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The Mayor's Office is responsible for supporting the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

Supporting the Mayor, Deputy Mayors and lead advisors such as the Chief Digital Officer and Night Czar, the Mayor’s Office is organised into four small units:
• Communications
• Mayoral Operations
• Policy and Delivery
• Political and Public Affairs.

About the role

This job is ‘politically restricted’ under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

This role is based at City Hall, in the Royal Docks (Kamal Chunchie Way, London, E16 1ZE)

What your day will look like

* Providing high levels of administration support and research for the Political and Public Affairs team.

* This role will be assigned to either Political Affairs (with a focus on Parliamentary and London Government matters) or assigned to Public Affairs (with a focus on communities, international affairs and sport).

* Building and maintaining relationships with political stakeholder groups. Mapping and continuous monitoring of stakeholder interests, reviewing communications channels across online media platforms to analyse and assess levels of political risk.

* Providing timely updates and communication to Senior Advisors thus ensuring timely mitigation and the avoidance or escalation of issues.

* Proactive management of Mayors Office Casework as aligned to Political and Public Affairs, ensuring appropriate timely responses provided.

Skills, knowledge and experience

To be considered for the role you must meet the following essential criteria:

* High levels of political acumen

* Successful track record of working in a comparable role within a complex and fast paced environment.

* A high level of accuracy and attention to detail.

* Proven track record of developing and implementing systems to enable the effective delivery of business processes.

* An understanding of, and commitment to, the Authority’s agenda for London.

* A basic knowledge and understanding of the legislative framework in which the Authority works and of the role of the London Assembly in scrutinising the Mayor.

How to apply

Please note all applications for this vacancy must be submitted via our online recruitment system. We do not accept CVs alone for this role.
If you would like to apply for the role you will need to submit the following:

* Up to date CV

* Personal statement with a maximum of 1500 words. Please ensure you address how you demonstrate the essential criteria and competencies outlined in the advert.

Please ensure your CV and Personal Statement have a maximum file size of 1.5MB each and upload your Personal Statement to the ‘Additional Documents’ section of the form, ensuring you address the technical requirements and competencies in your Personal Statement.

Word or PDF format preferred and do not include any photographs or images. Please ensure your CV and Personal Statement are saved with the job reference number as part of the naming convention (E.g. “CV – applicant name - (phone number removed))

Applications submitted without a Personal Statement will not be considered.

The GLA Competency Framework Guidelines further detailing each competency and the different level indicators can be found here: GLA competency framework

Assessment process

Once you have submitted an application, your details will be reviewed by a panel. If shortlisted, you’ll be invited to an interview/assessment.

The interview/assessment date is: Week commencing 30th September

We will make every effort to give you as much notice as possible, however some interviews/assessments could be organised at short notice.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

London's diversity is its biggest asset, and we strive to ensure our workforce reflects London's diversity at all levels. We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability.

We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic candidates and disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and we are happy to consider flexible working arrangements. We would welcome applications from candidates who are seeking part time work as this role is open to job share.

Please note we are a Disability Confident Employer so for candidates who wish to be considered under the scheme and meet the essential criteria, they will automatically be invited to interview. Please note, should you require any adjustments through the process, we will accommodate as much as possible. Please contact the recruitment team for further information if required.

Benefits

GLA staff are hybrid working up to 3 days a week in our offices and remotely depending on their role. As part of this, you will need to split your time between home working and coming into the office. In addition to a good salary package, you will be paid every four weeks, providing frequent salary payments. We also offer an attractive range of benefits including 30 days’ annual leave, interest free season ticket loan, interest free bicycle loan and a career average pension scheme

Additional Information

Please note, all candidates will need to confirm that the information provided in this application form is true and correct. Should a candidate deliberately give false information, including the use of AI software, they understand that this would disqualify them from consideration.

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record (DBS) check but some roles may require additional security screening.

Job description can be found below:

Job Purpose

• Providing high levels of administration support and research for the Political and Public Affairs team.
• This role will be assigned to either Political Affairs (with a focus on Parliamentary and London Government matters) or assigned to Public Affairs (with a focus on communities, international affairs and sport).
• Building and maintaining relationships with political stakeholder groups. Mapping and continuous monitoring of stakeholder interests, reviewing communications channels across online media platforms to analyse and assess levels of political risk.
• Providing timely updates and communication to Senior Advisors thus ensuring timely mitigation and the avoidance or escalation of issues.
• Proactive management of Mayors Office Casework as aligned to Political and Public Affairs, ensuring appropriate timely responses provided.

