Policy Officer PO4

An exciting post is available within our Strategy, Design and Communities team which operates at the heart of Waltham Forest Council. We welcome applications whether you are new to policy work or local government, as long as you have the passion to make a difference and hold the skills required then we are interested in hearing from you.

As a Policy Officer you will play a key role in the development and delivery of the Council’s ambitions, working closely with Senior Officers, elected members, and community organisations. You will be working on priority projects and programmes, providing high quality advice and helping to develop new and exciting approaches to support the council in meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to work across a wide range of subject areas on high-profile, crosscutting pieces of work. The focus for this role will be to support our Communities function in developing a future participation offer for the borough. Throughout the pandemic we have seen our communities come together like nothing before, it has been inspirational, and we want to ensure we harness this energy. You can therefore expect to be working on responding to COVID-19 and its impact on our residents and communities, developing a borough-wide volunteering strategy, and designing propositions for the establishment of community hubs. You will also work on implementing and promoting equalities, inclusion, and diversity within the borough and VCS groups.

This will be a fast-paced role within a dynamic and influential team where you will work across all Council services and activities. As well as working with stakeholders across the Council you will be expected to work with other public, private, and third-sector bodies including those within the community. It will be a visible role, both within and beyond Waltham Forest.

The Person

The successful applicant will have a positive, can-do attitude and approach to supporting the council in delivering their priorities. You will have excellent written and oral communication skills with the ability to absorb complex information and present to different stakeholders in a clear and accessible way. You will possess great interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with a range of internal and external people holding different views. You will enjoy collaborating with the team, finding solutions to problems, working in a creative manner whilst being agile, resilient, and highly motivated within a pressurised political environment.

Waltham Forest

Waltham Forest is an ambitious Borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities and increase social cohesion. 

Our ambition is to ensure all our residents can enjoy a good quality life. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focussed on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

We are looking for the right people to make this a reality and with the Council’s strong track record of providing a variety of career pathways this is an exciting opportunity not to be missed.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Amy Steel, Strategy and Policy Manager at amy.steel@walthamforest.gov.uk

Equal Opportunities

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population.

We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith, and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace.

The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives:

• Continue to promote and celebrate a cohesive borough ensuring that our community gets on well together
• Promote the opportunities for all members of our community to benefit from local regeneration and growth
• Use greater insight about our community to shape service delivery, including better understanding and managing the impact on protected groups
• Advance the equality of opportunity for all staff, by having a diverse workforce that reflects the community it serves

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.