Tribunal and Complaints Officer

We are working closely alongside with a local authority in Liverpool to assist with the appointment of a Tribunal and Complaints Officer on a 3-months contract, highly likely to be extended at clients discretion. Please apply with your CV for immediate consideration.

Rate of Pay: £40.83- £54.16 per hour

Summary:

Liverpool City Council is seeking an experienced, specialist Interim Tribunal and Complaints Officer to urgently provide additional capacity and expertise within the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) service.The primary objective of this short-term assignment is to rapidly reduce the backlog of existing SEND-related complaints and First-Tier Tribunal (SEND) appeals. The successful candidate must possess deep, proven knowledge and a successful track record in managing the full end-to-end statutory processes for SEND complaints and tribunals, with the corporate priority of complaints reduction and tribunal avoidance at the forefront of their practice.

Responsibilities:

• Manage the end-to-end process for preparing, collating, and finalising documentary evidence (including the Appeal Bundle) in response to Tribunal requests, ensuring strict adherence to statutory deadlines. 
• Manage and investigate a backlog of formal complaints (including those under the statutory childrens social care complaints process, where applicable, or corporate procedures) relating to SEND provision and service delivery.
• Identify and document key themes, systemic failings, and recurring issues emerging from the complaints process to inform senior management about service improvement needs and tribunal avoidance strategies. 
• Ensure all actions and documents are compliant with the Children and Families Act 2014, the SEND Code of Practice, and Tribunal Procedure Rules.
• Provide specialist advice and guidance to operational SEND teams on best practice for managing dispute risk and complaint handling.

Essentials:

• Relevant professional qualification or extensive experience in a legal, regulatory compliance, or statutory complaints/disputes field (e.g., Law, Public Administration, or related discipline).
• Demonstrable, significant, and recent experience working as a specialist within the SEND Tribunal (First-Tier Tribunal) process, including managing a high volume of appeals. 
• Proven ability to manage, investigate, and resolve complex statutory complaints within a Local Authority context, preferably linked to Children's Services or SEND.
• Proven experience in drafting high-quality, persuasive legal and technical documents (e.g., statements, bundles, and formal complaint responses). 
• Experience of successfully managing the preparation for mediation and conciliation meetings.
• Expert, up-to-date knowledge of the Children and Families Act 2014, the SEND Code of Practice (2015), and all relevant Tribunal Procedure Rules. 

Please note:

• You should be available to work immediately or at a short notice.
• You should have right to work in U.K
• This role requires a Basic DBS

Disclaimer: Brackenberry Ltd is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy. We are committed to equality in the workplace and is an equal opportunity employer. Unless otherwise stated all of our roles are temporary, though opening assignments can be and often are, extended by clients on a longer term basis and can sometimes become permanent.

Important: We will interpret your application as being permission to submit your CV to this role (with the right to represent you) unless you advise us to the contrary. Incase the role requires an enhanced DBS, your DBS must be either through us or be accompanied by a subscription to the DBS updating service.

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