Opposition Group Support Officer
| Posting date: | 25 June 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £30,189 to £32,931 per year |
| Hours: | Part time |
| Closing date: | 11 July 2025 |
| Location: | Kingston Upon Thames, South West London |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 2 days per week |
| Company: | Kingston Council |
| Job type: | Contract |
| Job reference: | 3580 |
Summary
We are seeking a highly motivated individual who will be responsible for the provision of administrative support to the Kingston Independent Residents Group.
Duties include research on matters specific to the roles of Councillors, assisting with diary management, providing meeting support and assistance with routine correspondence relating to the Councillors roles on the Council (this does not extend to support with ward based casework or party political activity).
The role is located in the office of the Kingston Independent Residents Group, an opposition group of the Council and forms part of the Corporate and Communities Directorate. The Postholder reports to the Corporate Head of the Democratic Services and Elections. Whilst the primary function of the role is to assist the group the postholder will, in common with all staff, be obliged to serve the interests of the Council as a whole.
Our Ideal Candidate
To be responsible for the provision of administrative support to elected opposition Councillors in order to ensure that they can effectively perform their roles.
Duties include:
Supporting the Group with their diaries, arranging meetings, admin tasks and act as a point of contact to facilitate communications with other elected Members, Executive Directors and Officers at all levels of the Council and external stakeholders.
Undertake research and produce briefing notes and presentation of data and information from a variety of internal and external sources for Councillors, relevant to their role as opposition members.
Provide support to internal meetings involving Councillors including, where necessary, the preparation and distribution of agendas and briefing notes, taking of minutes and following up outstanding actions.
Monitor incoming post, e-mails and phone calls related directly to the work of the Councillors, chase up outstanding action and draft routine correspondence
Liaise with the relevant internal departments on behalf of the Group in respect of the provision of ICT support, training and development activities and general office and administrative requirements.
Our Offer To You
As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.
In addition we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff supported by our IT infrastructure, Google Chromebooks and Google Apps, which have acted as a key enabler for collaborative and streamlined working. We operate hybrid working, a flexible working model which allows staff to work from a variety of locations and staff are not required to work within the office 5 days a week. It enables staff to achieve a work life balance whilst still meeting the needs of the organisation.
Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:
Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
Three volunteering days per year in Kingston
Flexible and agile working arrangements
Comprehensive learning and development programme
Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
Interest free season ticket loans
Local Government Pension Scheme
Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
Zip car scheme
Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
Subsidised gym membership
Duties include research on matters specific to the roles of Councillors, assisting with diary management, providing meeting support and assistance with routine correspondence relating to the Councillors roles on the Council (this does not extend to support with ward based casework or party political activity).
The role is located in the office of the Kingston Independent Residents Group, an opposition group of the Council and forms part of the Corporate and Communities Directorate. The Postholder reports to the Corporate Head of the Democratic Services and Elections. Whilst the primary function of the role is to assist the group the postholder will, in common with all staff, be obliged to serve the interests of the Council as a whole.
Our Ideal Candidate
To be responsible for the provision of administrative support to elected opposition Councillors in order to ensure that they can effectively perform their roles.
Duties include:
Supporting the Group with their diaries, arranging meetings, admin tasks and act as a point of contact to facilitate communications with other elected Members, Executive Directors and Officers at all levels of the Council and external stakeholders.
Undertake research and produce briefing notes and presentation of data and information from a variety of internal and external sources for Councillors, relevant to their role as opposition members.
Provide support to internal meetings involving Councillors including, where necessary, the preparation and distribution of agendas and briefing notes, taking of minutes and following up outstanding actions.
Monitor incoming post, e-mails and phone calls related directly to the work of the Councillors, chase up outstanding action and draft routine correspondence
Liaise with the relevant internal departments on behalf of the Group in respect of the provision of ICT support, training and development activities and general office and administrative requirements.
Our Offer To You
As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.
In addition we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff supported by our IT infrastructure, Google Chromebooks and Google Apps, which have acted as a key enabler for collaborative and streamlined working. We operate hybrid working, a flexible working model which allows staff to work from a variety of locations and staff are not required to work within the office 5 days a week. It enables staff to achieve a work life balance whilst still meeting the needs of the organisation.
Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:
Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
Three volunteering days per year in Kingston
Flexible and agile working arrangements
Comprehensive learning and development programme
Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
Interest free season ticket loans
Local Government Pension Scheme
Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
Zip car scheme
Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
Subsidised gym membership
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.