Councillor Services Team Leader

JT Recruit; England; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A public sector client in Reading seeks a Councillor Serviced Team Leader to oversee the Councillor Services team and provide comprehensive support to the Council's leaders. The ideal candidate will have experience in local government and demonstrate strong management skills, political acumen, and excellent communication abilities. This office-based role requires discretion and coordination across multiple demands and teams.

Qualifications

• Experience in democratic organisations, local or national government.
• Experience working in a confidential office environment.
• Experience supporting senior leaders in a complex organisation.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive EA service to the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council.
• Manage the Councillor Services team and ensure quality performance.
• Advise councillors on their responsibilities and respond to their casework.

Skills

Building trust and confidence quickly

Handling sensitive information with discretion

Strong management skills

Strong organisational skills

Political acumen

Excellent written and verbal communications

Maintaining a calm environment under pressure

Job description

Councillor Serviced Team Leader required for our public sector client based in Reading

This role is predominately office based at the Civic Offices

Job Purpose

1. To work as a key contact to provide comprehensive, specialist and proactive EA service to the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council, taking full ownership of the Councillor Services team across a varied range of tasks taking responsibility for prioritising and maximising resource time on behalf of all Councillors, providing cover for the Mayoralty and assisting with major Mayoral events as required.

2. To oversee the work and manage the Councillor Services team providing support to all councillors across all parties. Ensuring the overall performance of the Councillor Services team is maintained, having oversight of workloads and ensuring the team is managed within agreed standards of quality and efficiency.

3. To provide advice and guidance to councillors regarding their duties and responsibilities as elected members and to provide advice and guidance to other officers regarding dealing with councillors, their casework and the Member : Officer Protocol.

Experience

• Worked in democratic organisations (local government, national government etc)
• Worked in an office environment that required confidentiality and discretion
• Worked in a team with multiple demands, often with tight timescales, and with multiple senior leaders to support
• Experience of supporting a senior leader in a complex organisations

Skills

• Able to build trust and confidence quickly
• Ability to handle sensitive information with a high degree of discretion
• Strong management skills, with the ability to identify and implement improvements quickly
• Strong organisational skills, managing a variety of requests at a fast pace, and coordinating between different teams with different priorities and demands
• Strong political acumen, recognising the political environment in which councillors work, and the apolitical role of officers
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills
• Maintaining a calm environment whilst managing pressures

Knowledge

• Knowledge of Reading area
• Strong understanding of the democratic structures within local government, and the apolitical role of officers
• Understanding of UK GDPR and data protection
• Awareness of the challenges and priorities for Reading Borough Council