Principal Democratic and Member Services Officer

PRINICPAL DEMOCRATIC AND MEMBER SERVICES OFFICER 

LEGAL & DEMOCRATIC 

Permanent Position - Full Time (37 hours)

One Team Band  10 - £48,710 - £52,805 p.a 

Closing Date for accepting applications: 8th December 2024

(Starting salary dependent upon skills and qualifications, progression subject to satisfactory performance) 

 

This post is politically restricted. 

Brentwood Borough Council and Rochford District Council have come together to form a strategic partnership, known as OneTeam.  The purpose of which is to create a unified Officer team which will share knowledge, experience, and projects for the overall benefit of both Councils, developing unified ways of working including common policy and processes.

Our partnership is still relatively new and so we are on an exciting journey, looking to pursue a radical and ambitious change programme to combine the resources of our organisations so that we can achieve more together for our residents. 

While retaining their local identities both councils wish to harness their combined capacity to help shape their communities now and in the future. 

 

About the Role: 

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Principal Democratic and Members Service Officer, direction and effectively managing the Member Services Teams ensuring that both Councils are providing effective services that support the delivery of Corporate Priorities by developing and maintain robust partnerships to deliver positive outcomes.  

Provide effective discharge of both Council’s democratic statutory function in line with the Council’s Constitution, relevant legislation codes of practice, guidance and internal procedures through effective leadership and management of both council’s democratic services and member support functions. 

Ensure that the Council’s decision-making processes operate effectively and efficiently and deliver against the council’s ambitions for good governance and ensuring that high quality support is provided across the council’s civic functions and all other Member related services. 

To effectively lead, manage, motivate and develop their teams to deliver high quality services across the council’s committees and sub-committees, to the Mayor, Chairperson, Members and Officers of the Council and the public. 

Deputise as appropriate for the Corporate Manager – Democratic & Legal. 

 

About the candidate: 

You must have a good understanding of local government as you will lead a team that advises Officers and Elected Members. You will prepare agendas, reports and minutes, organise meetings, respond to correspondence and assist with the maintenance of work plans. You will have experience of working in a local authority governance role and supervising or managing staff. 

Working as part of a professional and friendly team in a challenging and stimulating environment, you will be organised, accurate, able to think logically, plan ahead and be able to work under pressure to pre-determined deadlines.  You will be an effective and experienced communicator, accustomed to engaging with senior people in an organisation when dealing with complicated and sensitive matters. In particular, you will be confident and tactful in dealing with elected Members and Senior Officers, showing political sensitivity and an understanding of the local authority landscape. You will also have an excellent standard of written English and be competent using Microsoft Office 360, Microsoft Teams and be able to learn new programmes like Modern.Gov. 

 

 We’re looking for an individual who has experience in: 

• Extensive experience of committee administration/support to Democratic Services in the public sector 

• Detailed knowledge of law & protocols relating to the service area 

• Political awareness and experience of effective working with Members and Chief Officers 

• Experience in staff management 

 

 The ideal candidate would be: 

• Highly motivated, organised and able to work under pressure to meet multiple, conflicting deadlines 

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal, to varying levels of complexity. 

• Effective team working. Sharing ownership, team goals and workload, and ability to establish and maintain effective relationships will people of all levels. 

• Prepared to work outside of normal office hours including evenings 

Benefits include generous annual leave, membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme and an opportunity for some remote working, 

 

For an informal discussion please contact Claire Mayhew on 01277 312741. 

 

Both Councils are committed to equal opportunities and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.  People with disabilities will be offered an interview where they meet the Essential Criteria on the Person Specification. 

Please note that the postholder will be employed by Rochford District Council.