SEND Contracts and Markets Officer SO2 ( 36,124 - 40,476) 37 Hours, Full Time Temporary until 31st March 2026 Hybrid: Stopford House and homeworking Application Deadline: 17th July 2025 11:59pm Please be aware that we may close this vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Shortlisting Date: 18th July 2025 Interview Date: 23rd and 25th July 2025 Interview Type: MS Teams While we embrace the use of AI as an innovative tool to maximise our services at Stockport Council, we are looking for authenticity in applications we receive. We therefore ask you to think carefully if choosing to use AI when completing your application and ask that you ensure you read all instructions carefully and that your application is written by you and reflects your skills, knowledge and enthusiasm. Your Role As the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision (SENDAP) Contracts and Markets lead, a regional post, you will be a key enabler for the North West authorities to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND. Your role will include supporting the development of regional systems to quality assure provision for children and young people and supporting the drive to improve sufficiency, outcomes and value for money for local authorities. Working from within the regional team you will be working with a large number of stakeholders across the region including colleagues from a range of service areas including SEND, quality assurance and commissioning. About You You will be passionate about facilitating change and innovation in SENDAP systems and engaging others in your work. Your experience in SENDAP or commissioning and contracts will mean you are quickly able to get workstreams up and running. Having worked in a local authority environment before you will understand the challenges in a local authority environment and be able to build relationships with others to overcome these. You will be committed to inclusivity, learning and ensuring high standards of delivery. About Us Our NWADCS vision is a regional that works for all children and those who support them. With funding from the Department of Education we will be delivering an extensive programme of work around SEND over the next 12 months. We will be working closely with the 24 North West authorities to build on the innovation and good practice within the region and support where there are challenges and opportunities for improvement. At Stockport Council we are one ambitious team on a mission to create opportunities for everyone who lives, works and spends time in the borough. Working at Stockport Council means contributing to one of the most thriving towns in the North. We re keen to recruit people with the right values and behaviours that can help us ensure our workplace values are at the heart of everything we do. We are proud to be recognised under the Good Employment Charter as an organisation committed to the wellbeing of our colleagues. As members of the charter, we have been recognised as a great place to work for all colleagues and pledge to pay the real living wage, engage staff in key decisions and endorse fair and flexible working conditions. If you would like to find out more about the role please contact Amy Lythgoe Children s Sufficiency Programme Manager on amy.lythgoe@stockport.gov.uk for an informal discussion about the role. Stockport Council holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not currently qualify. Please note that we have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers and ex-military personnel. As part of the Guaranteed Assessment Scheme you will therefore be guaranteed to be shortlisted for Assessment if you meet both the criteria for the scheme and the essential job role criteria. Find out if you meet the criteria here: https://www.greater.jobs/our-guaranteed-assessment-scheme Privacy Notice Follow our recruitment team on X, Instagram and Facebook for updates on our vacancies and recruitment events. Stockport Council is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive workforce culture - a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and communities to join our workforce. We want our employees to have a good work life balance and in many job roles we can offer a range of flexible/hybrid working arrangements. We also have inclusive employment policies and staff engagement forums to support our diverse workforce. We will listen to, learn from, and develop our workforce.