Policy, Strategy and Partnerships Officer in Witney

£38,821 - £40,507 per annum, 37 Hours per week, Permanent

West Oxfordshire District Council is a forward-looking council, putting residents first and working in partnership to support our communities. We are delivering an ambitious Council Plan for the district that is focused on important local priorities including affordable housing, climate and ecological action, helping our economy to grow and building communities. We also provide a range of important local services that make a positive impact to our district on a daily basis including planning, housing, waste and recycling collections, leisure centres, community safety and environmental health. By joining West Oxfordshire District Council you will be helping us achieve our goals for the district and play a part in supporting our communities, our businesses and our environment.

About the role:

Are you passionate about shaping policy, driving strategic priorities, and building effective partnerships? Join us as a Policy, Strategy and Partnerships Officer and play a vital role in delivering positive change across our council and the District. We are looking for a motivated and experienced individual to provide specialist corporate support across policy, strategy, and partnership functions. You will play a key role in supporting the delivery of our council plan, monitoring organisational performance, and driving delivery of key projects.

What you'll be doing:

• Supporting the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) and Devolution processes, including project work, data analysis, and policy review.
• Assisting in monitoring progress against the Council Plan and corporate strategy.
• Collaborating with Publica Resources, Data and Growth teams on business planning and performance frameworks.
• Supporting partnership working across the council.
• Building strong working relationships with external partners to deliver strategic priorities.
• Analysing policy from central government and other sources to inform council activity.

This is a new role which will cover West Oxfordshire. Within the District, there are plenty of places to see and visit whether you love hiking or cycling. With our agile working ethos you will be spoilt for choice.

You will need:

• A qualification in your area of expertise, equivalent to a degree or relevant experience of five years in policy, strategy or performance management.
• Experience of working flexibly as part of a team and collaborating with colleagues and stakeholders.
• Ability to remain calm and confident when dealing with challenging customers and environments.
• Ability to resolve complex issues by negotiation.
• Deliver commitments and take ownership of own workload, reshaping of plans to deliver required outcome.

Special Conditions:

Full UK Driving Licence and own vehicle for work use.

For more information about this role please see the Job Description/Person Specification.

What can we do for you?

• Agile working allowing a mix of home and office working.
• Flexible working arrangements (depending on the role).
• 27 days paid annual leave (pro rata if you are working part time) plus bank holidays, which increases to 30 days after five years' service and 33 days following 10 years' continuous service.
• In addition you will have an extra two volunteering days a year for you to support a charity of your choice.
• Renewed again for another year there is a Health cash plan giving you cash back on health, dental and eye care.
• Generous contributory local government pension scheme.
• Employee Assistance Programme 24/7, providing positive, preventative and supportive advice and counselling to deal with everyday events and issues.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Salary sacrifice car lease scheme with significant tax and NI savings to be made on electric cars.
• Generous sickness cover above statutory entitlements.

Terms and conditions apply. These are just a handful of the benefits that you can enjoy when you join us!

To apply for this position please click on "apply now" within this page to complete an application form and supporting statement together with your CV. Please tell us about your skills, knowledge, qualifications, experience and how they meet the criteria listed above and in the job description/person specification. It's important that we're a good fit for each other, so let us know what's important to you and why you want to work for West Oxfordshire District Council. Your CV will not be available to the hiring manager unless you are shortlisted for interview to assist with our non-biased screening process so please ensure you complete the application form in full.

It is important that our staff reflect the diversity of our community, and we therefore welcome and encourage applications from people of all genders and sexual orientation, those from Black, Asian, and other minority ethnic backgrounds, and those with disabilities. Accredited of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy/ies - Please state this within your covering statement or in a separate email.

Our organisation is committed to safeguarding the welfare of vulnerable adults, young people and children. Safer recruitment practices are applied to all job vacancies. Successful candidates will be required to complete a pre-employment medical questionnaire; provide references; proof of identity; nationality and immigration status; three years' employment or education history (if applicable) and, in some cases, verification of criminal record.