Equalities & Partnerships Officer

As an Equalities and Partnerships Officer at Essex County Council, this role will be based in the Council's Equalities and Partnerships Team which covers a range of challenging equalities and partnership issues of national and local importance including; how public services can respond to the root causes of inequality, how we can work effectively in partnership with other organisations across Essex to support our residents and improve service quality and access, public service reform and devolution, as well as how we can improve community safety the health and wellbeing of our communities and ensure that are communities are cohesive.

A core function of team is to provide secretariat and project coordination support that joins up the work of a number of different partnership groups including the Essex Health and Wellbeing Board, Essex Partners, Safer Essex, Essex Chief Executives Forum and the Essex Faith Covenant Steering Group.

The team is also responsible for coordinating the Council's internal equality assurance processes, providing advice and guidance to other departments on equalities issues, as well as direct delivery of bespoke programmes of work aimed at tackling inequality and supporting the Council's ambition to level up the County..,

• Work with the chairs and lead officers of key strategic partnership groups to provide effective planning and secretariat support for key meetings to ensure that they are organised on time and run smoothly on the day, that agreed actions are followed up and taken forward.


• Work with project leads in the team, the wider Council and external organisations to help to co-ordinate different partnership projects and events from design to implementation and evaluation stages, support implementation and problem solve and overcome any barriers to delivery.


• Work with other members of the team to support the council's internal equality assurance and monitoring processes, the development of equalities best practice advice, guidance and learning resources and be an advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our internal and external facing activities.


With excellent people and communication skills you will:

• Be confident working with other council departments, County Councillors, and a range of senior leaders from across a range of other public services including, Local Authorities, Police, Heath, Fire, Universities, and our Community and Voluntary Sector partners to help the team build effective and sustainable relationships that will lead to shared action.


• Contribute to communications on our partnership projects, helping to tell the story of journey we are on and the progress we are making to support local people across Essex.


The backbone to this work will be your desire to strive for a fairer Essex where equity and working in partnership is at the heart of your thinking in order to deliver our shared ambitions to widen access to opportunity and help the "Level Up" the county.

How we work

This role is considered an 'Anywhere Worker' by Essex County Council and is predominantly a remote position. However, there is an expectation to be in the office in Chelmsford, Essex, at a minimum of once a month. The role will also involve travel to other locations across the county and beyond to support different meetings and projects as required.


• Educated to Level 3 (A' Level or equivalent) or the equivalent by experience


• Experience of working with senior leaders and co-workers to provide either meeting secretariat or project management support.


• Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal) with demonstrable interpersonal and negotiating skills and experience.


• High level of IT and digital expertise in order to fully support the needs of the team and work in a hybrid environment (including the use of Microsoft Teams, Word, PowerPoint and Excel).


• Excellent organisational skills: the ability to manage multiple tasks, prioritise and meet deadlines with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.


• Experience of effective working within a team environment and liaising with a wide range of contacts in a professional manner


• Good numeracy and ability to assist with managing small budgets for projects and team activities.


• Ability to think creatively, identify and develop ideas from a range of sources and translate ideas into actions.


Desirable Skills and Experience

• Demonstrable understanding of working in a multi-agency setting and evidence of successful collaborative working with partners.



• Experience of having worked in a political environment.


• Experience of working with a wide range of partners including in the public sector, voluntary sector, multi-faith groups and grass-roots community organisations.


• Demonstratable knowledge and experience of equalities issues, equality impact assessments and projects aimed at tackling inequalities.
  
  Essex County Council (ECC) is one of the largest and most dynamic local authorities in the UK, serving a population of 1.5 million residents in the historic and beautiful county of Essex. ECC has an ambitious agenda for our county reflected in our strategy Everyone's Essex.