Political Assistant to the Newham Independent Group

Newham Independent Group Political Assistant
£45,750 - £49,056 per annum pro rata ‘One day per week’
Fixed Term until May 2026

Newham is one of the youngest and most diverse boroughs in England and Wales. Host to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and home to the largest urban regeneration site in Europe, Newham boasts a vibrant and thriving culture and community.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for someone with a keen political instinct and great organisational skills to work with the Independent Group of Councillors of Newham Council.

We are looking for a Political Assistant to support the aspirations of the groups policy programme and communicate our agenda to the City.

Understanding the local social, economic and political landscape so that you can analyse the impact of Government policy on the City.

Identifying new issues facing the City as they emerge and working with Councillors on plans to address them and communicate a response.

Ensuring an effective Newham Independent Group presence at Council meetings by ensuring Councillors are fully briefed and ready to make clear and concise contributions at Committees and Full Council.

Supporting our team to develop an ongoing positive narrative about the Newham Independent Group’s policy programme through their speaking opportunities, press interviews and across a range of local publications and social media.

Being an effective link between Members of the Group and Officers and ensuring that the Group’s priorities are understood and reflected in the development of policies and decision-making.

You will have the ability to function, with minimal supervision, in a highly pressured environment, with competing demands and a significant workload.

You will have excellent interpersonal skills and be able to build, develop and maintain good working relationships with very senior people in a wide variety of organisations and to be able to deal with sensitive and difficult matters.

To complete a successful application, please carefully review the person specification and ensure you offer examples of your work experience.

The London Borough of Newham is a Disability Confident employer. Candidates who declare that they have a disability in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 and meet the essential criteria as specified in the Job Profile will be guaranteed an interview.

Priority consideration on all advertised roles will be given to London Borough of Newham Redeployees.

The London Borough of Newham is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable groups and expects staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Please be aware that a Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS) check will be required for any position with access to these groups under the provision of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

In addition, the Authority reserves the right to request employees undertake a basic disclosure check (Disclosure Scotland) where required for the role this includes anyone who has access to (or information obtained directly from) a government database, or has a GCSX account. These posts will be required to have a Basic Disclosure Scotland check as per the requirements of BPSS (Baseline Personnel Security Standards).

If you would like a discussion about the role or recruitment process, please contact Akhtar Ali, Head of Elections and Interim Head of Democratic Services at Akhtar.Ali@newham.gov.uk.

IMPORTANT: If you are an LBN member of staff and applying for this role as a secondment you should note that secondments are subject to the agreement of your current employing service. Please ensure that you inform your line manager of your intention to apply for the post in the first instance.

Please view JD here

Closing date: Friday 6 February 2026

Additional Information

We are committed to creating an inclusive, anti-racist environment for all. When you apply for a job at Newham, your application is considered on its merits regardless of your age, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender identity or sexual orientation. If you share our vision and values, and you bring the experience and skills we need, that’s all that matters to us.

The London Borough of Newham has important responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. If you are appointed to a job that involves working with these groups, you may be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Please attach your supporting statement, explaining in no more than x2 A4 sides why and how you meet the criteria for this role.

We practice anonymised recruitment. Please ensure that you remove all personal information from any documents that you upload.

The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found by https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn.