Jobs

Democratic Services Officer

Permanent, Part Time

Up to £29,765 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Anywhere worker

Closing Date: 20th July 2022

Please note that this is a part time role working 4 days per week (29.6 hours). Therefore the pro rata salary is up to £23,812 per annum.

The Role

The role of Democratic Services is to deliver effective and high-quality Appeals and Committee Administration, Member Support, election, and induction processes and to promote community engagement and understanding of the democratic processes of the Council.

The applicant would work closely with members of the Conservative Group. They will be responsible for all day-to-day enquiries from the Group acting as first point of contact for queries and concerns, providing appropriate advice and guidance. The role requires excellent organisational skills, including calendar and diary support; arranging and minuting meetings; and dealing with IT issues. It also requires an ability to liaise with a wide range of people at all levels, both internally and externally, of the County Council, the Cabinet Office, those at senior level, all members, and the public. They should also have the ability to prioritise in an ever-changing environment and meet deadlines. The applicant will also need to follow direction from the Council, their Democratic Services Manager and the Head of Democracy and Transparency on specific tasks but be able to work autonomously with minimal supervision.

This role operates in the political environment of the authority and requires an understanding of the need for tact and diplomacy alongside a requirement to be accurate in work delivered. The Democratic Services Officer is important to the effective delivery of the democratic process across the Council.

The role is part of a team responsible for providing comprehensive administrative support to the Council's formal decision-making committees and support to one of the Council's political groups. The postholder will be required to provide advice and guidance to elected members, senior officers, and other stakeholders to make sure that the decisions meet the statutory framework. There will also be a requirement to provide support to other parts of the service such as clerking school admission appeals.

Whilst training would be provided to the right applicant, we would be particularly interested to hear from candidates with existing experience in supporting committees.

Accountabilities

• Undertakes a broad range of project work, with responsibility for delivering against set objectives. This includes election work and committee management. Clerks meetings of the Council and any other committees as directed including preparing the agenda, minutes and reports.
• Delivers effective administrative support to elected members, various committees and groups. Provides support through a variety of administrative tasks to ensure Essex County Council standards are met and maintained.
• Delivers a clerking service to Statutory School Appeals and provides advice and support for the appeals process.
• Supports member information and development activities as directed by managers within Democratic Services.Provides guidance, advice, training and support to Members on corporate policies and procedures such as dealing with expense claims or declaring interests or gifts.
  Responsible for providing advice to Members in the preparation of responses to residents to ensure stakeholder engagement within the council and to maximise engagement across the local community in Essex.
  Supports project implementation across a broad and diverse range of media to maximise the opportunity to achieve local community objectives.
  Supports the Democratic Services Team to ensure the successful delivery of an annual programme of events including
• Civic functions, member away days and training working with external organisations and partners to ensure standards are maintained.

The Experience You Will Bring

• Educated to an A-level standard including English and Maths at Grade 'C' and above or equivalent by experience.
  ADSO Certificate in Democratic Services Knowledge, or willingness to work towards it, is desirable.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and good knowledge in a political or policy environment and Local Government.
• Good experience of providing administration service for high level meetings including writing minutes.
• Excellent ICT skills including Microsoft applications and specialist systems. Experience of a Committee Management system is desirable.
• Good organisational skills and an ability to work to tight deadlines, prioritise own work, use own initiative and be self-motivating.
• Excellent interpersonal and organisational skills, with the ability to work to tight deadlines and prioritise own workload.
• Experience of working in a sensitive political environment with the ability to be tactful and diplomatic.
• Experience of conducting research and working on projects.