a difference to the everyday lives and experiences of some of the most educationally disadvantaged learners in the county, and their families, ensuring they have the appropriate support to enable them to access education, and achieve their best outcomes and as much independence as possible as they transition to adulthood.

In return for your hard work and dedication, you will join a supportive team and an organisation committed to professional development. There is currently a review of the Council’s Home to School Transport operation network to ensure travel solutions for children and young people is being delivered in the most efficient way. This will be an ongoing process which you will manage going forward, with success measured via agreed key performance indicators. Please note that the reporting line for this role may change. However, the core responsibilities and pay grade will remain unaffected.

About You

Our ideal candidate will have a track record of management or leadership experience gained in a frontline service delivery environment, and experience of working in a multi-agency environment, with experience of understanding the relevant policies and legislation surrounding Home to School Transport. You will have proven leadership skills, a track record in building effective relationships with system partners and communities, and the skills and resilience to manage a complex, fast-paced workload. You will also need political awareness, and the credibility and communication skills to represent the team within the Council and with our external stakeholders.

You will need an excellent understanding of our statutory duties and obligations including our current home to school transport and safeguarding policies and processes. The ability to work at pace, liaising with officers, transport providers, trainers and parents; a proven track record of successfully managing a frontline team to deliver the best possible service; the ability to prioritise and target limited resources effectively, continually seeking to secure best value; experience of change management; the ability to motivate and develop staff and be someone who can lead and shape the team; a passion for achieving the best outcomes for Gloucestershire’s children and young people and being part of the wider team that works to overcome barriers to education; the ability to give attention to detail, whilst always seeing the bigger picture, dealing with often competing and conflicting demands and priorities; the ability to influence others, communicate to parents, schools and other stakeholders the rationale behind the service delivery decisions that have been made; excellent problem-solving skills; the ability to lead by example, modelling expectations and embed good practice; an appreciation of the challenges and frustrations faced by parents and carers of children with complex needs is essential; a belief in the Council’s core values and the ability to use these as the guiding principles of your work.

Benefits Of Working For GCC

• Flexible and agile working opportunities
• Annual Leave entitlement of 25.5 days or up to 30.5 days
• Supportive and positive working environment with regular, robust supervision
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) that provides free, confidential counselling and advice for employees, available 24 hours a day, online and by telephone
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Links to employee networks such as Prism (LGBT+) network and the Young Employees Network
• Gloucestershire Salary Sacrifice Green Car Scheme (T&Cs apply)

How To Apply

If you feel you have the skills, desire and experience required to make a positive difference then please submit your application and personal statement today by clicking the “Apply Now” button. Your application can include a CV, with a personal statement detailing how you meet the criteria in the job profile. Please limit your personal statement to a maximum of 1,200 words.

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Gareth Vine via email at Gareth.VINE@gloucestershire.gov.uk.

Closing date: 25/06/2025. Short-listed candidates will be contacted by e-mail and invited to interview week commencing 07/07/2025. Previous applicants need not apply.

Additional Information

To access the Job Profile for this role, please follow the link below:

Gloucestershire County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people or vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We want to be an employer of choice, attracting and retaining excellent people to work for us, so that we can best serve all of Gloucestershire’s diverse communities. Our promise to you is that we will provide an inclusive and supportive working environment that enables you to bring your whole self to work and realise your full potential.

It is a legal requirement, under the Immigration Act 2016, that anyone appointed to a ‘customer facing role’ must be able to demonstrate an ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in fluent English. Hybrid working arrangements are available for the majority of our roles, giving teams the opportunity to work in a way that suits them, balancing service need and individual choice, with a mix of both remote and office working.