Regional Manager (local party training and capacity)

Job description and Person specification

Salary: £32,169 to £34,138 – points 25-28 on the GPEW national pay scales

Hours: 35 hours per week

Location: Green Party Office, London

Line manager: Chief Executive

Line manages: Local party support staff in either the Wales and the South of England or the Midlands and North of England.

Key relationships: Regional Manager (elections);Local Party Support Officers; Election Strategy Steering Group; Regional Party Chairs or Coordinators; Digital Manager; Fundraising and Membership Manager; theLocal Party Support Co-ordinator on the Green Party Executive (GPEX); Green Party Regional Committee (GPRC); elected Green politicians (in particular the Association of Green Councillors) and their staff.

Purpose of the role

The Regional Manager (local party training and capacity) is a new post established following a review of the Party’s network of paid local and regional staff. It is one of two Regional manager posts being created to develop the Party’s network of regional and local party support staff – the other being Regional Manager (elections).

The principal purpose of the Regional Manager (Local Party Training and Capacitypost is twofold. First they will have lead responsibility for developing the functional and organisational strength of local Green Parties, including through the development and evaluation of a National Training Strategy for local parties. Second they will have line management responsibility for approximately half the Party’s paid Local Party Support Officers, and for supporting them in achieving electoral success at local level and in developing the capacity of local parties to organise and grow. The post-holder will also have responsibility for improving the performance of Regional Party organisations by providing support and advice to Regional Chairs/Coordinators and sharing best practice.

Local Party Capacity Development

  1. Coordinate the development of plans and activity to strengthen all aspects of local Green Party organisation, supporting RCC/LPSO and the Regional Manager (elections) in implementing and reviewing capacity development plans and results.
  1. Develop, implement and review a National Training Strategy to support the development of local Green Party capacity. In this connection to establish a steering group for the Training strategy in collaboration with the Local Party Support Coordinator on GPEX.
  1. Develop a quality assurance plan for Party training to ensure high and consistent standards in delivery, and responsiveness to feedback from attendees at Party supported training events.
  1. Develop specific measures or indicators of progress in strengthening local Green party capacity.
  1. Collaborate with RCC/LPSO in assessing local party development needs and action plans.
  1. Develop and implement appropriate plans for ensuring that there is consistency in the structure and governance of local party organisation
  1. Contribute to the process (led by the Regional manager – elections) of identifying priority target seats for local and regional elections.
  1. Support the Campaigns team in developing a network of local Party campaigners to support the development of extra-Parliamentary campaigning at a local level.
  1. Support RCC/LPSO and national Party officers in delivering effective messaging and communications to local party officers and the wider membership of the Party.
  1. Support the RCC/LPSO in coordinating improved support for the work of elected Green Party councillors in primary authorities.

Line management and development of RCC/Local Party Support Officers (LPSO)

  1. Line manage RCC/Local Party Support Officers in either the South of England and Wales, or Midlands and the North of England (up to seven posts).
  1. Collaborate with regional chairs/coordinators and the CEO in setting objectives and priorities for each RCC/LPSO that reflect the strategic objectives of both the national and relevant regional parties. It is expected that RCC/LPSO will play a key role in developing these priorities also in collaboration with the post-holder.
  1. Provide regular 1-2-1 supervision sessions for each RCC/LPSO for which the post-holder has responsibility.
  1. Ensure that mechanisms exist for active sharing amongst all RCC/LPSO, including those managed by the RM (elections), of best practice and of opportunities for learning.
  1. Ensure that opportunities for the personal and professional development of RCC/LPSO are identified and put in place including where possible the involvement of individual RCC/LPSO in time limited project work with each other.
  1. Undertake an annual training needs analysis of each RCC/LPSO and feed ideas from the analysis into both individual and team based training plans.
  1. Undertake a bi-annual reflective review with each RCC/LPSO documenting the review discussion and drawing out implications for improved effectiveness and development of individual staff and the network as a whole.
  1. Provide mentoring and coaching support to each RCC/LPSO in managing complex stakeholder relationships with local and regional parties, and unpaid officers in both.

Supporting Regional Parties and Officers

  1. Collaborate with regional Party chairs/coordinators and their committees to identify the development needs of Regional Parties and to develop plans and strategies to meet these needs.
  1. Work with regional Party chairs/coordinators and their committees, and with the Regional Manager (elections) to find new ways to share and develop best practice in regional Party governance and effectiveness.

