Service Lead – Experts at Hand

Fixed Term Contract / Secondment Opportunity until 31/03/2028 with opportunity to extend

Hackney is one of the most dynamic and progressive local authorities in the UK. We are a resilient, vibrant, and creative borough in the heart of London, with strong, diverse communities and a powerful set of shared values. Over the past twenty years, the Council has built up first-class services, outstanding public infrastructure, and a reputation for excellence, innovation, and ambition. We are leading the way on essential work such as our fight for equity in Hackney with a particular focus on becoming an actively anti-racist borough. But the work doesn’t stop there, we are proactive in our approach to bringing fairness to all aspects of life including gender, neurodiversity and across the poverty divide.

As a Council, our most outstanding asset is our staff, who are highly dedicated to serving our residents and committed to our goals as an organisation.

Experts at Hand (Locality Inclusion Teams)

Hackney’s Locality Inclusion Teams (LIT) form our innovative "Experts at Hand" service, bringing together a dedicated multi-disciplinary network of Educational Psychologists, Speech & Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Specialist Teachers to transform local SEND provision and build capacity. Designed to shift the system away from reactive statutory assessments, our LIT workforce delivers early, proactive, and data-driven support directly to schools, early years settings, and community hubs across four borough localities. By offering readily accessible advice, targeted interventions, and strategic guidance, our "Experts at Hand" build workforce capacity, strengthen inclusive environments, and ensure children, young people, and their families receive seamless, high-quality support at the earliest possible stage.

Experts at Hand Service Lead

The Experts at Hand Service Lead will hold a pivotal system-leadership role, responsible for operationally launching, scaling, and evaluating Hackney’s Locality Inclusion Teams (LITs) to deliver our innovative "Experts at Hand" offer. Reporting to the Principal Educational Psychologist and working closely with the SEND Reform Programme Manager, you will direct a transdisciplinary workforce of across education and health specialisms, driving a shift from statutory-led assessments toward a proactive, data-driven, early-intervention model. Across Hackney’s four localities, you will build workforce capacity in mainstream settings, establish streamlined single-point-of-access pathways, oversee joint-commissioning partnerships, and deploy targeted support menus grounded in systemic, trauma-informed, anti-racist principles to ensure every child with additional needs thrives without unnecessary statutory escalation.

Closing date for applications: 20 September 2026 (22:59)

Interview date: W/c 05 October 2026

Please note, we reserve the right to close applications early if we receive a high volume of applications.

We are also working towards our vision, which is to be a place for everyone; where residents and staff can be proud. In order to achieve this, we are seeking individuals who embody our "PROUD" values: Purpose and Respect, where we foster belonging through active inclusion, kindness, and open dialogue; Ownership, where we champion proactive collaboration and accountability for our shared success; and Unity and Diversity, where we work as one Council to break down silos and champion anti-racist behavior.

Hackney Council works to eradicate discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We also recognise that people can be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will also work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class. We also welcome those interested in flexible working. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people, as this group is currently under represented in our workforce.

The Council has a dedicated employment support service (Hackney Works), which offers Hackney residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you are thinking about applying for a job, please contact the Hackney Works team to find out what support is available:

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