Role: Chief of Staff/Senior Parliamentary Assistant
MP: Sarah Atherton
Location: Westminster (some flexibility to work from home)
Contract: Full time/Permanent
Salary: Salary dependent on experience – in line with IPSA pay scales
About Sarah:
Sarah has been the Member of Parliament for Wrexham since 2019. She is a member of the Defence Select Committee, and the only sitting female MP who has served in the regular Armed Forces. Sarah is heavily involved in a number of APPGs with a defence focus, including Vice-Chair to the APPG for Veterans. She is a proud representative of Wrexham, focusing on improving access to healthcare, supporting the local economy and High Street, and cracking down on crime to make Wrexham safer.
About the role:
This is a key role in the team, and you will have a great deal of interaction with Sarah; working closely to deliver her priorities for Wrexham and support her work on defence.
Responsibilities include:
- Overall management of the Member’s inbox and diary
- Overall management of staff members, including oversight of their responsibilities, appraisals and general HR.
- Oversight of Parliamentary campaigns.
- Responsibility for Members’ parliamentary activity including Defence Committee work, research, parliamentary questions, speeches and APPGs.
- Responsibility for managing all aspects of the budget and IPSA
- Take ownership of certain casework as required
- Engagement with other MPs offices and key organisations, business leaders and individuals in the constituency
- Some travel to Wrexham will be required and there will be requirement for the role holder to work outside of the normal working hours, including attending events with the MP as required
About you:
Leading a busy, vibrant team, you will need to be confident, able to act on your own initiative and will have a high level of autonomy to ensure the office continues to run successfully and the team are supported.
You will need to have Parliamentary experience; know how to read the Order Paper, access the library and House resources, understand the rhythms of Westminster and the support an MP needs from their team.
You must have demonstratable leadership skills and show you can motivate and lead the team who are split between two offices.
The ideal candidate will have an interest in defence policy and be keen to be involved in and support Sarah’s work, including establishing a new APPG on Women in Defence. An understanding of devolved and reserved powers would also be welcome. The office prides itself on working collectively, with a positive attitude, and welcome a new member of the team who will share that ethos.
Your cover letter should clearly explain why you are applying for the role, and why you believe you are a suitable candidate.
