Governance Services Officer

London Borough of Hackney; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

London Borough of Hackney is seeking a Governance Services Officer to support transparent governance, democratic processes and statutory obligations across the council.

In a political environment you will work with elected Members, the Monitoring Officer and colleagues to ensure governance arrangements operate lawfully, effectively and transparently. This is a role that combines governance expertise with committee support and public accountability.

Qualifications

• Experience in democratic services or governance within local government.
• Strong knowledge of local government legislation and constitutional governance frameworks.
• Excellent IT skills to support hybrid meetings and to use Modern.Gov and Civico.

Responsibilities

• Support governance, democratic processes, and statutory obligations.
• Interpret and provide detailed advice to elected members and senior officers.
• Record minutes and decisions with high-quality writing.
• Manage agenda publications for internal and external stakeholders and publish to the Council’s website.
• Support formal committee management, attendance, and meeting preparation (including evening meetings).
• Collaborate with colleagues across the Council.

Skills

Democratic services

Local government governance

Communication

Active listening

Tools

Modern.Gov

Civico

Google Council

Job description

The Governance Services Officer role is a crucial role within the Legal and Governance Service which sits within the Chief Executive’s Directorate.

The Governance Services Officer provides essential support across a broad range of governance functions, democratic processes, public accountability responsibilities and statutory obligations.

Working within a political environment, you will work closely with elected Members, senior officers, the Monitoring Officer and colleagues across all service areas to ensure governance arrangements operate lawfully, effectively and transparently.

The role provides an excellent opportunity for someone who wants to progress within a governance environment. We are seeking individuals with:

• Experience in working within democratic services, governance within local government, local government committee management or working directly with Elected Members.
• Strong knowledge of local government legislation and constitutional governance frameworks.
• Excellent IT skills to support hybrid meetings and to use and maintain systems such as Modern.Gov and Civico. Please note that Hackney is a Google council.
• Excellent communication skills with strong active listening and writing capabilities.

While the job description outlines the core responsibilities attached to the post, candidates should understand that the day-to-day operational demands of Governance Services frequently extend beyond the formal duties listed.

The successful candidate must demonstrate professional judgement, flexibility and be able to adapt quickly to changing priorities and urgent governance matters in a fast paced environment. The candidate must also demonstrate confidence and political sensitivity in dealing with elected members and senior officers. This is a varied role where workloads can increase unexpectedly.

No two days within Governance Services are the same.

Key Responsibilities

You will play a central role in supporting the Council in its transparency, governance and accountability functions, including:

• Demonstrating strong understanding of local government legislation and constitutional governance frameworks for local authority decision making and an ability to interpret and to provide detailed advice to elected members and senior officers
• Communicating directly with members of the public while demonstrating excellent interpersonal skills and professionalism in an environment where democracy is promoted.
• Accurate recording of minutes and decisions to include excellent writing skills.
• Managing agenda publications for internal and external stakeholders and publishing to the Council’s website.
• Supporting formal committee management processes including in-person attendance, meeting preparation, governance advice and procedural support for evening and late-night meetings.
• Working collaboratively with colleagues across the Council.

Important Information About This Role

This is a demanding operational role supporting highly visible areas of Council decision-making and public accountability.

The successful candidate must understand that evening and late night committee attendance forms a regular part of the role. The written job description does not capture every operational responsibility attached to the role.

We are looking for someone who understands that governance is not simply administrative support; it is a critical function that protects the integrity, transparency and lawful operation of the Council.

London Borough of Hackney

Hackney is one of the most dynamic and progressive local authorities in the UK. We are a resilient, vibrant and creative borough in the heart of London, with strong and diverse communities and a powerful set of shared values. This is an exciting opportunity to support the new directly elected Mayor and administration in this era.

Over the past twenty years, the Council has built first-class services, outstanding public infrastructure and a reputation for excellence, innovation and ambition. We are leading the way on essential work including our commitment to equity across Hackney, with a strong focus on becoming an actively anti-racist borough while promoting fairness across all aspects of society including gender equality, neurodiversity and tackling inequality across the poverty divide.

As a Council, our most outstanding asset is our staff, who are highly dedicated to serving our residents and committed to our goals as an organisation.

We operate a fair and open anonymous selection process.

We are also working towards our vision, which is to be a place for everyone; where residents and staff can be proud. In order to achieve this, we are seeking individuals who embody our “PROUD” values: Purpose and Respect, where we foster belonging through active inclusion, kindness, and open dialogue; Ownership, where we champion proactive collaboration and accountability for our shared success; and Unity and Diversity, where we work as one Council to break down silos and champion anti-racist behavior.

Hackney Council works to eradicate discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We also recognise that people can be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will also work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class. We also welcome those interested in flexible working. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people, as this group is currently under represented in our workforce.

The Council has a dedicated employment support service (Hackney Works), which offers Hackney residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you are thinking about applying for a job, please contact the Hackney Works team to find out what support is available: [e-mail]

Closing date for applications: 14 September 2026 (22:59)

Interview date: W/c 05 October 2026

In the event of receiving a high volume of applications we reserve the right to close this role early, and if necessary perform a long listing exercise prior to interview.