Councillor and Governance Support Officer

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF DAPHNE’S INSIGHT

Corporate Services in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories, where passionate and expert professionals go above and beyond for their colleagues every day.

Daphne, our champion for people with learning difficulties, is a real beacon. She doesn’t just advocate for colleagues with these difficulties, she teaches managers how to identify and understand the conditions and support their teams at work. Daphne has an innate ability to see the human behind every situation, helping them capitalise on strengths and overcome challenges to be their very best. With her empathy and expertise, she’s a natural. But then, a lifetime of managing her own dyslexia and dyspraxia brings with it unique insight. Our people – and ultimately residents – benefit every day.

Please view the extraordinary story of Daphne’s Insight here.

The Role:

As Councillor and Governance Support Officer you can make your own powerful contribution to Westminster’s success. From managing elected officials' diaries and supporting the Council’s governance process to administering the ward budget programme, you’ll respond to all sorts of important challenges as you enable our key decision-makers to perform their roles smoothly and effectively. This vital work will help to deliver our Fairer Westminster strategy and support Cabinet Members as they make the decisions that affect the lives of people and communities in Westminster.

Working closely with politicians, your day-to-day tasks will be varied and could include arranging a complex cross-Council meeting with various stakeholders, commissioning a briefing note for a Cabinet Member on a pressing strategic priority, or supporting applicants through the ward budget application process. You’ll also take a lead role in supporting a broad portfolio of casework, working with everyone in the council from junior officers to our most senior stakeholders. Maintaining oversight of complaints and casework, you’ll also work in partnership with relevant service areas to resolve issues and conduct investigations into the specifics of each challenge, while ensuring our residents have the best possible experience when they interact with the Council.

Working in a team with great links across the Council, this role is a great opportunity for someone who has strong organisational skills, is enthusiastic about local government and is interested in learning more about the inner workings of a Council.

If you think you could be a good fit and would like to learn more about the role, please get in touch with Nikki (ncostain@westminster.gov.uk) for an informal chat.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information.

About You:

As a key member of a small team working at the heart of the Council, you’ll be proactive, methodical and enjoy working with a diverse range of people at different levels of our organisation. It goes without saying that you’ll have brilliant organisational skills and the ability to work in a fast-paced, politically driven environment, and more than that, you’ll be ready to quickly get to grips with large and complex amounts of information while balancing several workstreams at the same time.

Comfortable when it comes to handling financial administration, including processing payment requests, you’ll be highly collaborative and personable with a flair for building good relationships with everyone you work with. You should also be aware of the key challenges facing local government, and confident in your ability to communicate tactfully and diplomatically.

Whilst you’ll be happy to work with limited supervision, you’ll also know when to ask your team for help and when to seek advice from colleagues. Above all, you’ll be interested in the work we do and willing to get stuck in. In return, we’ll offer you a dynamic work environment with great career development opportunities and the chance to work on some of the most pressing issues facing local government today.

Westminster City Council is committed to supporting Care Leavers into the workplace. Care Leavers seeking their first job and who wish to be considered under our scheme, will automatically be invited to interview should they meet the essential criteria for the role.

We reserve the right to extend or close this vacancy early without warning subject to the volume of suitable applicants.

What We Offer:

Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster. Westminster City Council’s strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city’s future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.

At Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is the Westminster Way. To find out more about how we do this visit  https://www.westminster.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/public-health-strategy-policies-and-reports/equality-duties

As a forward thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.

The Council is a Disability Confident Employer. If you have declared a disability in your application , we guarantee an interview if you meet the essential criteria of the job. If you are invited for interview, you will be asked if you need any reasonable adjustments in order to attend, and we will make these wherever possible.