Democratic Services Manager, West Northamptonshire Council

Salary: £49,587 - £52,860 p.a.
Contract: Permanent, Full time
Hours: 37 per week

West Northamptonshire Council are looking for an experienced and dynamic democratic services professional to manage our Democratic Services team. Working alongside the Head of Democratic and Electoral Services, you will lead a dedicated and friendly team, supporting them to deliver the Council's democratic and scrutiny functions. If you're an established democratic services professional, have a strong track record in governance and are looking for an exciting management role, we'd love to hear from you.

West Northamptonshire Council is a large unitary authority with 76 councillors and an electorate of over 300,000. We're looking for an experienced Democratic Services professional to manage, co-ordinate and lead our Democratic Services team. The ideal candidate will have sound knowledge of local authority constitutions and decision-making processes, along with experience of supporting and advising various committees. You will also have experience of delivering member development and overview and scrutiny functions. If this sounds like you, and you are passionate about making a positive difference in your role, we look forward to receiving your application.

What will you be doing?

• Working alongside the Head of Democratic and Electoral Services, you will be responsible for leading the democratic services team, setting priorities and standards and supporting high-profile meetings and workstreams.
• You will play a leading role in supporting decision making, overview and scrutiny and member training and development.
• You will have the opportunity to lead projects such as our member development programme and boundary and community governance reviews, applying creative thinking to find innovative solutions to challenges.
• You will have the opportunity to get involved in the delivery of elections, working alongside a team of experienced professionals to support this important function.

About you

• You will be an experienced democratic services professional with considerable experience of supporting high profile decision-making and scrutiny meetings.
• You will have sound knowledge of local authority constitutions and supporting legislation.
• You will be able to demonstrate political awareness and the ability to prioritise your workload and the workloads of others.
• You will have outstanding communication skills and will be articulate, confident and diplomatic in providing advice to colleagues, candidates and politicians when advising about democratic processes.
• You will possess excellent interpersonal skills and be adept at supporting and getting the best out of your team.
• You will have excellent working knowledge of MS Office applications and democratic services software (experience of modern.gov is desirable).
• You will have a responsive and adaptable attitude and an organised approach to work.

For an informal discussion, please contact Paul Hanson, Head of Democratic and Electoral Services: .

Deadline for applications: Sunday 10th August 2025

For full details and to apply, please click on the 'Apply for Job' button below.