Head of Hearing and Vision Specialist Service
Stockport Council
Head of Hearing and Vision Specialist Service Application Deadline: 11:59pm 16th April 2026 While we embrace the use of AI as an innovative tool to maximise our services at Stockport Council, we are looking for authenticity in applications we receive. We therefore ask you to think carefully if choosing to use AI when completing your application and ask that you ensure you read all instructions carefully and that your application is written by you and reflects your skills, knowledge and enthusiasm. Join us at Stockport Council MJ Local Authority of the Year 2025 Your Role We are looking for an inspiring Head of Service to lead the Hearing & Vision Specialist Service, who provide qualified, specialised provision to children and young people aged 025 who are deaf, have vision impairment, or multi-sensory impairment. About You Candidates should have qualified teacher status (QTS), hold the mandatory qualification (MQ) in at least one specialist field: vision impairment, deafness, or multi-sensory impairment (deaf-blind), and have senior leadership experience in within specialist sensory impairment teams. The successful candidate will drive and guide the strategic direction, development of this stable, well-respected service that works with more than 600 children, young people, and their families across Stockport. Your leadership will ensure that all children and young people open to the service needs receive high quality provision that meets statutory sector- specific quality standards. You will provide strong strategic leadership that promotes inclusive practice in the Early Years through to Post 16 settings. You’ll lead a skilled and committed workforce (currently of 42 colleagues), championing good practice, building strong relationships with families and partners, and making sure the service consistently delivers positive educational and life outcomes for children and young people. Above all, you’ll help remove barriers so that children and young people supported by the service can thrive and have every opportunity to succeed. About Us At Stockport Council we are one ambitious team on a mission to create opportunities for everyone who lives, works and spends time in the borough. Working at Stockport Council means contributing to one of the most thriving towns in the North. We’re keen to recruit people with the right values and behaviours that can help us ensure our workplace values are at the heart of everything we do. We are proud to be recognised under the Good Employment Charter as an organisation committed to the wellbeing of our colleagues. As members of the charter, we have been recognised as a great place to work for all colleagues and pledge to pay the real living wage, engage staff in key decisions and endorse fair and flexible working conditions. If you would like to find out more about the role please contact Lynn Perry on lynn.perry@stockport.gov.uk for an informal discussion. The successful applicant’s appointment will be subject to satisfactory pre-employment clearances including a Disclosure and Barring Service check. This post is politically restricted under the terms of the 1989 Local Government and Housing Act. This dictates that you must seek the council’s permission before taking up any additional appointments or positions. Stockport Council holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not currently qualify. Please note that we have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers and ex-military personnel. As part of the Guaranteed Assessment Scheme you will therefore be guaranteed to be shortlisted for Assessment if you meet both the criteria for the scheme and the essential job role criteria. Find out if you meet the criteria here: https://www.greater.jobs/our-guaranteed-assessment-scheme If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme, please indicate this within the ‘About You’ or ‘Supporting Statement’ section of your application. Please also email recruitment@stockport.gov.uk. Follow our recruitment team on X, Instagram and Facebook for updates on our vacancies and recruitment events. Stockport Council is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive workforce culture - a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and communities to join our workforce. We want our employees to have a good work life balance and in many job roles we can offer a range of flexible/hybrid working arrangements. We also have inclusive employment policies and staff engagement forums to support our diverse workforce. We will listen to, learn from, and develop our workforce.
Leadership 11-17 (£66,368 - £76,772)
32.5 Hours, Full Time
Permanent
Hybrid - Hardman Centre
Please be aware that we may close this vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Shortlisting Date: 17th April 2026
Interview Date: 21st April 2026
Interview Type: In PersonSupporting Documents
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Location
Hardman Street, , Stockport, SK3 0BJ, United Kingdom
Job ID
12041
Employee Benefits
Annual Leave
A generous annual leave allowance, up to 30 days annual leave dependent on grade and length of service, plus bank holidays with the option to purchase additional annual leave
Work Life Balance
Work and personal life balance. Many jobs include part time working, flexi-time and homeworking
Employee engagement
Employee engagement networks to support colleagues and create opportunities to feed into both workforce and borough strategies
Volunteering
Support for volunteering by allowing up to 4 hours per month (pro rata) to carry out any duties associated with this
Learning and Development
A suite of learning and development opportunities, from important data protection training to all level apprenticeships
Discounts
A huge range of discounts via an easy to use portal, including: Gym memberships, restaurants, events, travel, cycle to work scheme, home electronics and more.
Wellbeing
Access to an employee support hotline, available 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.
Pension Scheme
Option to join the Local Government Pension Scheme and give your pension a boost by enrolling into a salary sacrifice scheme.
Our Recruitment Journey
Seen a job you’re interested in but want to understand more about our recruitment process?
Application stage
When you have seen a job, you are interested in you can submit your application online by clicking ‘Apply Now’, some vacancies will ask you to complete a supporting statement where you should address the About You section of the Job Profile for the role. Other vacancies will ask you to upload a CV.
Shortlisting
In keeping with our commitment to inclusion, recruiting managers take an anonymised approach to recruiting when shortlisting your application form. They will use the supporting information section of your application and your work history to assess your suitability for the job. You'll be notified of the outcome of your application form via email and if successful you'll be invited to book an interview slot.
Interviews
When preparing for the interview, you should familiarise yourself with the job profile. The About You section of the job profile contains the criteria that will be assessed at interview stage. You can prepare for interview by ensuring that you have clear examples relating to how you have met these criteria. If you require any reasonable adjustments because of a disability under the Equality Act, to assist you during the selection process we would be pleased to discuss them with you on recruitment@stockport.gov.uk
Offer stage and pre-employment checks
Offer stage and pre-employment checks If you're offered the job after interviewing, you'll be sent a conditional offer detailing your new role. Along with the conditional contract and offer letter, our team will be in touch regarding your pre-employment checks.
The pre-employment checks that you will need to undertake will depend on the role that you've applied for. These checks may include:
right to work in the UK
Disclosure and Barring Service checks.
The information provided will be dealt with in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice
gaps in employment
reference checks. We will request references prior to issuing your conditional contract
pre-employment health declaration
qualification checks
