Ashton Recruitment require a Democratic Services Officer for our local government client based in Craigavon.

Position: Democratic Services Officer

Location: Craigavon

Duration: Fixed-Term Contract for 3 months, maybe extended

Pay Rate: £16.89 per hour

Hours of work: 37 hours per week, Monday -Friday (9.00am-5.00pm). Additional hours may be required. A flexible working scheme is in operation

Duties will include:

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 requiredProvision 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.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 arenaProvision 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.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 verification and processing of Members’ expense claims for approval using Transfare systemProvide 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.

Essential Criteria:

Five GCSE’s (Grades A – C) or equivalent/comparable including Mathematics and English LanguageTwo 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;Ability to work as a team member ;Flexibility ;Confidentiality ;Ability to work on own initiative ;Ability to multi -task ;Ability to work collaboratively ;Ability to work under pressure ;Reliability

Desirable Criteria

Three years’ experience working in a busy office environment to include providing a range of administrative support.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.High level of shorthand proficiency.

In addition to the standard pre-employment checks, this position will also be subject to receipt of a satisfactory Basic AccessNI check.

Ashton Recruitment is acting as an Employment Business.

Skills:
Organisation communication attention to detail time management IT Skills minutes