Reporting

  1. With the Regional Manager (elections) prepare and present an Annual Report of the work of the regional and local Party support network. The report will be distributed to and discussed by GPEX, GPRC, and Regional Party Committees in November each year and a version of the report will be published on the Party’s members’ website in December each year.
  1. With the Regional Manager (elections) prepare a consolidated report for each meeting of GPEX on the work of the regional and local party support network. These reports will be shared with GPRC and Regional Party chairs/coordinators.
  1. Work with RCC/LPSO to prepare occasional reports for GPEX on the progress of development work in individual regions.It is anticipated that one region each will submit a report to successive GPEX meetings over an annual cycle.

Other responsibilities

  1. Participate in and support selected national party projects under the direction of the CEO
  1. Identify ways in which national-regional links and working methods could be improved, feeding ideas and suggestions into the development of national party organisational plans and strategies, and in particular into national election.
  1. Support officers of the national Party as appropriate in delivering strategies and plans requiring coordination across the local and regional support network.

Person specification for Regional Manager (elections) role

Attribute / Essential / Desirable
Experience /
  1. Experience of developing, implementing and evaluating successful training strategies and plans
  2. Experience in designing robust and meaningful quality assurance systems (ideally in relation to training activity)
  3. Experience in assessing the development needs of constituent parts of a large organisation and in developing appropriate strategies and plans to meet those needs
  4. Experience of communicating across a complex membership organisation
  5. Experience of working in a political party, or campaigning organisation
  6. Experience of putting together and implementing complex organisational plans
  7. Experience of line managing and developing staff, including the assessment of training needs.
  8. Experience in organising election activity
/ Essential
Desirable
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Desirable
Skills / Abilities /
  1. Excellent organisational skills
  1. Excellent attention to detail
  2. Excellent verbal and written communication skills
/ Essential
Essential
Essential
Knowledge /
  1. Degree or equivalent
  1. Familiarity with relevant campaigns, issues and organisations
  2. Strong understanding of best practice in local party organisation and governance
  1. Strong understanding of Green Party organisation at local, regional and national level
/ Desirable
Essential
Essential
Essential
Personal attitudes / 16. Open minded and reflective – willing to question their own working assumptions and ways of thinking
17. In sympathy with the aims and policies of the Green Party, and committed to the development and implementation of a Green and sustainable society. / Essential
Essential
Personal circumstances / 18. Eligible to work in the UK.
  1. Able and willing to work unsocial hours and outside of normal office hours as required by the post.
  2. Not a member of another UK political party.
/ Essential
Essential
Essential
Equality /
  1. Candidates must indicate full commitment to the principle of Equal Opportunities for all in line with the Party’s policies.
/ Essential

General points applicable to all Green Party jobs:

  1. The Green Party strives to be an Equal Opportunities employer and requires its employees to carry out their work in accordance with its polices on equality of opportunity in relation to employees and volunteers, in promotion of the party’s policies and access to the Party’s services.
  1. Green Party staff are required to abide by any policies in place to ensure, for example, health and safety at work, data protection, etc.
  1. The Green Party has a democratic structure with annual elections. Employees need to be aware that the organisational priorities which determine their work priorities are decisions of the Executive and may be subject to change as an Executive changes.
  1. Green Party staff may be required to attend Green Party Executive and other meetings and conferences, so long as at least two weeks' notice is given and this does not conflict with leave already agreed. These meetings may take place out of office hours, in which case time off in lieu will be awarded.
  1. Green Party staff are assigned goals, work plans, guidelines and priorities by their line managers as part of the annual planning and appraisal system, but are expected to show initiative within this framework in managing their workload to meet the overall goals of the party.
  1. Green Party staff are required to keep a timesheet along with records and details of work carried out as requested by their line manager and may, from time to time, be required to provide written or oral reports to the Executive.
  1. Green Party staff should be open to developmental needs which may arise and work with their line manager to address these needs through training or other routes.
  1. Green Party staff are expected to identify and make recommendations to the Head of Office on improving the systems within the office.
  1. Green Party staff are expected to participate fully in the Party’s teamwork ethos, attend staff meetings, share team duties and responsibilities and develop their work in co-operation with other colleagues.
  1. Green Party staff are expected to promote and develop the role of volunteer staff within their area of responsibility in liaison with the Head of Office and in accordance with the current policy on the management of volunteers.
  1. Whilst every endeavour has been made to outline all the duties and responsibilities of the post, a document such as this does not permit every item to be specified in detail. Broad headings may therefore have been used, in which case all the usual associated routines and duties are naturally included in the job description. Green Party staff are expected to undertake any other reasonable tasks as requested by the Executive via the Head of Office or relevant GPEx Co-ordinator.
  1. This job description may be periodically reviewed in consultation with the post holder.

Equal Opportunities statement:

All Green Party employees are required to carry out the Party’s policies concerning racial and sex equality and the rights of people with disabilities and lesbians, gay men and people who are bisexual both in terms of equal opportunity for employment, in policy work and access to the Party’s services.