Democratic Services Officer (Temporary for Six-Months)

6-month Fixed Term Contract Until June 2027, Full Time (35 hours per week)

Salary on appointment will be dependent upon qualification level and experience and in line with the requirements stipulated on the role profile at either Level 1 or Level 2

Are you looking for a new challenge in a varied and interesting role? If so, we have an exciting opportunity to join our friendly and forward-looking team here at South Yorkshire Pensions Authority on a fixed term basis. The Democratic Services Officer role sits in our highly collaborative Governance and Corporate Services team and involves a wide range of duties supporting the elected councillors and other members of our Authority, Committees and Local Pension Board.

Who we are:

As a democratically accountable, single purpose pensions authority, we are both a local authority and a pension fund. We are responsible for administering the local government pension scheme for the four councils and other local government-related employers in South Yorkshire – managing a pension fund of over £12 billion, serving nearly 180,000 scheme members. As a local government body ourselves, we have a public sector ethos and place a great deal of importance on our organisational values and behaviours – which are all about being honest and accountable, professional, progressive, and empowering.

We have a culture that encourages work-life balance, and we offer flexible working hours. Our Barnsley office provides a state-of-the-art working environment with free on-site parking and located within 10 minutes’ walk of both the train and bus stations; it makes us easily accessible.

Take a look at our website: Work For Us (sypensions.org.uk) to find out more about the benefits of working for SYPA and visit our LinkedIn page to see what we have been up to recently!

What you’ll be doing:

Working directly with elected and co-opted Authority Members, Local Pension Board members and senior officers, you’ll provide professional support to their formal meetings. In this varied and fast-paced role, you will work within a team responsible for co-ordination of Authority, Committee, and Local Pension Board meetings, including preparing and publishing agenda packs, producing minutes, scheduling work programmes and ensuring decisions are recorded and published.

This is an exciting time to take up this role as we respond to a range of new governance requirements in the LGPS. You’ll play a key part in supporting the learning and development of our Authority, Committee and Board members, including promoting and organising an annual programme of training and events to meet their needs, and keeping them up to date through regular monthly updates.

You will respond to email, telephone and face-to-face enquiries, providing advice, guidance and information, while working collaboratively with colleagues and external partners to resolve issues effectively.

What you’ll be able to offer:

You will have recent experience in a business support, democratic support or administrative role, and be able to demonstrate some knowledge and interest of working in corporate or public sector governance. You will have the ability to work accurately whilst dealing with deadlines and different priorities, and will communicate professionally and effectively, working well with others to achieve objectives.

You will have strong attention to detail and the ability to understand and apply regulations and policies. Experience of working within a public sector environment or within local government democratic services would be advantageous.

You will also demonstrate:

• Educated to Level 2 or 3 standard, or able to evidence equivalent knowledge or experience.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate clearly and accurately in a range of situations.
• Good IT skills, including proficiency in Microsoft 365 applications such as Word and Excel.

What's in it for you:

• We have a generous annual leave policy that offers between 28 days and 36 days annual leave per year depending on length of service, plus all statutory bank holidays and you can accrue and take up to 13 extra days leave per year by utilising Flexitime.
• We have several work-life balance policies including a Flexible Working Hours policy (Flexitime) which allows you to work your contracted hours to suit both you and the team that you are working in.
• You’ll automatically be enrolled into the LGPS (Local Government Pension Scheme) which provides a salary-related pension, to which the employer contributes.
• We offer a range of wellbeing initiatives including regular webinars on health & wellbeing, fresh fruit, tea, coffee, and employer provided flu vaccination vouchers each year. We also organise regular social and charity events.
• We offer a 24/7 confidential helpline, access to workplace counselling and Occupational Health.
• Access to a range of benefits and discounts through the Wider Wallet scheme.
• Centrally located modern office for public transport links and staff on-site parking available.

Closing Date – Friday 13th November 2026 at 12pm

Interview Date – Friday 20th November 2026

We reserve the right to bring the closing date forward should enough quality applications be received prior to the current closing date