Executive Officer to the Leader WCC621427

Job Details:

Salary range: £45,399 - £52,674 per annum. Salary negotiable depending upon experience 
Work location: Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, Westminster, SW1E 6QP
Hours per week: 36 
Contract type: Temporary up to 12 months 
Closing date: 25 June 2025

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM 

Governance and Councillor Liaison at Westminster City Council forms part of the Corporate Services family, which is a world of extraordinary stories. Where people use their vision and commitment to improve services, connect with communities and open doors for the next generations.

The team exists to operate the machinery of the council, turning policy ideas and thinking into implementable decisions, helping councillors be the best they can be and scrutinising performance to make sure we stay on top of our game. Our job is to make it easy for colleagues to deliver the best for our communities. And that has real impact.

Colleagues in our City Lions team help young local people engage with culture, creativity and dreams. When they came across a lonely, isolated 16-year-old who called himself a failure, they knew what to do. They worked 1-2-1 to find the thing this boy really loved. YouTube, it turned out. But it’s impossible to turn that into a career, right? Wrong. A week later, he was enrolled on the British Film Institute film-making programme. It was the ultimate light-bulb moment. And it turned him into what he is today – a budding Spielberg with a world of opportunity at his feet.

That’s just one of our success stories. With your support to facilitatevital decisions at the Council, we’ll tell many more. 

Please view the extraordinary story of the Impossible Dream here.

The Role:

As Executive Officer to the Leader, you’ll be working in a fast-paced environment, alongside the Leader’s Senior Advisor within the Governance and Councillor Liaison team and in constant collaboration with teams from across the Council. 

This role provides a unique opportunity to gain insight into the senior political and executive workings at a top London council. As a trusted lieutenant to the Leader, you’ll use the tools at your disposal to keep these senior leaders focused and at their most effective. The Leader’s diary will be well managed, and they’ll have access to briefing materials for all meetings and events as required. 

You’ll manage their inboxes and correspondence, triaging key emails and ensuring all casework properly handled and responded to in line with the council’s commitment to being an open and engaging organisation.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information. 

About You:

We’re looking for someone with experience in supporting senior politicians or Executive-level staff in an administrative capacity. The ideal candidate will also be able to process and respond to perceived risk through escalation or mitigation as required in a high-pressure political environment.

You’ll have relationship management experience, be able to work under pressure to manage competing priorities to meet tight deadlines. The ability to work independently with limited supervision and direction is essential, and you should also possess strong communication skills, and the ability to demonstrate the use of tact and diplomacy in a politically sensitive environment.

Westminster City Council is committed to supporting Care Leavers into the workplace. Care Leavers seeking their first job and who wish to be considered under our scheme, will automatically be invited to interview should they meet the essential criteria for the role.

What We Offer:

Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster. Westminster City Council’s strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city’s future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.   
 
At Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is the Westminster Way. To find out more about how we do this visit https://www.westminster.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/public-health-strategy-policies-and-reports/equality-duties  
 
As a forward-thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.  
 
The Council is a Disability Confident Employer. If you have declared a disability in your application, we guarantee an interview if you meet the essential criteria of the job. If you are invited for interview, you will be asked if you need any reasonable adjustments in order to attend, and we will make these wherever possible.