Democratic Services Manager, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Association Of Democratic Services Officers; Salisbury; Hybrid; GBP 44,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

A local fire and rescue authority in Salisbury seeks a Democratic Services Manager to lead its democratic services function. Responsibilities include overseeing Fire Authority meetings and ensuring compliance with the Local Government Act. Ideal candidates should have experience in democratic services and strong relationship management skills. This full-time role offers an annual salary of £44,075 to £47,181 with numerous employee benefits, including a flexi-time scheme.

Benefits

Flexi time scheme

Local Government Pension Scheme

Generous annual leave allowance

Family friendly schemes

Health & well-being services

Qualifications

• Good level of understanding of the Local Government Act with knowledge and working experience in a democratic services environment.
• Able to produce accurate and thorough formal board level and committee meeting minutes.
• Ability to manage professional relationships with internal staff and external stakeholders including Senior Management and Councillors/Fire Authority Members.

Responsibilities

• Lead the democratic service function for the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority.
• Develop and deliver against the annual democratic meeting calendar and programmes of work.
• Lead on administration and support for all Fire Authority meetings.

Skills

Understanding of Local Government Act

Ability to produce formal meeting minutes

Relationship management

Job description

Overview

Salary: £44,075 rising by annual increments to £47,181 per annum
Grade: G
Contract: Permanent, Full time
Hours: 37 hours per week

This is a fantastic opportunity to join Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, an organisation that is passionate about changing and saving lives. Our corporate staff are absolutely vital in helping to make our communities safer and healthier. Without them, we couldn’t do it.

We offer a wide range of employee benefits and strive to ensure that staff are valued and rewarded. For example, we offer a flexi time scheme, Local Government Pension Scheme, a generous annual leave allowance, a variety of family friendly schemes including 39 weeks’ full pay during maternity leave (subject to qualifying criteria) and health & well-being services.

Responsibilities

• Lead the democratic service function for the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority ensuring that the Authority and its associated committees are governed in line with the Local Government Act
• Develop and deliver against the annual democratic meeting calendar and programmes of work to ensure deadlines are met
• Lead on the administration and support for all Fire Authority meetings including agenda preparation, quality assuring reports and producing minutes in line with corporate standards.

What makes you our ideal Democratic Services Manager?

• Good level of understanding of the Local Government Act with knowledge and working experience in a democratic services environment
• Able to produce accurate and thorough formal board level and committee meeting minutes
• Ability to manage professional relationships with internal staff and external stakeholders including Senior Management and Councillors/Fire Authority Members

Further information

For full details of the role and requirements please have a look at the job description and person specification by clicking on the ‘Apply for Job’ button below.

More information on salaries and progression can be found on our pay and policies page.

Location and flexible working

The service encourages flexible working and is open to flexible working options. The role will be based at Service Headquarters, Salisbury with the flexibility to work from home / DWFRS Stations / Support Offices and we would welcome a conversation with the successful candidate on what type of flexible working arrangement will work best for you. The successful candidate will be expected to travel quarterly to one location within each of the four local authority areas — Swindon, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP), Wiltshire and Dorset. In addition, there are two quarterly meetings of the Fire Authority held in Salisbury, which the postholder will be required to attend in person.

Contact

For a chat about this post, please contact Vikki Shearing, Assistant Chief Officer – Director of Corporate Services on 01722 691082 / [e-mail]

Other Information

• You must be able to fulfil the travel requirements of the role. The successful candidate will be expected to travel quarterly to one location within each of the four local authority areas — Swindon, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP), Wiltshire and Dorset. In addition, there are two quarterly meetings of the Fire Authority held in Salisbury, which the postholder will be required to attend in person.
• A Standard Disclosure & Barring Service Check (DBS) clearance will be undertaken on the successful individual prior to offer of employment.
• Any offer of employment will be subject to full pre-employment checks which include identity checks, right to work in the UK, medical, negative drug test, receipt of satisfactory references, verification of employment history and an explanation of any gaps in employment in the last 3 years.
• Please click here for information relating to raising tax awareness and pension considerations when applying for a job.

To find out more and apply

Our Candidate Charter outlines the commitments we make to you when applying for a vacancy with us.

Please note we do not accept CV’s in place of application forms.

We welcome the use of AI responsibly and ethically to demonstrate your skills in your application, but please don’t allow it to overshadow your own unique voice.

While we appreciate innovative approaches, we also value authenticity. Our assessment considers both the content of the application and how it was created, ensuring fairness and inclusivity for all applicants. At the end of the day – we want YOU to work for us!

You should ensure you include satisfactory evidence in your application to demonstrate all of the areas stated as being measured at the Application Stage on the Person Specification. This will ensure you have the best opportunity of progressing to the next stage of the selection process.

Values & Behaviours Framework

Our recruitment, assessment and progression processes are based on our Code of Ethics that has been developed specifically for Fire and Rescue Services. When recruiting, we identify the most important behaviours for the role and these are used as part of the short-listing and selection process.

Closing date for applications: Midnight, Tuesday 25 November 2025

Interviews are scheduled to take place on Monday 8 December 2025

Should you be shortlisted for interview, further details regarding the interview format / location will be provided before the interview date.

For full details and to apply, please click on the ‘Apply for Job’ button below.