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Political Assistant

Job introduction

Fixed term: 4 years (to May 2027)

Interview date: To be confirmed

Political Assistant to the Labour Group

An exciting opportunity has arisen for someone with a keen political instinct and great communication skills to work with the Labour Group of councillors at Brighton & Hove City Council.

The Labour Group secured an historic majority of 38 councillors out of a total of 54 in the May 2023 local elections and this post will be key to the support and management of the Group.

An interesting and varied post, core duties will include carrying out research, providing advice and analysis, preparing reports, ensuring effective internal and external communications, and acting as a liaison between the elected members, the Council's officers and MPs.

You will support the work of the Labour Group as a whole and will ensure effective working arrangements between the Labour Group and the Leadership. You will maintain links with relevant organisations and individuals both internally and externally. Excellent organisation and communication skills are vital, as is sound judgement, self-motivation, diplomacy and negotiation skills. You will need to demonstrate your awareness of new legislation and political developments (local, regional and national) with particular reference to the Labour Party.

About the role

The role will involve:

• Leading on the production of strong external communications (such as press releases, media briefings, social media graphics, e-bulletins and videos) to celebrate the work of the Labour Group of councillors;
• Being an effective link between Labour councillors and staff across the council and ensuring that the Group’s priorities are understood, and helping facilitate the tracking and implementation of the Group’s manifesto pledges;
• Understanding the local social, economic and political landscape so that you can analyse the impact of Government policy on the City;
• Identifying and researching issues facing the city as they emerge and working with councillors on plans to address them and communicate a response;
• Assisting councillors with the preparation for Council meetings by ensuring they are fully briefed and ready to make their contributions at Committees and Full Council;
• Supporting the Labour Group with the drafting of council motions, amendments, speeches and negotiations with other elected representatives.

About you:

Strong written and verbal communication skills, and with experience of Labour politics and/or local government, along with a good eye for news stories and an understanding of the media. You will be IT literate, social media savvy, detail-oriented, able to manage various priorities, meet hard deadlines, and have the energy and determination to fulfil the role.

This post is politically restricted and will be offered in line with current legislation governing Political Assistant posts.

There will be a requirement to attend the office in person on a regular basis. There will also be a requirement for attendance at evening meetings and occasional weekends.

For an informal discussion, please contact Elizabeth Culbert – Assistant Director Legal and Democratic Services at [email protected] or on 07500 901012

Please read our Apply for a job at the council (brighton-hove.gov.uk) pages carefully. They give you all the guidance you need to complete your application as well as information on what will happen after you’ve submitted your application and at interview.

As part of your application, you will need to upload your CV highlighting your relevant experience (2 sides of A 4 maximum) and a supporting statement indicating how you meet the criteria set out in the Person Specification (2 sides of A 4 maximum). Your supporting statement is the most important part of your application as it will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our guidance here (CV guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) and Supporting statement guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.

Additional information

Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.

Work Permits: We may be able to obtain a Work Permit for this post but this is subject to meeting the requirements of the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) Points-based Immigration System. Please see Gov.uk for more information on the Skilled Worker Visa.

We are a workplace that supports flexibility and employee wellbeing in the way we work whilst providing the best service for our customers. Team and service working arrangements are designed to support both employee work life balance and team collaboration. These would be part of your individual working arrangements alongside any personal preference agreed with your manager in advance of joining.

For more information about our values and the benefits of working at the council, visit Why work for us (brighton-hove.gov.uk)

Company information

Encouraging a diverse workforce

Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, male or trans.

Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce (brighton-hove.gov.uk).