Democratic and Overview

Job Introduction
**Role Purpose**

To support the Council’s formal decision-making processes and meeting procedures, providing support and advice to Members, officers and the public to ensure the Council operates within its constitution and statutory requirements around the democratic process. The role will also support the school admission appeals process.

The role will focus on operational support for Members and the formal meetings within a certain area, acting as the sole provider of constitutional and procedural advice at public meetings without recourse to others, though support and guidance from more senior specialists is available outside of public meetings.

To work independently and as part of a team within BCP, planning and prioritising their work with due regard to the broader requirements of the team.

To deliver an excellent, professional service with strong customer care to both internal and external customers.

To provide support to councillors to enable them to perform their wider functions.

Details of role profile/job summary / job introduction/ job description can be included here

**Main Responsibilities**
- To co-ordinate the delivery arrangements for formal and informal Council meetings to ensure that proper decision making is delivered in line with required procedures and that meetings are compliant with democratic governance arrangements and the Council's constitution. This will involve preparing agendas, advising at the meeting on constitutional issues where appropriate, producing clear and accurate minutes, and recording details of proceedings and all decisions or recommendations made.
- To facilitate access to meetings by the public and encourage participation and accessibility, ensuring that information is produced in accordance with statutory timescales and fed back in the most suitable format.
- To organise and co-ordinate scrutiny visits and partnership meetings and assist with Elected Member training events to ensure that they run smoothly.
- To liaise and communicate with members of the public, Government Departments and other partner organisations on service-related issues.
- To support the Education Appeals Clerk and Appeals Officer to administer the school admission and education appeals process, to ensure that appeals proceed in compliance with defined procedures and decision-making requirements. This will involve providing advice to appeal panels on procedures, and communicating with independent panel members, parents and schools.
- Highlight and escalate relevant issues to more senior colleagues to ensure a positive resolution and support decision making.

Will have:

- Knowledge of the Council's constitution.
- Knowledge of legislation and local government decision making requirements.
- Strong political awareness.
- Experience of providing administrative support.
- Experience of working with highly confidential documents and information.
- Ability to plan and manage own workload often with competing and time-sensitive deadlines.
- Ability to communicate appropriately and with reason when providing advice to Council Members, officers of the council and the public.
- Ability to manage work of a high-profile nature that could result in reputational risk to the council

**About BCP Council**

BCP Council provides services to a diverse community of 400,000 residents and employs more than 5,000 people. Our area includes over 15 miles of beautiful world-renowned coastline. We can offer career defining roles to transform and improve services. By working with us, you can help deliver a vision of a thriving, word-class, prosperous and inclusive place for generations to come.

**Our Benefits**

We offer an excellent benefits package to colleagues. Find out more on our website.

As a result of the creation of BCP Council in 2019, we are working on simplifying our terms and conditions of service and will be creating a single pay structure which is to be applicable for all employees. It is important to us that we offer benefits that our colleagues value as part of their total employment package and we are reviewing these to make sure we have it right. We are in the process of establishing a timescale for implementation and colleagues joining us will be included in these changes. This is expected to be in place in 2024.