Fixed term or secondment opportunity until October 2020 (with possible option for extension)
The role
The LGA represents 415 local authorities in England and Wales. Our Leadership and Improvement work directly supports councils through a number of programmes including our support to councils’ commercial activities.
For most local authorities, nothing is more important at the moment than building their capacity to make savings or generate income that will allow them to maintain and improve services to citizens. The Productivity programme is an integrated programme of projects designed to help local authorities individually and collectively to make best use of resources during a period of changing public services. For more information on Productivity programmes please click http://www.local.gov.uk/productivity.
The requirements
You will have knowledge and experience of working in or for local government and the ability to engage effectively with councils, central government and the IT sector at different levels. An ability to communicate with key stakeholders, including at a senior level, is crucial.
The role is to join our team working on an established programme to support councils use digital tools and solutions to improve access to services, support their workforce operate more efficiently and help generate savings or income. The work involves helping raise the profile of digital amongst senior managers and elected members.
Your core responsibilities will be to help us devise and implement programmes of support for councils to enable them to improve services, enabled through better use of digital tools and solutions. This includes working on LGA funded programmes whereby councils bid to join a programme. Your role will be to work directly with the successful councils to help them deliver their agreed outcomes which include efficiency savings. You will also help capture and mainstream existing good practice to enable other councils to apply this to their work. This involves regular communication with councils and other partners, as well as keeping pace with and managing different parts of a fast paced programme.
Technical knowledge of digital technology is not required, though may be useful. However a good understanding of local government and the context councils operate in is essential.
The person we offer this role to will be a self-starter who can quickly come to grips with this expanding programme of work as well as bringing initiative and ideas to the table as the programme progresses. An interest in technology in the public sector, and the growing opportunities as well as the risks that come for doing more online would be beneficial.
The successful applicant will be a team player with experience of applying project management approaches, as well as have an understanding and interest in the issues involved in delivering efficient local public services. This role will be of particular interest to anyone with direct experience of working on improvement programmes in the public sector. An ability to work quickly and to problem solve at pace are desirable.
Please note the Job Description is generic, with details of the specific role outlined above.
We offer a great working environment with annual leave entitlement starting at 28 days rising to 32 days after 5 years’ service (plus bank holidays), along with performance related annual incremental salary increases within pay scales.
Closing date: 5pm, 28 October 2019
Interview date: 7 November 2019
As a Disability Confident Leader the LGA values diversity and encourages applications from all sections of the community