Senior Regional Adviser, South East of England

Job summary

Regional Vacancy Information This vacancy is being advertised separately across five regions in England. Applicants should apply for their preferred region.

While every effort will be made to appoint successful candidates to their preferred region, there may be occasions where this is not possible. In these circumstances, candidates who meet the required standard may be considered for a suitable Senior Regional Adviser vacancy in another English region. Any alternative regional appointment would be discussed with and agreed by the candidate before an offer is made.

Benefits : Outstanding benefits including Civil Service Pension Scheme, flexible working, 28+ days holiday, and more.

About the Electoral Commission

The Electoral Commission is the UK’s independent body overseeing elections and regulating political finance. Everything we do is about ensuring trust, participation, and integrity in the democratic process.

As we continue to deliver our five-year Corporate Plan, the Commission is building on a period of growth and change, expanding our workforce and modernising how we deliver our services to better support the needs of a changing democracy. As our organisation develops and adapts to meet future challenges, this post will play a vital part in supporting that progress and helping ensure we remain responsive to the democratic needs of voters, campaigners, parties and electoral administrators across the UK.

About the role

This is a highly influential advisory and stakeholder engagement role within the Electoral Commission's Electoral Administration and Regulation Directorate.

As a Senior Regional Adviser, you will work directly with Returning Officers, Electoral Registration Officers, Electoral Services Managers and senior local authority stakeholders across your assigned region. Acting as a trusted adviser, you will support the delivery of well-run elections and effective electoral registration services through expert guidance, performance monitoring and collaborative improvement activity.

You will use performance information and sector intelligence to identify risks, opportunities and emerging trends. Through effective stakeholder engagement, you will influence improvements in electoral administration, promote good practice and support the consistent application of electoral law and Commission guidance.

This role offers a unique opportunity to contribute directly to strengthening democracy across England while building extensive networks across the electoral sector and developing specialist expertise in electoral law, regulation and performance improvement.

Job description

Key Responsibilities

• Provide expert advice and guidance on electoral legislation, policy and practice.
• Support Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers and their teams, to interpret and apply complex electoral requirements.
• Analyse performance information and identify opportunities for service improvement.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with electoral stakeholders across the region.
• Influence improvements in electoral administration through evidence-based advice and support.
• Identify, share and promote innovation and effective practice across the electoral community.
• Monitor emerging issues, risks and trends, maintaining accurate stakeholder and performance records.
• Contribute to wider Electoral Commission priorities and projects that strengthen electoral administration across England.

About the team

The English Regional Team works closely with local authorities and electoral professionals across England to support effective electoral registration and election delivery.

We are a collaborative, outward-facing team recognised across the sector for providing trusted advice, professional challenge and practical support. Our work helps drive continuous improvement and promotes consistency in electoral administration nationwide.

These are newly created roles that form part of the Commission's commitment to expanding the support available to the electoral community. As a result, successful candidates will have a genuine opportunity to help shape and influence the future development of the service.

Person specification

Who we’re looking for

We're seeking experienced professionals with strong stakeholder engagement and advisory skills who can build credibility quickly and influence positive outcomes.

You will bring:

• Experience providing professional advice on legislative, regulatory, governance or operational matters.
• Experience working with legislation, guidance or regulatory frameworks and supporting others to apply requirements effectively.
• Experience analysing performance information and identifying opportunities for improvement.
• Strong relationship-building and stakeholder management experience.
• Experience of delivering electoral services or working within a comparable regulatory, assurance, governance or public sector environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• The ability to interpret and communicate complex information clearly and accurately.
• Strong influencing, negotiation and problem-solving skills.
• A high degree of integrity, impartiality and professional judgement.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £40,031, The Electoral Commission contributes

£11,596 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Why work for us?

This is an opportunity to have a direct impact on the delivery of democratic processes across England.

You'll work with senior local government leaders and electoral professionals, influence service delivery at a regional and national level, and develop specialist expertise in a unique and highly respected field.

The role offers:

• The opportunity to shape a newly expanded regional advisory service.
• Exposure to senior stakeholders across local government and the electoral sector.
• Meaningful work that supports democracy and public trust.
• Flexible home-based working arrangements.
• Excellent professional development opportunities.
• A supportive and collaborative team environment.

The Office & Ways of Working:

Whilst this is a home-based role, you'll be part of a highly collaborative and connected team. We use Microsoft Teams and other digital tools to stay closely connected, share knowledge and work together effectively across England. Regular team meetings, collaborative projects and stakeholder engagement activity ensure colleagues remain visible, supported and engaged, regardless of location.

Alongside remote working, you'll have opportunities to meet colleagues in person through team events, workshops, training and organisational meetings. This approach provides flexibility and autonomy while maintaining a strong team culture and sense of connection.

The Benefits:

We offer a strong total reward package, including:

• Flexible working and hybrid model for office-based staff, with a minimum of 40% of working time spent in the office
• Flexi-time scheme, allowing flexible hours with the option to accrue and take flexi leave
• 28 rising to 30 days annual leave + bank holidays
• Civil Service pension scheme (28.97% employer contribution)
• Performance-related pay

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

How to apply

We are committed to fair and inclusive recruitment. To help reduce unconscious bias and ensure all applicants are assessed solely on their skills, knowledge and experience, we use an anonymous recruitment process.

When applying, please provide an anonymised CV which omits your protected characteristics and any personally identifiable information:

Do not include:

• Your name, address, phone number, email or other contact details
• Your date of birth or age
• Gender, ethnicity, nationality or other personal identifiers
• A photo of yourself
• Remove educational dates as these are a clear indication of your age
• There is no requirement to include your primary education details.

Do include:

• Your employment history including employers and dates of employment
• Explanation for gaps in your history
• Your duties, responsibilities and achievements

If your CV contains personal details (such as your name or contact information), we will be unable to consider your application. Please double-check your documents before submitting, including the file name you use to save and upload your CV.

Supporting disabled applicants

The Electoral Commission is proud to be a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer. As part of this commitment, we aim to prioritise interviews for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria listed in the job description.

There may, however, be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. For example, during periods of exceptionally high application volumes or seasonal recruitment activity, the Commission may need to limit the overall number of interviews offered to both disabled and non-disabled applicants.

If you have a disability and would like to be considered under this commitment, please indicate this when you apply. We also welcome requests for reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process or within the workplace.

Key dates

• Application deadline: Monday 14th September (23:59)
• Interviews (1st stage): Week commencing 28th September
• Interviews (2nd stage): Week commencing 5th October
• Anticipated start date: TBC

Interviews are expected to be conducted virtually via Microsoft teams.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a standard (or equivalent) criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain