Senior Policy and Review Officer

About Us

• Are you looking to make a difference in 2024? 
• Are you ambitious to drive innovation and change for two high-performing Councils, serving 500,000 residents across South-West London?
• Do you want to work for Councils unafraid to work at scale, delivering one of the most substantial Cost of Living responses in London, large-scale regeneration projects, ambitious climate change action, and bidding for London Borough of Culture 2025?
• Do you enjoy seeking out and developing new ways of working, and are comfortable challenging colleagues to think differently? 
• Are you excited to join a growing team, in the Chief Executive’s group at the heart of the organisation, working at pace and with colleagues from across every service area?
• Are you passionate about reducing inequality, and creating equity and fairness?
• Do you want the opportunity to work closely with lead members, helping them to turn their priorities into high-profile, innovative projects which make a difference for our residents? 

If so, we have the role for you (Senior Policy and Review Officer). Our team is expanding, with new posts focussed on Wandsworth being created - reflecting the scale of ambition within the Council. This is a great opportunity to join us in a senior position and help shape and develop key policy areas. We are also recruiting for additional Policy and Review Officers via https://careers.richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk/members/modules/job/detail.php?record=6652  

We are responsible for driving innovation, identifying examples of emerging practice from elsewhere and developing opportunities to pilot them locally. This post would suit someone with strong analytical skills and a sense of curiosity about how things work and how they can be improved.

As Senior Policy and Review Officer you will take a leading role on a range of high-profile, Member priority projects, working with services across the Council to develop strategies and services which deliver on the Council’s goals.No two days in the role will be the same, therefore you will need to be adaptable, and able to quickly learn about new subject areas. You will need to build good working relationships with colleagues at all levels of the organisation, and a collaborative environment for delivering projects.

 In the role, you will need to present and engage with a range of audiences, including lead members, senior officers, and residents. You should be able to adapt your communication style and to communicate in a range of formats. You will be expected to produce high quality reports for, and on behalf of, senior officers and elected members with minimal supervision, and should be comfortable drawing on a variety of sources of information including interpreting data to inform these.

A key role for the team is supporting services to reduce inequality in the boroughs, and holding them to account, and as a senior policy and review officer you should have a sophisticated understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion work within the public sector and a strong understanding of the councils’ duties under the Public Sector Equality Duty. The postholder will provide advice to services on how to complete robust Equality Impact Needs Assessments and lead on providing constructive challenge to ensure that services are taking every opportunity to reduce inequality locally. 

We work on high profile projects and routinely work with elected members. You therefore need experience of working in a political environment.

For an informal conversation please contact: Jamie Fisher, Policy and Review Manager via jamie.fisher@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working including home-working and other arrangements. Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore.  Currently, we work as a team from the office for two days a week, across two locations (Wandsworth Town Hall and Richmond Civic Centre). 

Indicative timetable:

• Closing Date: 4^th February
• Shortlisting Date: 5^th- 9^th February
• Test & Interviews: 19^th- 23^rd February

Useful Information:

Please note that these dates are only indicative at this stage and could be subject to change. The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. Please note this campaign is anonymised. Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.