Principal accountabilities
1. Working with the Mayoral Director, Political and Public Affairs, and the Mayoral Director’s team, to support the smooth running of the team, leading on all administrative processes and responding to ad-hoc requests for administrative support and research activities as required to support the team and Mayoral objectives.
2. Independently manage small sized projects and help coordinate the delivery of larger projects with others where required, to ensure deadlines are met so far as practicable, and key issues of concern to the Mayor are identified and addressed.
3. With political astuteness, establish, develop, and maintain effective networks, partnerships and relationships with external bodies and stakeholders to support the enhancement and implementation of the Mayor’s objectives.
4. Assess latest data, research and evidence to inform strategy development that supports Mayoral action and influences key stakeholders and policy makers.
5. Provide written and oral briefings, high-level advice, policy and specialist reports for the Mayor and Senior Advisors, GLA staff, government departments and London and national organisations.
6. Maintain an up-to-date awareness of relevant legislative and national policy changes in the field covered by the post and provide advice to colleagues as required.
7. Contribute to and draft written reports and briefings for the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and senior GLA officers and managers, and consultation responses and letters for Government or other relevant stakeholders.
8. Record any commitments the Mayor makes at public scrutiny meetings and work with officers to ensure actions are fulfilled promptly.
9. Undertake monitoring of social media and other relevant communications, identifying opportunities for rebuttal or amplification, and drafting responses based on agreed messaging.
10. Proactively build on relationships with stakeholders thorough regular contact and updates and by processing regular communications to them, managing contact lists and leading on the production of invite lists.
11. Realise the benefits of London’s diversity by promoting and enabling equality of opportunities and promoting the diverse needs and aspirations of London’s communities.
12. Realise the benefits of a flexible approach to work in undertaking the duties and responsibilities of this job, and participating in multi-disciplinary, cross-department and cross-organisational groups and project teams.

Dimensions

Accountable to: Senior Advisers
Accountable for: Resources allocated to the job
Principal contacts: Mayoral Advisers, members of the Mayor’s Office, policy and administrative leads across the GLA Group

Person specification -

Technical requirements/experience/qualifications

1. High levels of political acumen

2. Successful track record of working in a comparable role within a complex and fast paced environment.

3. A high level of accuracy and attention to detail.

4. Proven track record of developing and implementing systems to enable the effective delivery of business processes.

5. An understanding of, and commitment to, the Authority’s agenda for London.

6. A basic knowledge and understanding of the legislative framework in which the Authority works and of the role of the London Assembly in scrutinising the Mayor.

Behavioural competencies

BUILDING AND MANAGING RELATIONSHIPS
… is developing rapport and working effectively with a diverse range of people, sharing knowledge and skills to deliver shared goals.

Level 2 indicators of effective performance

• Develops new professional relationships
• Understands the needs of others, the constraints they face and the levers to their engagement
• Understands differences, anticipates areas of conflict and takes action
• Fosters an environment where others feel respected
• Identifies opportunities for joint working to minimise duplication and deliver shared goals

STRATEGIC THINKING
…is using an understanding of the bigger picture to uncover potential challenges and opportunities for the long term and turning these into a compelling vision for action.

Level 2 indicators of effective performance
• Works with a view to the future, prioritising own and others’ work in line with GLA objectives
• Briefs and prepares team to accomplish goals and objectives
• Communicates the GLA’s strategic priorities in a compelling and convincing manner, encouraging buy-in
• Balances own team’s needs with wider organisational needs
• Identifies synergies between team priorities and other relevant agendas

PLANNING AND ORGANISING
…is thinking ahead, managing time, priorities and risk, and developing structured and efficient approaches to deliver work on time and to a high standard.

Level 2 indicators of effective performance
• Prioritises work in line with key team or project deliverables
• Makes contingency plans to account for changing work priorities, deadlines and milestones
• Identifies and consults with sponsors or stakeholders in planning work
• Pays close attention to detail, ensuring team’s work is delivered to a high standard
• Negotiates realistic timescales for work delivery, ensuring team deliverables can be met

PROBLEM SOLVING
… is analysing and interpreting situations from a variety of viewpoints and finding creative, workable and timely solutions.

Level 2 indicators of effective performance
• Processes and distils a variety of information to understand a problem fully
• Proposes options for solutions to presented problems
• Builds on the ideas of others to encourage creative problem solving
• Thinks laterally about own work, considering different ways to approach problems
• Seeks the opinions and experiences of others to understand different approaches to problem solving

RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
…is gathering intelligence (information, opinion and data) from varied sources, making sense of it, testing its validity and drawing conclusions that can lead to practical benefits.

Level 2 indicators of effective performance
• Proactively seeks new information sources to progress research agendas and address gaps in knowledge
• Grasps limitations of or assumptions behind data sources, disregarding those that lack quality
• Analyses and integrates qualitative and quantitative data to find new insights
• Translates research outcomes into concise, meaningful reports

ORGANISATIONAL AWARENESS
… is understanding and being sensitive to organisational dynamics, culture and politics across and beyond the GLA and shaping our approach accordingly.

Level 2 indicators of effective performance
• Challenges unethical behaviour
• Uses understanding of the GLA’s complex partnership arrangements to deliver effectively
• Recognises how political changes and sensitivities impact on own and team’s work
• Is aware of the changing needs of Londoners, anticipating resulting changes for work agendas
• Follows the GLA’s position in the media and understands how it impacts on work

RESPONDING TO PRESSURE AND CHANGE
…is flexible and adapts positively when the situation changes, workload increases, tensions rise or priorities shift.

Level 2 indicators of effective performance
• Maintains a focus on key priorities and deliverables, staying resilient in the face of pressure
• Anticipates and adapts flexibly to changing requirements
• Uses challenges as an opportunity to learn and improve
• Participates fully and encourages others to engage in change initiatives
• Manages team’s well-being, supporting them to cope with pressure and change