Cheshire West and Chester Council is a place where everyone can Thrive – through our core values of Teamwork, Honesty, Respect, Innovation, Value for Money and Empowerment. The successful candidate will need a good understanding of SEND legislation and the Children & Family Act 2014. They will need strong communication and negotiating skills and be able to make decisions based on both the law and the evidence presented. They need to be adept in conflict resolution and have good time management skills. They will need to be able to manage and coordinate a number of difficult cases at the same time and be able to liaise with professionals. The successful candidate will represent the council in mediations around refusal to assess for an Education Health and Care Plan, refusal to issue an Education Health and Care Plan, contents of an Education Health and Care Plan, school named in section I of an Education Health and Care Plan and cease to maintain. The role will involve the successful candidate working with independent mediators, parents, young people, parent representatives, settings and professionals to resolve areas of dispute. The role involves reviewing evidence, identifying issues, developing the council’s case and requires the successful applicant to be solution focused. This is a full-time position based at The Portal in Ellesmere Port and will involve both working in the office and working from home. Mediations can take place both online and face to face which may involve travelling to schools around Cheshire West. This is a new and exciting role should you wish to discuss this further please contact becky.heskey@chehirewestandchetser.gov.uk for an informal conversation. Please note that this job is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. To find out more information about what it is like to work for Cheshire West and Chester Council including our rewards and benefits please see www.cwcrecruitment.co.uk No candidate will meet every single requirement - if your experience looks a little different from what we've identified and you think you can bring value to the role, we'd love to learn more about you! Cheshire West and Chester Council are committed to equality and diversity in employment. Please see the Equality Policy for more information. Cheshire West and Chester Council have adopted a Local Living Wage for our employees which means that all employees will receive a minimum of £12.60 per hour for all contracted hours. For any technical enquiries please email Sourcingteam@ecwip.co.uk and quote job reference number in all correspondence.