Policy Officer

This role has a starting salary of £38,746 per annum, based on a 36-hour working week. This is a 9-month fixed term contract/ secondment opportunity to cover maternity leave.

We are excited to be hiring a new Policy Officer to join our fantastic Policy Planning and Projects team. This is a full-time position, but we are open to considering part-time candidates and flexible working arrangements.

This role is open to hybrid working, meaning that we meet as a team in the Woking office on Tuesday's and may work in other offices around the county, or from home on other days. Our other offices are based in Woodhatch/Reigate, Leatherhead and Esher and occasionally the team may work from a social work office in Guildford. You aren't required in the office 5 days a week unless you want to be. In support of our people and our greener futures strategies, we'd welcome a conversation with the successful candidate on what hybrid working may look like for you.

Please note, the contractual location for this role is currently Quadrant Court, however it is our intention to move within the local area to Victoria Gate in Central Woking later this year.

Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days' holiday (prorated for part time staff), rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days plus 1 team volunteering day per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources

About the Team

The PPP team is at the heart of the Quality Relationships service which comprises of an integrated set of strategic services which support and inform operational teams. The aim of the PPP team is to create avenues for engagement with our partners and service users, to contribute to Surrey's continuous improvement ambitions and work towards improving the lives of Surrey's children and young people. The team oversees a range of business-as-usual functions and undertake projects, as needed.

About the Role

We are looking for an individual with experience of policy work, demonstrating the ability to understand and clearly communicate emerging issues and forthcoming framework and legislative changes, that may impact social care services. You will not be required to write internal policies regularly however, the role does require the reading and understanding of large volumes of information and analysing how the change may impact on children's social care. You will be required to develop self-assessment tools, assess our progress against framework changes or improvement plans and ultimately support our services for forthcoming changes. This position will involve delivering creative communications for complex pieces of information, something that we have had great success with and therefore a baseline in place for a new colleague joining us.

You will be involved in maintaining an awareness of topics affecting our partners across social care. Our policy briefs and updates are shared via our internal SharePoint site, and this role may contribute to directorate wide programmes, such as our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion work, inspection preparation and ad-hoc projects.

Shortlisting Criteria

• To be considered for shortlisting for this position, your application will clearly evidence the following:
• Proven written and oral communication and interpersonal skills, relating to policy, research, or other similar fields
• A can-do attitude and willingness to try different approaches to support our team and wider service
• An awareness of project management theory and how to apply it in a real-world setting
• The ability to work collaboratively with internal and external partners / professionals
• Self-sufficiency but with a willingness to work alongside others to adapt to changing priorities
• Proven problem-solving skills with the capacity to devise and implement innovative solutions
• Strong computer skills, an understanding of digital communications and excellent attention to detail

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 26 May 2024 with interviews to follow.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applications where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role.

We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.