Electoral Services Manager

Job Description

Join us to lead the elections team at Brent Council as we prepare for local elections in an exciting and diverse borough Brent is a tremendously vibrant London borough where the iconic arch of Wembley Stadium dominates the skyline. Spanning both innerand outer London, it is a borough of huge contrasts in terms of its economic, environmental, ethnic and social make up. Brents diversity is evident to all who visit our borough and our long history of ethnic and cultural diversity has created a place thatis truly unique and valued by those who live and work here.The council is pursuing a far-reaching transformation agenda that better meets the needs of our community so it is an exciting time to join us.The Post Brent is a large borough with approximately 236,000registered electors and 150 polling stations. We have recently delivered a very successful, Covid-safe election for the London Mayoral and Assembly elections, with staff demonstrating high levels of commitment, strong technical skills and collaboration. Weare now looking for a skilled elections specialist and leader to manage and develop the elections team at Brent Council and deliver the Councils elections. You will manage a high performing team, preparing for the borough elections in May 2022. You will workclosely with other departments across the Council as we increasingly commission logistics, property and other services in support of election activity. The role will foster good working relationships with members of the public and councillors, and with otherkey partners. Other key projects include implementing the Local Government and Parliamentary boundary reviews and responding to new legislative proposals such as voter ID and votes for life. Brent prides itself on its culture and the council is passionateabout improving services, putting customers at its heart and supporting its staff. We offer a blend of remote and office based working. This is a politically restricted post.The PersonWe are looking for a candidate with sound knowledge of electoral legislationcombined with good leadership and management skills. You will have extensive experience of running elections and canvass, and an ability to gain trust of people at all levels and from different political parties. The role will line manage the elections teamand, during election periods, have responsibility for large numbers of polling and count staff. Therefore, experience of managing and motivating teams to deliver high quality services and change priorities at speed is necessary.You will need to demonstrateawareness of what local government is and does, and the financial, political, and legislative context in which it operates. The postholder should also have excellent written and spoken communication skills and should have a strong background in electoral lawand administration, holding the AEA Certificate of Electoral Administration or be willing to work towards this accreditation.The postholder will need to enjoy a varied workload and have strong organisational skills, and a keen eye for detail. You must be ableto demonstrate experience of successfully implementing plans and projects to time and budget. Experience of commissioning services from across councils would be an advantage.Closing Date: 22 August 2021 (23:00)Assessment & Interview Date: To Be ConfirmedAdditionalInformationBrent Council values the diversity of its community and aims to have a workforce that reflects this and therefore encourage applications from all sections of the community. We positively encourage all applicants to self-identify their characteristicsin the diversity survey section in the application.We are committed to safer recruitment and safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Applicants should be aware that postsworking with children, young people and vulnerable adults are subject to an Enhanced DBS check as well as other employment clearances.Brent has a positive approach to flexible working.As a disability confident employer Brent welcomes applications from peoplewith all disabilities, including hidden disabilities and mental health conditions. We will interview any disabled applicant who meets the essential criteria. If you require reasonable adjustments to be made to any part of the recruitment process due to yourdisability, please contact us on via the button below. Please note the information you provide will be treated fairly and confidentially.Please note CVs will not be considered as part of your application for this position.