Education Entitlement Manager

Overview

We’re looking for an experienced and passionate Education Entitlement Manager to lead a critical area of our Children’s Services. This is a high‑profile leadership role where you’ll help ensure every child and young person can access the education they are legally entitled to, particularly those who are most vulnerable or at risk of exclusion.

Working at the heart of education access and inclusion, you’ll influence policy, shape strategy and lead teams delivering essential statutory services that make a real difference to lives across our communities.

Salary: up to £73,814 (dependent on skills and experience)

About us

Buckinghamshire is an ambitious, rapidly growing county, and our economy is one of the strongest in the country. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty and ranks as one of the top rural areas to live in the UK and yet it is incredibly well connected– only an hour from London on the train. The county has a rich history and heritage and is the birthplace of the international Paralympic movement.

We are looking for motivated, ambitious and inspiring people to join us on our journey. You will be entitled to a range of different benefits to make sure you are happy both at work and at home.

About the role

As Education Entitlement Manager, you’ll provide strategic and operational leadership across a wide and impactful portfolio, including school attendance, exclusions, children missing education, elective home education, alternative provision, child employment and the education of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children.

You’ll lead service planning and delivery, ensuring robust policies, processes and performance frameworks are in place and aligned with legislation, national guidance and best practice. Acting as a key professional adviser, you’ll support senior leaders, elected members, schools and partners with expert advice on complex and often sensitive education entitlement issues.

You will hold clear accountability for ensuring the Council meets its statutory and non‑statutory duties in relation to education access, providing assurance on legal compliance and risk.

The role includes responsibility for managing significant budgets and leading multidisciplinary teams, alongside building strong partnerships with schools, academies, alternative provision settings and external agencies. You’ll also represent the Council at local, regional and national forums, lead responses to inspection and scrutiny (including Ofsted), and drive continuous improvement across your service areas.

Safeguarding, quality assurance, financial stewardship and workforce leadership are all central to the role, making this an excellent opportunity for an ambitious leader ready to shape services at scale.

Please see the job summary attached for a full list of duties and responsibilities.

About you

You’ll be a confident and credible leader with substantial experience of managing services within Children’s Services or the education sector, ideally in a local government context. You’ll bring both strategic vision and strong operational grip, with a clear focus on improving outcomes for children and young people.

We’re looking for someone who can demonstrate:

• Strong knowledge of education legislation, statutory duties and the wider policy environment
• Proven experience of leading complex services, including planning, performance management and continuous improvement
• The ability to work effectively in a political environment and influence a wide range of stakeholders
• Experience of managing significant budgets and multidisciplinary teams
• Excellent communication skills, with the confidence to provide professional challenge when needed
• Energy, resilience and commitment to delivering high‑quality services in a demanding statutory context

Other information

If you would like to find out more about this role, please contact James Fowler at [email protected]

Closing date: Midnight on Sunday 17th May

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent convictions and conditional cautions
• All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020 and 2023).

For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance and the guidance published by the Ministry of Justice (see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’).

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/