Democratic Service Officer

Vanrath are delighted to be recruiting for a Democratic Services Officer on behalf of a public sector body in Craigavon on a temporary ongoing basis.

What's in it for you?

• 37hours Monday - Friday (A flexible working hours scheme is in operation, te postholder may be required to work additional hours and outside the normal hours)
• Temp
• £16.89
• 28 days AL

About your next employer
To service meetings of Council Committees, Sub-Committees, Working Groups, Council, and other official meetings and provide a comprehensive, confidential range of administrative services and associated activities to Elected Members of Council on a daily basis.
What you'll do

Meetings Administration

• Provide an efficient and effective administrative and support service to Council, Council Committees, Sub-Committees and Working Groups, and other official meetings.
• Prepare and issue agendas and reports and supervise the copying and collation of meeting papers.
• Responsible for the management of all Committee pre-meetings with the Committee Chair and officers and attendance at same to provide advice on Standing Orders and additional information as required
• Provision of support and guidance on governance issues to each Committee Chair throughout their year in Office.
• Provision of expert advice and guidance on Standing Orders and all governance procedural matters at Council and Committee meetings to the Lord Mayor, Chair and officers in the absence of the Democratic Services Manager.
• Attending meetings to take the official record of proceedings and decisions taken and undertaking all follow-up work, including preparation of minutes, matters referred to other committees and correspondence arising from the meetings. Preparing Action Sheets and Decision Notices arising from meetings for circulation to Directors and Council Officers and action, where appropriate, the decisions taken.
• Organising catering requirements for all Council and Committee meetings including checking of Instruction Sheets for each meeting.
• Receiving and organising presentations to be made to Council and Committees, using laptop, projector, screen and any other equipment.
• Responsible for providing advice and guidance on the operation of the Council's Planning Protocol to MPs/MLAs/Elected Members/Applicants/Agents/3rd Parties and Council officers
• Responsible for managing formal requests for speaking rights at meetings of the Planning and Regulatory Services Committee and for managing the production of a Schedule of Planning applications and its publication on the Council's website

Members

• Responsible for organising high profile overseas visits for Members including the annual Somme Tour which involves planning detailed itineraries and complex travel arrangements and liaison with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Deal with queries from Members requiring problem solving in a highly politically sensitive arena
• Provision of research and information for Elected Members and officers to ensure requests for information is responded to in a timely manner.
• Implementation and co-ordination of IT support to Elected Members and provide additional training and support on a one-to-one basis, as required. Assist with the introduction and implementation of new computer applications to Elected Members and take appropriate action to resolve, in a timely and cost-effective manner, faults reported by Elected Members in relation to their home-based IT equipment.
• Responsible for making arrangements for Elected Members and Officers as delegates at Conferences, Seminars and Courses, arranging site visits and maintaining a Conference Diary.
• Provision of administrative support to Elected Members including the receipt and distribution of all mail and messages.
• Responsible for the ordering and maintenance of all stationery stock and supplies for Member Services, including Elected Members' business cards, headed notepaper and rubber stamps.
• Research queries relating to Council and Committee Meetings and signpost accordingly. as requested by Members and senior officers including Providing assistance with enquiries received via the Council's Website.
• Ensure that all documents are recorded, retained and disposed of in accordance with Council Policy.
• Ensure that a record of Members' Declarations of Interest is maintained in accordance with legislation.
• Provide Elected Members with a record of their attendance at meetings.

Systems

• Responsible for the operation of the Council's Committee management system (Decision Time) including the management of users, upload and maintenance of documents and appropriate handling of confidential material.
• Responsible for the creation and operation of cloud-based video conferencing services to enable fully remote or hybrid Council, Committee, Working Groups, other official and ad-hoc meetings to be held in accordance remote meeting legislation.
• Responsible for the operation of the Chamber conference system during all meetings and management of users of the system as well as problem solving any technical issues as they arise.

Audit/Finance

• Responsible for verification and processing of Members' expense claims for approval using Transfer system
• Responsible for generating and processing Purchase Orders and invoices for goods and services as required using Integra system
• Responsible for processing payments for approval using the Council's Corporate Credit Card and completion of the appropriate documentation to be vouched against corresponding debits on credit card statements.

General Administration

• Provide a comprehensive research and collation service as requested, in relation to Freedom of Information requests received, to enable a response within the statutory deadlines.
• Liaise with representatives of Government Departments, Statutory Agencies and other External Bodies, Directors, Senior Officers and members of the public on a daily basis.
• Deputise in the absence of the Democratic Services Manager as required.
• Assist in the identification of efficiency savings within the Member Services Unit.
• Undertake other relevant duties and special projects as requested by Strategic Directors and the Democratic Services Manager e.g. Local Government Elections, International Women's Day, Local Democracy Week.
• Safekeeping of the Local Government Electoral Register and confidential distribution of same in accordance with Local Government legislation.
• Undertake any other relevant duties that may be required and are commensurate with the nature and grade of the post.

About you

Essential

• Five GCSE's (Grades A - C) or equivalent/comparable including Mathematics and English Language.
• Two years' experience working in a busy office environment to include providing a range of administrative support, including use of Microsoft Word.
• One year's experience of minute taking and servicing meetings of formal Committees OR senior executives OR board meetings involving up to 25 attendees (including production of minutes);
• Excellent written and verbal skills.
• Ability to prioritise and organise work

Desirable

• OCR Level 2 Award in Text Processing (Business Professional) (Text Production and Word Processing) or OCR/RSA Stage II Typing/Word Processing (Parts 1 & 2) or equivalent
• Three years' experience working in a busy office environment to include providing a range of administrative support.

IND04

To apply today contact Leanne Garrett in the strictest confidence.