Policy Design & Scrutiny Manager

Policy Design & Scrutiny Manager
£49,674 - £52,746 per annum

Are you looking for a new challenge where you can bring your skills, networks and passion to help research & strategy tackle inequalities and improve local places? Are you excited about working with citizens and partners to develop solutions to complex issues? Join our brand new Policy Design, Scrutiny & Partnerships service!

As a Policy Design & Scrutiny Manager, you will be responsible for supporting the senior leadership to develop strategic responses to current and future challenges, be that new strategies, alliances or programmes. We take an iterative and participative approach to designing policy, working collaboratively with residents & partners.  You will be supported by a team of Senior Policy Design and Senior Scrutiny Officers to deliver this. 

Welcome to Newham!

We are proud to be one of the youngest & most diverse local areas in the UK, with over seven in ten of our residents from ethnically diverse communities. But Covid has also exposed deep structural inequalities within Newham that we are determined to tackle.

We are one of the fastest growing areas in the UK, and home to the Olympic Park, the Royal Docks and the London’s City Hall, as well as global leaders like the BBC, V&A, Sadler’s Wells, UAL & UCL.

Our residents are the beating heart & soul of our communities and we believe that it is only by working in partnership with them that we will realise the vision set out in our Towards a Better Newham recovery strategy.

Join a pioneering council that puts residents at the heart of everything we do

We are one of the country’s leading councils when it comes to participative democracy, launching a Democracy & Civic Participation Commission, developing the UK’s first Permanent Citizens’ Assembly, one of the largest participatory budgeting programmes in the country and partnering in the UK’s first community-led longitudinal study on livelihoods.

We have a strong reputation in developing ambitious long term to big issues, from our Towards a Better Newham, Community Wealth Building and 50 Steps Health & Wellbeing strategies to transformational services like Our Newham Work, Money & Skills, or our Employment Rights Hub.

Join our new Policy Design, Scrutiny & Partnerships service

We have developed a new service bringing together three portfolios to act as the “nerve centre” of the organisation.

• Research & Inclusion
• Policy Design & Scrutiny
• Strategic Partnerships

Policy Design & Scrutiny Manager

We have a strong reputation in developing ambitious strategic responses to tackle inequalities, from our Community Wealth Building and 50 Steps Health & Wellbeing strategies to transformational services like Our Newham Work, Money & Skills, or our Employment Rights Hub. We will be shortly launching our new Building a Fairer Newham organisational strategy.

You will be responsible for supporting the senior leadership to develop strategic responses to current and future challenges, be that new strategies, alliances or programmes. We take an iterative and participative approach to designing policy, working collaboratively with residents & partners.  You will be supported by a team of Senior Policy Design and Senior Scrutiny Officers to deliver this. 

We are also committed to becoming a national leader in participative democracy, launching a Democracy & Civic Participation Commission, developing the UK’s first Permanent Citizens’ Assembly, one of the largest participatory budgeting programmes in the country, pioneering youth assemblies, nationally recognised health champions and partnering in the UK’s first community-led longitudinal study on livelihoods. We recently secured funding from the national CAPE programme for a Fellowship in Participative Policy Making and are working with residents to develop a Participation Framework.

How we work

We take a “think and do” approach to everything we do. We believe in the power of working in an open, collaborative and participative way that empowers our staff, partners and residents to develop strategic solutions, test them out and grow them to achieve better impact. We do that by:

• Developing tools, training and partnerships to help services work collaboratively
• Building networks with people in Newham and beyond who are pioneering work
• Using innovative tools and methods to open up work for feedback and collaboration
• Creating platforms for Newham to position itself on its strengths

Above all, we’re looking for people who are passionate and have shown they can mobilise people and deliver significant change that improves outcomes for people, whatever sector you come from.

If you’d like to find out more about the role, get in touch with Noel Hatch, Head of Policy Design, Scrutiny & Partnerships at noel.hatch@newham.gov.uk

Closing date: 5th October 2022

Interviews week commencing 10th October 2022

Please view Policy Design & Scrutiny Manager Job Description

Additional Information

We are committed to creating an inclusive, anti-racist environment for all. When you apply for a job at Newham, your application is considered on its merits regardless of your age, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender identity or sexual orientation. If you share our vision and values, and you bring the experience and skills we need, that’s all that matters to us.

The London Borough of Newham has important responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. If you are appointed to a job that involves working with these groups, you may be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Please attach your supporting statement, explaining in no more than x2 A4 sides why and how you meet the criteria for this role.

We practice anonymised recruitment. Please ensure that you remove all personal information from any documents that you upload.