Senior Officer, Regulation and Campaigning Scotland

Job title: Senior Officer Regulation and Campaigning Scotland

Directorate: Electoral Administration and Guidance (EAG)

Full time and permanent

Salary: £36,500

Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

About 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 ensure its integrity.

While we operate across the whole of the UK, we account to the Scottish Parliament for our work on devolved Scottish elections.

Our Scotland Team leads the delivery of the Commission’s Corporate Plan in Scotland, managing relationships with key stakeholders including the Scottish Parliament and Government; the regulated community and wider democratic society.

About the role

We are recruiting for a new role in our Scotland Team of Senior Officer, Regulation and Campaigning Scotland.

The post holder will work with the Head of the Electoral Commission, Scotland to develop the strategic approach and delivery of Electoral Commission’s advice, guidance and regulatory role in Scotland in order to support party and campaigner compliance with the law. You will also ensure that Scottish electoral law is informed by evidence from the regulated community.

You will work with senior officials of Scottish political parties and take a leading role in the delivery of our core functions in Scotland, particularly those relating to parties and campaigners as laid out in our corporate plan. You will develop relationships with key senior party and campaigner and will represent the Commission externally with the regulated community in Scotland. You will also provide advice and guidance to candidates at elections.

Working within a small but dynamic team, with the opportunities to contribute to the Electoral Commission’s wider work, you will play a key role in ensuring that voters can have trust in the transparency of political campaigning in Scotland.

About you

We are looking for a strong and confident communicator with a strong knowledge of the political environment in Scotland and across the UK. You will an authoritative owner of all activity in Scotland relating to party and campaigner compliance.

The ability to juggle several different work streams and the requirements of different stakeholders is key to the success of this role. You will need to understand the implications a decision about one area of work could have across others, using judgement and creativity to solve problems relating to external engagement and reputation management with other members of the team.

More information and how to apply

We offer excellent terms and conditions, including flexible working hours and the opportunity to join the Civil Service pension (dependent on scheme rules).

We would like to continuously increase the diversity of our employees. Applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates are particularly welcomed.

The closing date for applications is 22 August 2022 at 11:59pm. However, please do not wait to apply if you are interested as we reserve the right to close the application earlier, depending on number of applications.

We expect interviews to take place the week commencing 29 August 2022.

We may use video conferencing tools for the interviews. We will confirm details with shortlisted candidates.

Please apply for this role online with a supporting statement showing how you meet the essential criteria in the person specification.