Salary: From £38,220 to £42,839 per annum
Grade: JK
Hours: Full time
Contract: Permanent
Location: Northallerton, North Yorkshire
Base will be County Hall, Northallerton, hybrid working arrangements apply
This is an exciting opportunity to work in the heart of the Council on the administration of school admission appeals. By law, if a child is refused a place at their preferred school, then parents and carers have the right to appeal against that decision to an independent panel. The school admission appeal panels are independent of the school and the local authority.
The Appeals Team, which is part of Democratic Services, plays an important role within North Yorkshire Council working to ensure the proper and lawful administration of around 600 school admission appeals, 100 home to school transport appeals and 10 exclusion appeal hearings each year. School admission appeals are heard remotely by video conferencing (Teams) and so a significant element of this work is undertaken remotely. Transport appeals are carried out at County Hall. Exclusion hearings are carried out face to face and there will be a requirement on clerks to travel to venues in North Yorkshire.
As a Senior Appeals Officer and working as part of an established team, you will ensure the provision of effective support and guidance, of a consistently high quality, to independent appeal panel members, councillors, officers, schools, parents/carers, and members of the public regarding the appeals processes.
This role requires the high levels of political awareness, communication skills, tact, and diplomacy.
What you will bring
To be successful you must have experience in the conduct of Local Authority decision making processes and have experience of working with external business partners and clients. You will be able to demonstrate a proven track record of working in an environment that demands tact and diplomacy and managing challenging meetings (ideally conducted within a statutory setting or framework).
You must be an exceptional communicator both written and oral, be able to establish and develop positive working relations with officers, school representatives, independent appeal panel members and members of the public and have resilience and the ability to cope with conflicting and complex demands. You must be able to demonstrate that you have excellent organisational and multi-tasking skills to cope with a demanding workload, including the ability to prioritise work accordingly and respond effectively to changing circumstances without losing focus or direction, whilst meeting strict deadlines. You must also hold a degree or equivalent qualification in a relevant professional area or be able to demonstrate equivalent experience.
The post is politically restricted under the terms of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.
What can we offer you?
In addition to your salary, we offer a range of great benefits to help you financially and make life a bit easier.
These include:
a local government pension scheme with 18.1% employer contribution
salary sacrifice schemes
employee discount benefits including shopping, supermarkets, gym discounts and more!
travel loans
Health Assured – confidential help and support for your wellbeing
For an informal conversation about the role please contact:
Mary Davies, Principal Appeals Officer – [email protected] or 01609 532840
Daniel Harry, Head of Democratic Services and Scrutiny – [email protected] or 01609 533531
Key Dates
Close date: 12 midnight on Sunday 7 June 2026
Interview date: 17 June 2026
Key Documents
Job description
Total Rewards
NYC are committed to directly recruiting staff and will not accept applications nor services from agency suppliers in respect of our vacancies.
We are committed to meeting the needs of our diverse community and aim to have a workforce reflecting this diversity. We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to this commitment.
North Yorkshire Councils’ purpose is to deliver services and facilities to the diverse residents and visitors of North Yorkshire. To ensure we deliver inclusive services we strive to have a diverse workforce where everybody can be themselves by respecting differences and embedding equality of opportunity. We celebrate diversity and recognise each other’s contributions; we therefore welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds.
