Cabinet Advisor

The role

We’re offering an exciting opportunity to work at the very heart of decision-making in Southwark Council as a Cabinet Advisor, within the Leader’s Office and Cabinet Office. This is your chance to make a tangible impact in one of London’s most culturally diverse boroughs.

The role offers a truly unique opportunity to see how the different parts of the council come together to make impactful decisions that improve the lives of our residents. You'll gain a front-row seat to the bigger picture, thinking strategically about long-term goals while staying agile in tackling week-to-week challenges. You'll be part of a passionate and ambitious Cabinet team, united by a shared drive to deliver impactful results.

You'll have the chance to step onto a national stage, building meaningful relationships with politicians, senior leaders, government, think tanks, and key local and national partners. This is an exciting opportunity where your work will help shape policies and partnerships that truly make a difference for our residents.

As a Cabinet Advisor, you will:

• Advise and Empower: Support two or more Cabinet/Deputy Cabinet Members, ensuring they deliver their portfolio objectives.
• Connect and Collaborate: Work closely with senior officers, partners, government, and think tanks to drive Southwark’s policy leadership.
• Communicate Creatively: Draft proactive content, manage media responses, and enhance Cabinet members’ online communications.
• Lead Effectively: Ensure Cabinet members’ time is optimised for leadership and constitutional responsibilities.

How will you make an impact:

We need a dynamic and experienced Cabinet Advisor will bring a blend of the following:

• A strategic, forward-thinker who is ready to tackle challenges head-on.
• Previous experience gained working in Local or Central Government supporting Senior Leadership.
• Will have exceptional organisational and prioritisation skills, along with a knack for crafting compelling media content.
• Understand the sensitivities of working in a political environment and demonstrate absolute discretion.
• Thrives in a fast-paced, high-impact environment, ready to work at the intersection of policy, partnerships, and progress.
• Will seize opportunities to lead and innovate, with a passion for changing lives and reducing inequality.
• Skilled in providing a performance-focused supporting role, implementing effective strategies, systems, and procedures to drive continuous improvement.

Additional salary details

About Southwark

As a council, we are successful, passionate, and forward thinking. We are committed to tackling injustice and inequalities and rebuilding our local economy following the pandemic, ensuring that our residents and businesses are central to everything we do.

As a diverse central London borough, Southwark faces a range of challenges, which we aim to address through the delivery of the Borough Plan. We are looking for candidates to join our team to help us continue to make Southwark an inclusive borough for all our communities.   

Southwark Council is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We monitor our recruitment practices to check that we are employing people in a fair and non-discriminatory way. We also publish annual workforce reports. We are proud to have a workforce that reflects the diversity of our borough.

Benefits and more information

Working for Southwark Council – Southwark

Salary Range: £41,580 - £47,628

Recruitment timetable

Application Closing Date: 11.59pm on the 21^st of April 2025

Interview Date: The 28^th of April 2025

We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together initiative.

We particularly welcome applications from members of the black, Asian, and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme:

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care or have previously been in care.
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role, in which case we will move the key dates for the process. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.