Democratic Services Officer
| Posting date: | 07 May 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £39,862 to £42,839 per year |
| Additional salary information: | Local Government Pension |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 14 May 2026 |
| Location: | Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1RQ |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 3 days per week |
| Company: | West Sussex County Council |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | CRS01041_1778141285 |
Summary
Salary: £39,862 to £42,839 per annum
Working Pattern: Full time - 37 hours per week
Location: Based at County Hall, Chichester - hybrid working options
Interview date: w/c 1st of June 2026
This permanent, full-time position offers an exciting and challenging opportunity to work directly with councillors and senior officers to support decision-making and the democratic process at the County Council.
Are you highly organised, with excellent communication, influencing and interpersonal skills and a keen attention for detail? Can you manage a busy workload and provide advice on democratic processes to ensure the political management of sensitive and high-profile issues? Do you understand how local government works?
If the answer is yes, this opportunity could be for you.
We are looking for a skilled and motivated Democratic Services Officer to join our team, helping to ensure that our decision-making and democratic processes are transparent, compliant, inclusive and effective. The role includes:
- providing sound advice and guidance to councillors and officers on the county council's decision-making process,
- clerking of meetings,
- giving constitutional and procedural advice to elected members and senior officers and others involved in the democratic process.
The role can also involve working with partner organisations and stakeholders, as well as assisting in the continual development of service processes and procedures.
This is a varied and rewarding role where no two days are the same. You'll be part of the Executive Support team within Democratic Services, working with senior councillors and officers, partner organisations and members of the public. The role will shape democratic processes that underpin our services and enable councillors to carry out their roles confidently and effectively.
About you
Some of the key skills and experience required to be successful in this role include:
- Being a highly organised and articulate person who can provide unbiased and balanced procedural and governance advice to elected members, senior officers, internal clients, external partners/organisations and the public.
- Strong committee management skills, being able to support a committee or board with efficiency, diplomacy and integrity, together with excellent communication skills and a strong attention to detail, whilst ensuring compliance with statutory and constitutional requirements.
- Awareness of political management arrangements and experience of delivering on this. You will also understand the role of community engagement and public meetings, the roles of elected members and the representative role of those acting on behalf of other organisations.
- Ability to anticipate issues, interpret procedures, and offer pragmatic solutions while meeting statutory deadlines and service standards.
- Strong team player, with the ability to work well under pressure, manage multiple priorities and proactively support colleagues, sharing best practice and contributing to service development.
- Upholding our organisational values - Trust and Support, Listen and Act Upon, Customer Centred, Honest and Realistic, Genuinely Valued - and support our cultural ambition for an inclusive, supportive workplace.
For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.
About us
Democratic Services is part of the Law, Assurance and Insight Directorate and provides support to the County Council's democratic and decision-making processes. It supports all formal member meetings, oversees the production and publication of reports to members for discussion and decision, advises on practice and procedures and produces records of meetings and decisions.
Working for us
As well as adding real value to our service users and our communities, as an employer we recognise our employees are central in being able to achieve this. To recognise this, we want to help support your development and provide a great place to work ensuring you can fulfil your full potential, have access to a range of benefits including:
- an excellent local government pension scheme
- generous holiday entitlement of 27 days (plus opportunity to buy additional leave)
- a range of flexible working options, depending on your job role
- maternity, paternity, dependency and adoption leave
- volunteering opportunities
- training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
- a range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform (see our Staff discounts page if you are a business looking to offer a discount)
- health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and Voluntary Health Cash Plans
For a full list, please visit our Rewards and Benefits page.
Further information
The reference number for this role is CRS01041.
To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter. In your cover letter please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to 3 years referencing and a health check.
Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.
We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.
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