Democratic Officer

The Service & Team: 

Democratic Services is part of the Legal and Assurance Service and sits at the centre of the Council's democratic decision making process, through its support of the wide range of Council Committees.  The team has a wide range of customers including elected Members; senior officers of the Council; partners, stakeholders and the public.  It also provides the independent clerking service for education admission appeals; manages the Members' Allowances Scheme; facilitates and coordinates Member induction and development and provides lead support to the civic function of the Council and the Lord Lieutenant.

 

The Role:

As Democratic Officer you will be responsible for providing effective support to the democratic decision-making process of the Council. The role includes ensuring that the Constitution is understood and providing procedural advice both inside and outside of meetings.  You will be preparing agendas, ensuring that legal and constitutional requirements are met; drafting and finalising minutes and other follow up actions arising from meetings.  You will also be responsible for maintaining the Council’s Committee Management System which is the tool used to publish agendas, reports and minutes and Member information.  The role also supports the delivery of the independent education admission and exclusion appeals.

There are two roles available.  One is permanent, the other fixed term until 1 July 2027.

This is a public/customer-facing role, where the statutory English language requirement for public sector workers applies.                  

 

Working Pattern:

The post is a full time position, 37 hours a week, Monday to Friday.  The worker style is based anywhere and comprises hybrid working, both from home and the office.  Attendance in person is required for formal Committee meetings; team meetings and other collaboration events.  

Flexible working options are available for this role such as compressed hours.
 

What you’ll need to succeed:

You will need advanced knowledge of the end-to-end agenda management process; experience of facilitating/running a wide range of Member meetings and providing procedural advice; working knowledge of legislation relating to the democratic process and knowledge or practical experience of education admission/exclusion reviews.

You will need an HNC/HND or NVQ in Democratic Services or appropriate equivalent experience as well as sufficient IT experience to enable the delivery of the requirements of the role.

 

Please read the role profile for the full details of this role attached below in this advert

 

What you’ll get in return:

Training will be provided for the role from within the Democratic Services team.
 

Cornwall Council’s ambition is to be an employer of choice, a high performing Council and a learning organisation. We commit to providing a reward and benefits package to attract, motivate and reward our employees. We offer a range of flexible working options to our staff. This helps provide our employees with a greater work/life balance. Whilst still ensuring that service needs are met.

 

Our core employee rewards and benefits include:

• a competitive salary.
• a defined benefit pension scheme, based on your career average earnings. This includes the option for extra voluntary contributions
• a generous annual leave entitlement with the potential to purchase additional leave.
• a national award-winning employee health and wellbeing programme
• Employee benefits scheme giving employees access to a wide range of discounts to local and national goods and services

 

Additional Information:

Cornwall Council is unable to offer visa sponsorship or transfer existing sponsorship for this role.

 

The full role profile is attached here

 

We recommend saving a copy of this to refer to if you are invited to an interview.

 

For more information or an informal chat about the role please contact Anita Searby - Anita.Searby@cornwall.gov.uk 

 

Application Process

 

Please attach a supporting statement to your application, you can add your Education & Qualifications details manually using the application form timeline or you can upload your CV.  Please confirm which of the roles you are applying for.  Remember to demonstrate why you are suitable against each of the points marked as ‘Application’ on the Role Profile using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work / personal experience, which clearly illustrates what you did and the effect it had. Guidance on how to complete your application can be found here – The application process_._

 

Please note that applications cannot be edited after they have been submitted, please contact careers@cornwall.gov.uk if you have any queries or require assistance with your application.

 

Existing employees must apply using their Cornwall Council email address through the Opportunity Marketplace on Oracle.

Cornwall Council deliver services to more than half a million local people and over five million visitors a year. Working here - Cornwall Council

We are happy to talk about flexible working options such as part-time or compressed hours. More examples of our flexible working opportunities can be found here - flexible working options.

Fairness and inclusion are at the heart of our vision for Cornwall. In order to best serve our communities, we are striving to achieve a diverse workforce that is inclusive of all backgrounds, cultures and identities; e.g., race, disability, sex, gender reassignment status, age, religion and sexual orientation. We are an equal opportunities and Disability Confident employer, and we will assess applicants on their merits.

Cornwall Council is committed to safeguarding and following safer recruitment principles to help make sure our staff and volunteers are suitable to work with children, young people and adults at risk. It’s a vital part of creating a safe and positive environment and making a commitment to keeping all service users safe from harm.