£83,964 - £105,096 per annum

The role
Lead the way: Oversee key areas such as the council’s constitutional, registration, and electoral teams, Opposition Office, scrutiny, and civic functions, ensuring full compliance with statutory obligations.
 
Deliver Elections: Manage large-scale election events and referendums, embedding a culture of good governance and transparent decision-making.
 
Strategic Expertise: Set the vision for democratic and electoral services with a strong focus on registration, scrutiny, and accountability.
 
Drive Change: Partner with communities, councillors, Political Parties and senior officers to drive innovation, delivering key priorities of the Council Delivery Plan and Southwark 2030.
 
Ensure Robust Scrutiny: Enable effective scrutiny arrangements to ensure council policies and decisions are overseen rigorously, shaping, and improving services for the community.
 
Political expertise: You will navigate challenging political environments building relationships with elected members.
 
Amplify Inclusion: Apply deep understanding of and commitment to equalities and ensuring inclusive democratic processes.
 
Financial Stewardship: Manage budgets effectively, ensuring value for money and financial control.
 
How will you make an impact:

• Skilled at navigating complex political environments and building relationships with elected members.
• Significant experience managing large-scale election and registration events engaging with the local community ensuring voices are heard.
• A strong track record of implementing good governance, transparency, and accountability.
• Deep understanding of and commitment to equalities and ensuring inclusive democratic processes.
• Expertise in at least one of the key areas such as registration services, electoral services, or democratic governance.
• You will bring your experience in strategic leadership, with a focus on supporting democratic, electoral and/or decision-making processes.
• You have a background in local government or the public sector, with a track record of delivering innovative member-centred democratic programmes.
• This role offers flexible home working blended with travel into our London Bridge office 3 days a week.

Are you passionate about shaping the future of local democracy, promoting good governance, and fostering strong relationships between elected officials and communities?
 
Southwark Council is looking for an inspiring new leader to fill the role of Assistant Director, Local Democracy, Registrations and Elections.
 
Southwark is a borough that thrives on diversity, confidence, and ambition. With over 120 languages spoken and a young, multi-cultural population, we are committed to delivering a fairer future for all. This is a unique opportunity to be a key player in delivering Southwark’s 2030 vision of a fair, green, and safe borough where everyone thrives!
 
As our Assistant Director, Local Democracy, Registrations and Elections, you will report directly to the Assistant Chief Executive, Governance and Assurance and work closely with councillors, senior officers, the Returning Officer and community partners to achieve the ambitions of Southwark 2030 and the Council Delivery Plan.
 
Your work will drive the design and delivery of an innovative councillor development programme, raise the profile of our Scrutiny function and continue our drive to engage and empower Southwark residents in the democratic process.
 
About Southwark
There’s much to be proud of at Southwark, and every reason to be ambitious about the future. Our recently agreed 2030 Strategy unites partners around a vision that together, we will build a fair, green, and safe Southwark, where everyone can live a good life as part of a strong community. We believe the key to a good life starts with strong foundations: quality homes, excellent education, safety, rewarding jobs, good health, and a thriving environment.
 
To achieve this, we focus on six core goals: providing decent homes for all, giving every child a good start in life, creating a safer Southwark, building a strong a fair economy, supporting residents to stay well, and ensuring a healthy environment. These goals are driven by three guiding principles: empowering people, investing in prevention, and tackling inequality at every level.
 
To deliver our shared vision, we will need to unleash the collective talents of residents, communities, organisations, and businesses for the good of everyone who calls Southwark home. We’re committed to long-term partnerships and innovation, ensuring that the voice of our resident’s shapes everything we do.
 
Salary Range: £81,915 - £102,531 - This post attracts an additional JNC benefit to the value of £3,503 PA for staff which can be used for benefits or taken as cash.
 
Recruitment timetable
We’re looking for someone with a passion for democracy, to promote good governance, empower communities and tackle key issues facing local government, including the strategic, statutory/regulatory, financial, and political challenges of public sector management.
 
Application Process
If you are interested in applying for this role, please submit a CV and complete the application forms detailing your suitability for the role. The Job Description and Person Specification can also be found at the bottom of this page under attachments.
 
We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together initiative.
 
We particularly welcome applications from members of the black, Asian, and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.
 
Guaranteed Interview Scheme
As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans.
• Are currently in care or have previously been in care.
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role, in which case we will move the key dates for the process. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
 
Attachments

• Job Description & Person Specification

Closing date: 24 November 2024 @ 23:59
Stakeholder Panel & Interview Date: W/c 9 December 2024

For further information or to apply, please click on the 'Enquire/Apply' button below.