Executive Support Officer

Job Title: Executive Support Officer 
Directorate: Chair and Chief Executive’s Office 
Starting salary band: B 

• Band B: £31,549 - £33,126 per annum depending on skills, experience and qualification.  

• Staff with the London Office as their work location will attract a London weighting allowance of £3,217 on top of their base salary.  
   

Full time & Permanent: This role works on a Hybrid basis which requires a minimum of 2 days office attendance (40%). 

Location: Preferred location is London as this is where majority of the team and stakeholders are based.

Working at the Electoral Commission 

The Electoral Commission is the independent body which oversees elections and regulates political finance in the UK. We work to promote public confidence in the democratic process and to ensure its integrity. 

We offer excellent terms and conditions, including flexible working hours and the opportunity to join the Civil Service pension arrangements, fantastic office space and endless opportunities for personal development opportunities and continuous learning. 

The Business Support Team (BST) is the ‘administrative heartbeat’ of the Electoral Commission, helping both internal and external stakeholders with a wide range of tasks.  

The team helps the Commission achieve its strategic objectives by supporting the Chair, Chief Executive, and Directors, along with all colleagues as appropriate. This consists of managing diaries efficiently to maximise colleagues' time; ensuring key meetings are managed effectively; research conducted; and action points followed up. The Business Manager along with the two Executive Support Officers manage the Executive Team meetings, ExCo meetings and SLT meetings collectively. The team also carries out complex travel and event management while being mindful of cost. The Business Assistants are both expert travel bookers and carry out many other tasks, ranging from organising observer badges to Instant Thank You’s, whilst frequently supporting the Commissioners. 

The Commission is about to embark on an exciting new journey with a new 5 year Corporate Plan full of exciting changes which will impact the way we in HR work and plan for the future including rolling out a new pay structure and performance management framework, increasing our organisational headcount and introducing performance base pay progression. This role will play a pivotal role in supporting this change. 

Pay Progression 

The Commission is about to launch a new Pay Structure in July 2025 which introduces performance-based pay progression. Eligibility for the performance-based pay progression will be April 2026 and is dependent on having completed the required six months service at the progression rating date (31 January). The new structure allows the potential for pay progression on top of any inflationary increase for staff. 

The range below shows the potential maximum pay progression in addition to any annual inflationary increase to your pay.  

The full width of the B Band starts at £31,549 and goes up to £42,065. Please note that the salary band for new staff is up to £33,126 and our default position is to appoint into the lower zone of the band unless exceptional circumstances. 

Other Benefits 

Alongside your salary based on £31,549, the Electoral Commission contributes £9,139 of your basic salary towards you being a member of the Civil Service Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides and the conditions involved. 

The Electoral Commission offers a competitive mix of benefits including: 

• A culture of flexible working, such as flexi scheme, homeworking and compressed hours. 

• Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%. 

• A working from home allowance of £312 per annum is paid as a tax-free working from home allowance. 

• A minimum of 28 days of paid annual leave, plus 8 bank holidays increasing up to a maximum of 30 days after 4 years. 

• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue. 

• Eye care vouchers, Ride 2 Work and an opportunity to sell up to 5 days annual leave at the end of the annual leave period 

• A hybrid office/home based working model where staff will spend a norm of 40% of their time in the office. 

The Role 

As a member of the Chair and Chief Executive’s Office you will be providing support to our Executive Team.  The role will focus on providing the right support in a proactive way to allow our directors to get on with the strategic elements of their role. This time we can be specific and say Director of Electoral Administration and Regulation and Director and General Counsel, Devolution, Governance and Law.   

Who we are looking for 

We are looking for a talented and enthusiastic Executive Support Officer to support the Director of Electoral Administration and Regulation and Director and General Counsel, Devolution, Governance and Law and their wider senior leadership teams.  Previous experience in a similar role or with an interest in legal or regulatory matters would be an advantage, but more importantly you will be self-motivated, pro-active, possess excellent administrative and IT skills, including minute taking and be comfortable working in a rapidly changing environment.   

To be successful in this role, you will need to have:  

• Strong organisational and problem-solving skills. 

• Experience of actively managing busy schedules. 

• An ability to prioritise and work quickly and effectively to meet urgent deadlines. 

• Good interpersonal skills and an ability to build strong collaborative working relationships with people at all levels. 

• Excellent IT skills, especially competent in the use of Microsoft Office. 

• Effective communication skills, both written and oral. 

• Excellent attention to detail. 

• Be a good team player. 

For a full list of competencies, please refer to the job description and person specification. 

More information on how to apply 

To remove bias from our recruitment, process the Electoral Commission operates anonymous recruitment.  Please apply by supplying an anonymous CV, without reference to your name, age, ethnicity or other identifiable information. Failure to supply anonymous CV and cover letter will result in your application being rejected. 

We want to attract the broadest range of talented people who are passionate about democracy. The more diverse our workforce, the better we can adapt to and reflect the needs of society. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and as a staff member you will become part of an inclusive culture, where you will have the opportunity to achieve your full potential and enhance your career through learning and development. 

Closing date is 20th July 2025 at 23:59. Although we reserve to close the advert earlier if we receive a high volume of interest so, please don’t delay applying if interested. 

Shortlisting will take place week commencing 21st July 2025 

1st stage interviews will be held in the week commencing 28th and 30th July 2025 

If successful - 2nd stage interviews will be held within a week of the first interview. 

Role to start at the earliest 11th September 2025. 

Applicants who are applying for the London based position will be expected to attend the interview in person at our offices in Bunhill Row, London. We may use video conferencing tools for the interviews of applicants based in any of the devolved office locations. We will confirm details with shortlisted candidates. Electoral Commission does not compensate candidates for their travel costs incurred due to interview attendance. 

If you are interested in applying for this role, please download the job description before applying online. 

If you have any further questions about the role, please don’t hesitate to contact the hiring manager Antonia Merrick- Business Manager to the Chair and Chief Executive on amerrick@electoralcommission.org.uk who will be happy to help.  

No Agencies please.