School Transport Manager

About the job

Key information

• This role provides the opportunity for hybrid working allowing you to work from home or from County Hall in Taunton as required
• 30 Days Annual Leave (in addition to Bank Holidays)
• The contract offered is permanent and full time (37 hours per week) with a requirement to work early and later shifts between the hours of 07:30 to 17:00 during term times on a rota basis within the team.

What will I be doing?

We’re working to improve the lives of young people in Somerset delivering day to day school transport for approximately 9,500 students each day during school terms here in Somerset – and you’ll be a key part of that. Your day-to-day work will involve:

• Lead the day-to-day operations of the School Transport Team
• Line manages a team of ten Senior Transport Officers who oversee the day-to-day operation of Mainstream and Special Educational Needs transport in geographical areas across Somerset
• Constantly review service delivery to ensure cost effective, efficient and safe delivery of School Transport routes
• Deal with complaints and contractor issues escalated to the School Transport Manager by Senior Transport Officers
• Address any safeguarding issues and concerns raised in relation to School Transport, working closely with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) on Safeguarding incidents.
• Work closely with School Transport Commissioners to ensure that services are being delivered in line with School Transport Policies.
• Budget Monitoring
• Maintain good working relationships with Schools and Transport contractors

What kind of experience or qualifications do I need?

• Have excellent oral communication and IT skills
• The ability to organise and continually prioritise conflicting demands.
• Proven experience in leading and managing a team of staff.
• Contract Management skills
• An understanding of School Transport polices and Government legislation relating to statutory school transport
• A calm and methodical approach when dealing with challenging issues.

What is in it for me?

We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

• We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
• Staff discounts in gyms.
• Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
• Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
• A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
• My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more

Supporting documents and information

For an informal chat about the role, you can contact Jodene Hall, 01823 355452 jodene.hall@somerset.gov.uk or John Perrett, 01823 356968. John.perrett@somerset.gov.uk

If you have everything you need, just hit the apply button. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Interviews week commencing 6 October 2025.

£37,280 to £41,771 per annum

Apply on the Somerset Council website

Apply now