F&C 477 - Election Manager / Legal Services Adviser - 400104

Employer Description

South Lanarkshire Council is the unitary authority serving the South Lanarkshire council area in Scotland. The council has its headquarters in Hamilton, has 16,000 employees, and a budget of almost £1bn. The large and varied geographical territory takes in rural and upland areas, market towns such as Lanark, Strathaven and Carluke, the urban burghs of Rutherglen, Cambuslang, and East Kilbride which was Scotland's first new town.

Our vision is for South Lanarkshire as set out in our Economic Strategy is to have one of the strongest and most dynamic economies in Scotland, where businesses, communities, and residents achieve their full potential and prosper.

We will achieve this through three key interrelated themes:

• Business - business development and growth
• People - skills, learning and employability
• Place - physical infrastructure and place

Job Description

Hours: 35 hours per week.

Work Pattern: Monday to Friday.

Salary: £62,648 - £63,616.

View the Election Manager/Legal Service Adviser job profile.

Are you ready for a key management role at the heart of the local democratic process?

Do you have the skills and experience necessary to confidently lead a team to plan and deliver fair and efficient elections?

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced and enthusiastic individual to manage the Election Services team at South Lanarkshire Council and to play a key role in the ongoing development and delivery of the council’s information governance agenda.

You will need experience of managing electoral events, hold the appropriate legal qualification(s) and have the skills to successfully deliver elections, as well as contribute as a member of Legal Services.

We are looking for someone positive, innovative, committed, flexible, highly motivated, who has meticulous attention to detail and is able to work to deliver accurate results calmly under pressure to stringent deadlines. 

In this role you will work in conjunction with, and may also deputise for, the Returning Officer to plan, manage and conduct Scottish local government elections, UK and Scottish Parliamentary elections and referenda, and will lead the delivery of initiatives which involve local engagement with the democratic process.

The successful candidate will manage the Election Team and provide training to all those engaged at electoral events, ensuring the provision of a high quality and professional Election Services team for the council. You will also assist the Head of Administration and Legal Services in relation to other work which supports delivery of the services provided by the Council’s Administration and Legal Services, including the delivery of efficient and effective committee and members’ services, legal services, licensing and registration services and information governance.

Extensive knowledge of the law, guidance and practice relating to Electoral events is key to this role. Qualification/membership of the Association Electoral Administrators is desirable.

Experience in providing specialist legal advice on all areas of information governance, including data protection and freedom of information compliance, records management, together with an ability to provide expert advice on the law and liaison with regulators is desirable. 

This post has been politically restricted in terms of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. 

Please do not submit a CV. If you require to submit additional information, please upload this under supporting documents.  

When completing the application process please ensure that you cover the following areas:

• Provide an example that demonstrates your track record of effectively and efficiently managing, leading, motivating and inspiring a team in the delivery of services and/or projects. 
• Provide an example of how you have delivered on agreed outcomes previously and what you felt was crucial to achieving this. 
• The ability to build strong, collaborative relationships is important in this role, detail how you would achieve this. 

Please Apply online - All correspondence will be via your email address.

Legislative Information

This post is excepted in terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 2003.

The preferred candidate will be subject to a Standard Disclosure provided by Disclosure Scotland prior to a formal offer of employment being made.

Please refer to http://www.disclosurescotland.co.uk for further information about the disclosure process and best practice.

Foreign Police Check

Candidates should be able to detail any gaps in employment and provide a foreign police check where applicable for any periods living or working abroad.

Equal Opportunities and Armed Forces Community Covenant

South Lanarkshire Council is an Equal Opportunities employer and encourages applications from all members of the community. As a user of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum competency/behaviour requirements for the position.

South Lanarkshire Council is committed to providing support to members of the armed forces, veterans and their families which is set out in the Armed Forces Community Covenant. Veterans are guaranteed an interview who meet the minimum requirements for the position.

As an employee of South Lanarkshire Council you would also receive a wide range of benefits including:

• Enrolment in award winning local government pension scheme
• Up to 33 days annual leave which will be calculated into hours on commencement of the role
• Public holiday entitlement (up to 10 days)
• Occupational sick pay
• Family friendly policies - flexible working and leave, maternity/paternity leave, enhanced leave.
• Employee Discounts – including discounts at the cinema.

Range of benefits to support you (Cycle to Work Scheme, Physiotherapy, Employee Assistance Program which offers practical and emotional support)

Please note we do not accept CVs, any submitted will be disregarded. If you require to submit additional information to support your application, please upload this under supporting documents.