Policy and Casework Support Officer - R/F13c - West Yorkshire Combined Authority

Policy and Casework Support Officer - R/F13c

£36,281 pa | Grade J |
Leeds

Do you want to work for an organisation that values you as an individual?
An organisation that will support your professional development?
What about an organisation that has Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the heart of everything that it does?
How about an organisation that does all these things and more?
Yes? Then look no further than the West Yorkshire Combined Authority! Listen to what our staff say on our 'Life at West Yorkshire Combined Authority' webpage.

The Mayor of West Yorkshire’s busy office is looking for a new Policy and Casework Support Officer. This exciting role will put you at the heart of a fast paced and dynamic team, providing day-to-day support to the Mayor as she delivers on her manifesto pledges to the region. These pledges can be viewed here.

The role provides high-level professional support to the Mayor, working with the wider mayoral office. The role requires integrity and discretion and will act as the primary interface between the mayoral office and Combined Authority teams.

You can read all about the role of the Mayor and devolution here.

It is an exciting time to be joining the Mayoral Combined Authority. We have a wide variety of exciting projects that we are working on which will help shape the West Yorkshire region.

In 2021 the £1.8bn devolution deal was secured for West Yorkshire. This meant the first Mayor of West Yorkshire was subsequently elected, with Tracy Brabin taking up post in May 2021. The devolution deal and election of the Mayor has enabled us to start to drive up living standards for local communities while tackling the climate emergency and helping to deliver our commitment to become a net zero carbon city region by 2038.

To find out more about the work the Combined Authority is involved with take a look at our latest news stories.

The Role

Reporting into the Mayoral Support Manager, the key responsibilities are but not limited to:

Providing professional, confidential, and expert policy support to the Mayor and Mayoral team to enable the delivery of the Mayor of West Yorkshire’s manifesto
Supporting the work of the Mayor through managing email inbox/s and casework, liaising, and working with a wide range of stakeholders both within the community, Combined Authority and externally.
Providing an interface between the Mayor and the Combined Authority’s wider policy and strategy teams and ensure actions requested by the Mayor are proactively followed up and delivered on time
Preparing reports, briefings and other materials for the mayoral team in close liaison with other departments.

Review the Role profile provided for more information about the responsibilities.

For further information about the role, please contact Mike Hawking, Mayor’s Chief of Staff at mike.hawking@westyorks-ca.gov.uk.

About you

You will have the following key skills, attributes, education and experience:

Educated to Degree or equivalent relevant education/ experience.
Practical experience of successfully performing in a similar role.
Experience of working in a political environment
Current knowledge of national legislation, policies and developments relevant to economic growth, devolution and Mayoral policy priorities
Experience in supporting policy research projects
Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team and excellent ability to use various sources of evidence and data to reach conclusions.

Our offer

Alongside a competitive salary, we offer an excellent benefits package including:

28 days Annual Leave (increasing upon years of service) plus bank holidays
Generous Employer-Contribution Pension Scheme
Free Travel on rail and buses across West Yorkshire with the M-Card (Zones 1-5)
Flexible Working Practices with Health & Wellbeing initiatives to ensure you achieve the best work/life balance and career goals.

We have also recently undergone a major office refurbishment and have bright, airy, modern office space, with all latest technology, and just a 2-minute walk from Leeds Railway Station. We also have agile working options too if you would rather work from home, or another suitable location, as well as a generous flexi-time scheme.

Have a look at our Employee Benefits webpage to find out more.

To apply

If this sounds like your next role, please upload your anonymised CV, and complete the application form on our application website telling us why you would be a great fit for our role.

Please apply by 11:55pm on Sunday 24 September 2023.

Further Information

The Combined Authority is passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know through experience that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger and more creative work environment that delivers better outcomes.

We welcome applications irrespective of people's age, disability, neurodivergence, sex, gender identity and gender expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity. or other personal circumstances. We have policies and procedures in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process, including the consideration of reasonable adjustments for people who have a disability and/or who are neurodivergent. To find out more about inclusivity at the West Yorkshire Combined Authority please visit our dedicated webpage.

Applicants with a disability are guaranteed an interview, subject to the minimum criteria being met.

Whilst agile working is an option for most staff, there is an expectation that employees are able to attend the office in central Leeds as and when required.

Candidates will be notified of invitation to interview by e-mail and interviews will be carried out either by phone, video or face to face. If you have any difficulty with the type of interview you are invited to, please inform the recruiting manager at your earliest convenience to enable them to consider an alternative solution.

This role requires Vetting at Non-Police Personnel Vetting Level 2 (abbreviated).

Successful applicants to roles which have been identified for Vetting will be subject to all relevant vetting checks at the appropriate level and any job offer will be conditional on successful vetting. All applicants must meet the necessary vetting requirements but should be aware that it is not always possible to carry these out on persons who have not been resident within the UK for the last three years. In these instances, applicants may be refused, where it is not possible to vet them to the appropriate standard.

Please note that whilst it is our policy to recruit at SP1 for all appointments, which is the salary stated above, each role includes career salary progression, with incremental increases applicable in most cases, on an annual basis.

Due to the high volumes of applications we receive, we are unfortunately unable to respond to every applicant. If you have not heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, please assume that on this occasion your application has not been successful. We do however thank you for your application and encourage you to continue looking for roles on our Careers with Us website page.

Candidate information will be retained by the Combined Authority for six months.

Terms and conditions

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority has recently been in consultation with employees and Trade Unions to review the Terms and Conditions of Employment and Staff Benefits.

We are pleased to announce that these proposals have been accepted and work is currently underway to implement these.

Policy and Casework Support Officer - R/F13c