SEND Sufficiency Officer

Job Introduction

SEND Sufficiency Officer - 22.2 hours per week

Fixed Term for 12 months

Role Purpose

We are seeking to appoint a fixed term SEND Sufficiency Officer to support the Service Lead with the development of BCP’s SEND Sufficiency Strategy. Our strategy forms as part of our ambitious plan to transform SEND services in BCP. Aligned to our SEND Improvement Plan, the postholder will be working with the SEND partnership to develop innovative models of provision and provide child focused solutions.   

Main Responsibilities

• Working across services, co-ordinate the delivery of SEND Sufficiency projects, ensuring team members produce high-quality outputs aligned with project objectives. Coach others to understand the planning, development and delivery of projects using project processes and contribute to the success of the entire team by encouraging open communication, celebrating achievements, and providing constructive feedback. 
   
• Foster an environment that welcomes new ideas and is positive about change. Use curiosity and creativity to recommend and implement more effective ways of working that enhance customer experience. 
   
• Use established systems to track key programme metrics, manage benefits, and highlight variances and trends. Ensure the smooth running of governance arrangements, contributing to the effective management and control of project progress. Regularly review quality to assess risks and take proactive measures to mitigate them. 
   
• Build strong partnerships within the Council and with other stakeholders, including education, strategic commissioning, social care, health, and private and voluntary sectors. Work collaboratively to commission innovative, flexible, and sustainable services that meet the diverse needs of the SEND population. 
   
• Support the Service lead in the analysis necessary to undertake work agreed as part of the Joint Strategic Needs Analysis Assessment. Assist in the coordination and co-production of updated data and information including live data obtained ‘at the front door’ ensuring evidence based decision making.   
   
• Support the development of systems that enable the commissioning of high-quality SEND provision in line with national and local indicators including 5–10-year projections, ensuring resources are used efficiently to meet the needs of the 0-25 population. 
   
• Establish processes to interpret business cases and provide specialist advice on achieving DSG recovery plan targets and SEND improvement outcomes. Recommend changes to ensure effective implementation, contributing to continuous improvements in project delivery and service quality. 
   
• Take a proactive approach to managing a complex case load, understanding and addressing diverse customer needs. Provide complex and specialist advice on a range of issues, using analytical skills to interpret customer data and highlight relevant trends to support informed decision-making. 
   
• Coordinate workflows and systems to ensure efficient project management. Present information and recommendations clearly and effectively, making evidence-based, outcome-focused decisions using proactive risk management. 
   
• Use strong interpersonal skills to develop solutions to complex or contentious problems where options may be unclear or conflicting. Collaborate across different areas of work to identify and implement improvements in efficiency and service continuity. 
   
• Contribute to the development of policy and procedures within your area using insights from customer data and feedback. Maintain authoritative knowledge of relevant work practices, legal and regulatory requirements, and best practices, ensuring compliance and broader commercial awareness. 
   
• Build and maintain relationships with customers and stakeholders, recognizing the impact on service outcomes. Appreciate diversity among customers and colleagues, considering specific needs when making decisions. Resolve barriers to collaboration by communicating openly and addressing unhelpful behaviour. 
   
• Continuously develop your own knowledge and skills through exposure to different activities and by learning from experienced colleagues.  
   
• Plan and organize your own workload in an environment with changing demands and tight deadlines. Within set guidelines, deploy resources when necessary to respond to customer problems or emergency situations.

The Ideal Candidate

This is a fixed term appointment for up to 12 months.  This post is based at BCP Bournemouth but offers some ability to work remotely from home in accordance with business need.   Interviews will be held on 11 February 2025.  
 
If you are interested in this role and have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact tanya.smith@bcpcouncil.gov.uk 

About BCP Council

BCP Council provides services to a diverse community of 400,000 residents and employs more than 5,000 people. Our area includes over 15 miles of beautiful world-renowned coastline. We can offer career defining roles to transform and improve services. By working with us, you can help deliver a vision of a thriving, word-class, prosperous and inclusive place for generations to come.

Our Benefits

We offer an excellent benefits package to colleagues. Find out more on our website

As a result of the creation of BCP Council in 2019, we are working on simplifying our terms and conditions of service and will be creating a single pay structure which is to be applicable for all employees. It is important to us that we offer benefits that our colleagues value as part of their total employment package and we are reviewing these to make sure we have it right. We have been in a process of collective bargaining since 2019 and have positively worked forward to reach an agreed position with the unions for the new contractual offer. This has taken longer than we hoped and therefore we are having to consider all alternative avenues available to enable us to remove inequality in the organisation as a result of bringing together 3 councils. 

We are in the process of establishing a timescale for implementation, and all colleagues joining us will be included in these changes. We want to reassure everyone that whichever route is taken to reach the new terms and conditions, we can honour continuous service and there will not be any job reduction as a result of the implementation of Pay and Reward.  If you have any questions at all about this process, please feel free to raise this with the hiring manager.