Do you want to be involved in Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution?
Do you want to help implement change and transformation?
Are you looking to develop your skills and advance your career?
Join our innovative Electoral Services team, as we prepare for local elections and the election of the new Mayor of Sussex and Brighton, as well as changes to electoral registration and polling station voting, in what is a pivotal and transformative time for our sector.
This highly varied role puts you at the heart of the democratic process, with key responsibilities for overseeing day-to-day operations of the team, project managing minor polls, and leading on central workstreams for city-wide elections.
Our team works within the principles of the Learning Organisation – this means we nurture a psychologically safe ethos, built on trust and respect - being open to challenge and to new ideas from every member of the team. We believe that when we enjoy coming to work, we are better able to meet our potential, and succeed in our mission to deliver a forward-thinking, best-practice, cost-effective service for voters and candidates.
Contract type: This role is permanent.
Interviews to be held: Friday, 2 October 2026
There is full information about the role below and attached. If you would like an informal discussion, please contact Vie Compton, Electoral Services Manager, on 01273 292177 or [email protected].
About the role
We’re looking for a self-motivated and adaptable Senior Electoral Services Officer who thrives in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. You’ll have varied responsibilities, both at and away from the desk - including project management, events planning, delivering training sessions, data analysis, business support and communications.
You’ll need to be a team player, willing to support colleagues and cover work at all levels, which may include data entry and customer communications. You’ll report to the Electoral Services Manager, and work alongside another senior officer and three officers.
Experience working in elections will help you in this role, but it is not essential to succeed – what matters is that you are well-organised and self-motivated, with the ability to problem solve, work to statutory deadlines and identify your own learning needs.
This role provides unique development opportunities in a supportive and growth-oriented environment - perfect for someone looking to gain new skills and broaden their experience on the path to management. This includes involvement with Local Government Reorganisation and implementation of major changes to elections, brought in by the Elections Act 2022 and the Representation of the People Bill.
You’ll primarily be office based, and will need to work flexibly according to service need – in peak periods, this can include evenings, weekends and bank holidays. Annual leave restrictions apply during the election period, which is usually March to May. We recognise the personal commitment it takes to work in electoral services, and we balance this commitment with generous flexible working in the off-season.
Encouraging a diverse workforce
Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME and White other background, as well as those who identify as disabled or trans.
Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce (brighton-hove.gov.uk).
Why work for us?
As a council, we want to:
- be connected
- be confident
- be innovative and creative
- be diverse and inclusive
- be healthy and psychologically safe
For more information about our values and the benefits of working at the council, visit Why work for us which gives details of our wellbeing support, our benefits including leave and pensions as well as details of our training and development.
How to apply
Please read our Apply for a job at the council pages carefully. They give you all the guidance you need to complete your application as well as information on what will happen after you’ve submitted your application and at interview.
As part of your application, you will need to provide your education and career history and answer some application/shortlisting questions. Your answers to the application/shortlisting questions are the most important part of your application as they will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role that are set out in the person specification and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our Shortlisting questions guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.
AI advice for candidates
We are interested in hearing about your experience and skills in your own words. While we value people who know how to use AI, we ask that you minimise using it in your application.
We are keen to hear how your experience and skills align to our values and the skills and experience needed to perform well in our roles with clear real examples from you. To support you in this, we have guidance on using the STAR model which can help you ensure you are telling us your whole story. We also provide clarity on the skills we are looking for in our adverts and in the job description/person specification attached to each job advert.
All the applications we receive are read by at least two hiring managers and we do not use AI in this process. Our experience of reading applications is that those that have heavily used AI contain generic paragraphs that are strikingly similar to other applicants’ responses. This makes it extremely difficult to differentiate between applications, and doesn't give us enough evidence of your individual skills. There is a risk that we will therefore not be able to shortlist you. Instead, we recommend you ensure your application stands out by presenting clear examples of your actual skills and experiences in your own words.
Additional information
Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.
Please note that this post is subject to a Basic Disclosure Criminal Records Check.
This role is politically restricted. For further information on what this means for employees in post, please click on the document attachment above.
We are a workplace that supports flexibility and employee wellbeing in the way we work whilst providing the best service for our customers. Team and service working arrangements are designed to support both employee work life balance and team collaboration. These would be part of your individual working arrangements alongside any personal preference agreed with your manager in advance of joining. Your contractual location will be the designated council office for your team and travel to and from your contractual location would be at your own expense.
Recruitment scam alert
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