Salary: £39,862 to £42,839 per annum
Contract Type: Fixed Term/Secondment until 31/03/2028 due to specific funding.
Working Pattern: Full time – 37 hours per week
Location: County Hall, Chichester - Hybrid working
Interview date: 28th August 2026
Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.
West Sussex County Council is a diverse organisation that provides services to more than 850,000 residents every day. We are ambitious in seeking to improve outcomes for children, developing a learning culture that supports our drive for continuous service improvement.
We are looking for an Senior Project Officer to deliver a customer focused project management service, including provision of expertise and guidance on project related issues in support of the Children First strategy. It will provide expert assistance with the delivery of medium sized or large projects/programme and will be responsible for the delivery of small and medium projects, in both instances working closely with clients to ensure efficient service provision.
There is a requirement for the post holder to be able to travel independently to various locations throughout the county.
Working With Us
This role will play a significant part in supporting the delivery of West Sussex County Council's SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) Reform Programme. Working across Children's Services and with a wide range of stakeholders, you will support the planning, coordination and delivery of key improvement projects that contribute to the Council's SEND reform priorities. The postholder monitor progress against programme objectives, manage risks and dependencies, report on progress and help ensure that improvements are delivered effectively and sustainably.
As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do. Upon joining us you will have access to a range of benefits including:
- an excellent local government pension scheme
- generous holiday entitlement of 27 days (plus opportunity to buy additional leave)
- a range of flexible working options, depending on your job role
- maternity, paternity, dependency and adoption leave
- volunteering opportunities
- training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
- a range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform (see our Staff discounts page if you are a business looking to offer a discount)
- health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and Voluntary Health Cash Plans
For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.
About You
To be successful in the role you will need to:
- Have strong analytical skills in order to interpret and manipulate varied and complex project information. Excellent literacy and numeracy skills in order to understand very complex technical project information, contracts and to check statistical
financial information and other documents.
- Be able to organise and plan to meet set targets e.g. for timely completion of projects.
- Have excellent communication and interpersonal skills in order to interact effectively (e.g. guide, influence, persuade) with a range of high-level clients/stakeholders.
- Have strong problem-solving skills with the ability to anticipate problems and resolve issues independently.
- Have advanced IT skills in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, use of Internet and other web-based applications, for the integral use of word processing, analysis and research of data, creating electronic presentations.
- Have effective people management skills including performance management skills and the ability to provide direction and support to individuals and teams.
- Have a HNC/HND in an appropriate area or equivalent practical experience/range of knowledge.
- Have a Project Management qualification (e.g. PRINCE 2) or equivalent practical experience.
- Have knowledge and understanding of local Government Children’s Services and ideally of Ofsted inspections of Children’s Services.
- Have relevant knowledge of Change Management Framework & Project Management processes, procedures and policies associated with working within a demanding project management service.
For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.
Further Information
The reference number for this role is CAFHE06496.
For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Patricia Martin (PMO Manager) at [email protected].
For issues or queries regarding your application please contact [email protected]
To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter. In your cover letter please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to 3 years referencing and a health check.
Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.
We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.
