This is exciting opportunity for a self-motivated, enthusiastic and forward looking individual to join the Democratic Services team in Sheffield City Council as an Assistant Policy Officer. We are recruiting to this job role for 12 months.

About the role

The Assistant Policy Officer provides professional and organisational support, including research, policy and communication advice to the Liberal Democrat Group on the Council. They facilitate effective communications and support elected Members to perform their roles on the Council and working in our committee system of governance.

About you

You will need to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the national and local government policy environment and be a creative thinker with analytical skills and experience in a policy or research role.

You will possess good interpersonal skills and display sensitivity to working in a political environment and the ability to work constructively with elected Members of the Council, Council officers and people in other organisations.

You will have strong written and verbal skills to produce reports and briefings for elected Members, and you will be expected to meet demanding deadlines in a fast-moving environment.

We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups. We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.

It is a great time to join us and we welcome your application.

Under the Guaranteed Interview scheme, applicants who are disabled, care leavers, or armed forces veterans will be guaranteed an interview if they meet the essential criteria and indicate their eligibility on the application form. Sometimes, if lots of people apply, we might not be able to interview everyone who qualifies for the Guarantee. In these cases, we’ll interview the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job.

Full-time employees work 37 hours for 52 weeks of the year and we offer a generous holiday entitlement. We are open to discussions about a wide range of flexible working opportunities which benefit you and the Council, including reduced hour contracts, working part time or as a job share.

If you are appointed to this role, your starting salary will be at the bottom of the grade. If you provide payslip evidence that your basic pay is greater than the bottom of the grade, we will consider starting you at the point of minimum advantage within the grade.

Equality of pay is extremely important to us. All roles at Sheffield City Council are going through an evaluation process which may result in changes to some pay arrangements from 2026. Find out more on our Sheff news page.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all individuals, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for everyone and where appropriate to the role the successful applicant will be required to undertake relevant safeguarding checks.