Member Services Officer

Southampton City Council; Southampton; Hybrid; GBP 27,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension 15.2%

Hybrid working

Death in service 3x

Holiday 25-31 days

Training & development

Health & wellbeing

Veteran-friendly

Discounts via SCC benefits

Cycle to work

Volunteer days

Job summary

Southampton City Council is seeking a proactive Member Services Officer to join the Member Services Team for an initial 6-month fixed-term contract. The role focuses on delivering professional support to all Members and supporting the Southampton Independent School Appeals Service.

You will filter inquiries from residents via email, phone, in person or social channels; provide guidance and signposting; and handle letters, mail merges, meeting room bookings, and general office duties.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in business administration tasks.
• Strong planning and organisational skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Proficient with MS365: Office, Teams, SharePoint.
• Awareness of political sensitivity and confidentiality.

Responsibilities

• Filter and redirect queries from residents via email, phone, in person or social media.
• Provide advice, guidance and signposting for general queries.
• Produce letters, run mail merges, book rooms, and handle post and printing.
• Collaborate with Democratic Services and the Lord Mayor’s Office.
• Support pre- and post-election processes.

Skills

Admin tasks

Planning & organisation

Interpersonal & communication

MS365 Suite

Political sensitivity & confidentially

Education

GCSEs (5+)

Tools

MS365 Suite

Job description

We have an exciting opportunity for a Member Services Officer. This is initially offered as a 6 month Fixed Term Contract within the Member Services Team at Southampton City Council (SCC).

Southampton is an exciting place to be, and SCC has an ambitious and challenging agenda. Our Legal & Governance Directorate is central to delivering this and is underpinned by a business partnering approach to working with the wider council and our partners to deliver successful outcomes for our customers.

Alongside technical expertise, we are seeking dynamic, pragmatic and knowledgeable individuals who are solution-focused, with an eye for innovation and are able to ask the right questions at the right time. Central to this are excellent communication and interpersonal skills together with the ability to build and develop professional relationships across the council and beyond.

About the role

The primary focus of Member Services is to deliver a professional and high-quality support service to all Members of the Council. As a small team, we support provide full administration to the Southampton Independent School Appeals Service as well as supporting local democratic processes working closely with colleagues across Democratic Services and the Lord Mayor’s office.

The successful candidate will be responsible for supporting all Members of the Council with administration processes regarding the requirements below.

• To filter, deal with or re-direct queries from residents received via email, telephone, in person or via direct communication (social media) channels.
• To provide advice, guidance and signposting support to general queries received by Members.
• To provide a range of administrative support functions such as producing letters, running mail merges, booking meeting rooms and other general office duties such as post and printing.
• To work closely with colleagues across Democratic Services and the Lord Mayor’s Office to assist and support priorities across these teams.
• To support core processes in relation to pre and post-election activity.

For further information about this role please view the job description.

About you

Member Services is looking for a motivated and experienced individual to join us in the role of a Member Services Officer. This is a key role within Member Services, and the successful candidate must be able to demonstrate strong administration skills for this role. You should be qualified to at least GCSE with a minimum of 5 GSCEs.

• Proven experience in a wide range of business administration tasks and functions with the ability to prioritise work and manage multi-tasks.
• To demonstrate good planning and organisational skills.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Proficient in MS365 applications: MS Office, Teams, SharePoint.
• Understanding the need for political sensitivity, awareness and confidentiality.

What we can offer you

Salary

The salary band for this role is £27,273 - £29,138. The starting salary is £27,273 with annual progression through the salary bands.

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

• Excellent local government pension with 15.2% employer contribution
• Hybrid working arrangements with a minimum of 3 days in the office
• Death in service benefit of x3 salary, and optional salary sacrifice shared cost AVC (additional voluntary contribution)
• Generous holiday 25-31 days, based on role and service
• Family-friendly policies - Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared/Unpaid Parental Leave, Time off for Dependents
• Training and development, including coaching and mentoring
• Health and wellbeing support - Employee Assistance Programme, Menopause Pledge, Mental Health First Aiders and access to a variety of staff networks
• Veteran-friendly employer with the Armed Forces Covenant
• Retail discounts and savings through the Southampton City Council benefits platform
• Discounted memberships at local sports and fitness centres
• Sustainable travel benefits - low emission car scheme, cycle to work, season ticket loans
• Employee volunteering scheme with 2 paid days leave to volunteer

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

Contact details for informal discussion

For further information and details regarding the Member Services Officer role, please contact Sarah Dale, Democratic & Member Services Manager, on 02380 834791 or [e-mail]

Recruitment contact details

Email: [e-mail]
Tel: [phone]

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