The role
As a Political Officer at Southwark, you will play a vital role in supporting the Opposition Party Group of Southwark Councillors. Your primary responsibility will be to ensure the smooth operation of the group by providing robust political, policy, and administrative support. This includes acting as a crucial link between councillors, officers, and external stakeholders, ensuring clear and efficient communications.
Day to day you will be required to prepare briefings, research, and speeches for councillors, helping to shape and articulate the group’s policies and positions across various platforms, including local media and social media channels, while managing press and media inquiries.
Keeping abreast of new legislation and political developments, you will ensure that the group is well-informed and responsive to changes, building and maintaining professional relationships with key stakeholders, such as council officers, MPs, and members of the public. You will also support the group in preparing for Council Assembly meetings, facilitating training and development through events and away days.
Key responsibilities of the role also include:
- Providing political, policy, and administrative support to the Opposition Party Group
- Managing media inquiries and liaising with the council’s media team
- Building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for a highly skilled and motivated individual with a strong understanding of local government and the political context in which councillors operate. You will have practical knowledge of the role of councillors and political groups in policy development within a local authority. Evidencing experience in a similar role, you will be comfortable providing support and undertaking independent research, while managing workloads and prioritising competing demands to meet strict deadlines.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills are crucial, as is the ability to influence a wide range of audiences. You should be committed to the aims and values of the opposition party, and be capable of working on your initiative while maintaining good working relationships with councillors, officers, and external partners.
Key information to evidence in your application:
- Strong understanding of local government and political contexts
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to manage workload and meet tight deadlines
Additional details
We will only consider applications from internal candidates, that are current employees or agency workers on an active assignment. We encourage any internal staff to to gain agreement from their substantive line manager if considering this is as a secondment opportunity.
Benefits and more information:
In your role, we want you to feel supported, challenged and rewarded. You will benefit from our family-friendly policies including flexible working, home working, and a local government pension scheme, plus many other staff benefits. You will join a motivated, driven and supportive team that strives for excellence and values its members. You will also be part of a successful and high-achieving development team that is making a real difference to the lives of residents in the borough. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Staff Benefits page.
Recruitment timetable
Advert close date: 17/07/24
Shortlisting date: 18/07/24
Interviews: Week commencing 22/07/24
Guaranteed Interview Scheme:
As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:
• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition
SWCINT
We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together programme. We particularly welcome applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.
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