As Southampton City Council prepares for the significant changes brought about by the establishment of a Mayoral Combined Authority and Local Government Reorganisation, we are excited to announce an opportunity to join the Democratic Services team working as a permanent, full time, Democratic Support Officer.

About the role: 

The Democratic Services team is an agile, busy team supporting effective political governance of the Council.  The team are also responsible for the coordination, delivery and management of the Independent Education Appeals Service for Southampton Schools.

As a Democratic Support Officer you will play an important role in the delivery of the council’s constitutional and decision-making process, providing expert advice and support to elected councillors and senior leaders.  You will have specific responsibilities including the preparation and publication of committee agendas, reports and minutes as well as participating in other activities supporting the democratic and school appeal processes. 

About you:

We are looking for someone enthusiastic and is a flexible team player, who can work both independently and collaboratively with colleagues in a busy deadline driven environment with:

• Relevant administrative or governance experience, within a local government setting.
• Exceptional organisational skills, attention to detail and to be able to work well under pressure at pace.
• Confident communicator who is cognizant of the issues of working in a sensitive, political environment.
• An excellent standard of written English and able to demonstrate a good set IT literacy skills within Microsoft 365 suite of packages, including MS Teams and SharePoint.
• An understanding or experience of working with the ‘modern.gov agenda management’ and Appeals Pro systems would be advantageous although not essential.

We operate a flexible working environment with a mix of home and office based working, which is dependent on meeting the needs of the business.  Due to the nature of the role there will be an element of evening working to support committee meetings. 

What we can offer you:

Here at SCC we have a range of different perks and benefits, a few examples can be found below.

• A generous local government pension scheme.
• Flexible working (role dependant). Up to 13 days of Flexi Leave.
• Hybrid working arrangements (role dependant).
• 25 days annual leave (pro rata), plus bank holidays.
• Online Benefits – salary sacrifice schemes, benefits and discounts.
• Great local transport links.
• Employee assistance programme with access to our health wellbeing and support.

For further information on our benefits package please visit: Employee benefits (southampton.gov.uk)

If you feel you have the necessary background, experience, and skills to undertake this role we would like to hear from you.

Contact details for informal discussion:

For further information and details regarding the position, please contact Senior Democratic Support Officers, Claire Heather 023 8083 2412 or Judy Cordell 023 8083 2766.

Recruitment contact details:

Email: recruitment@southampton.gov.uk

Tel: 023 8083 4033

For more information about SCC please visit Southampton City Council
Follow us on social media for regular updates on our featured jobs and latest news.
Facebook    YouTube