Chief of Staff to the Deputy Chair

Job Description - Senior Advisor (046991)

MD's Office

Corporate / Public Affairs

Position Type - Full Time

Job Title - Senior Advisor (046991)

Band - 4

Location - Head office hubs / Hybrid

Contract Type - TFL, Permanent

Hybrid working within this role enables a balance of 50 per cent of time split between the office and home over a 4-week period. Hybrid working arrangements can evolve subject to business requirements.

Overview of Role

The post-holder will provide direct personal support to the Deputy Mayor for Transport and provide leadership and management for their office to ensure they are able to focus on the areas of greatest importance to the Mayor and TfL.

In practice this will require significant interaction and relationship management with multiple senior internal and external stakeholders; tight management of the Deputy Mayor's office to provide them with the best possible service; actively prioritising and filtering issues brought to the Deputy Mayor, to allow them to focus on higher importance items; management and quality control of sensitive correspondence, MQs and briefings; and often needing to act on behalf of the Deputy Mayor.

The role will also assume management responsibility for the Walking & Cycling Commissioner's PA.

Key Accountabilities

1. Directly support the Deputy Mayor in all their duties, including maintaining oversight and progression of mayoral policy priorities relating to transport, acting on their behalf where appropriate, preparing for meetings and following up, and dealing with ad hoc issues as they arise. This will also include day-to-day management of the Deputy Mayor's office, including active diary management, filtering and prioritising requests, and line management of PA.
2. Ensure the Deputy Mayor is fully briefed on all matters involving the TfL Board, including coordinating the checking of TfL Board papers prior to publication, summarising key issues, and dealing with the Secretariat to manage any feedback or comments.
3. Act as a filter and prioritise/deprioritise for the Deputy Mayor, managing and controlling the large volume of issues that come through the Deputy Chair from various stakeholders.
4. Deputise for the Deputy Mayor where appropriate, handling lower level requests that come directly to the Deputy Mayor to allow them to focus on the issues of greatest importance to the Mayor and TfL.
5. Build and maintain effective relationships with senior stakeholders across the GLA family, including MPDU within the Mayor's Office, GLA Senior Advisers, the Mayor's Stakeholder team, GLA and TfL Press Offices, GLA and TfL Government Relations teams, and TfL Executive Committee members and their offices.

Skills, Knowledge & Experience

Skills

1. High level decision making and problem solving skills - lateral thinker able to spot linkages and dependencies;
2. Ability to grasp complex policy issues;
3. Ability to challenge the norm and encourage change - flexibility and a 'can do' attitude with ability to act as a "self-starter";
4. Well honed project management skills, able to multi-task and manage conflicting priorities, used to working under pressure and to deadlines;
5. A proactive, flexible, hands-on approach to identification and resolution of problems;
6. Capable of developing an intuitive understanding of requirements;
7. Strong people leadership and management skills with use of emotional intelligence;
8. Ability to seek out and interpret multiple sources of information and respect confidentialities.

Knowledge

1. Strong understanding of the transport issues affecting London and wider best practice;
2. Thorough knowledge of appropriate governance, legislation and TfL's policies and procedures;
3. Strong understanding of London government including the operation and interaction of the various parts of the GLA;
4. Politically astute, balancing organisational policy and decision making processes against delivery of a public transport service;
5. Numerate, with an understanding of business planning, budget cycles and ability to critique financial analysis at a senior level.

Experience

1. Experience of working in and around a highly sensitive political involvement, ideally within London government;
2. Experience and appreciation of the public sector and issues faced in delivering strategic responsibilities to a multi-dimensional cultural capital city;
3. Experience of representing organisations to stakeholders at senior level;
4. Proven ability to manage and motivate a team, both through formal line management and indirect 'soft' management;
5. Proven ability to influence at a senior level, including successfully facilitating joint decision-making and building linkages between business units.

Equality and Diversity

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We want to represent the city we serve, which will help us become a more innovative and efficient organisation. Our goal is to make our recruitment as inclusive as possible. We are a disability confident employer who guarantee an interview to any disabled candidate who meets all of the essential criteria. We also use anonymising software that removes identifying information from CVs and cover letters to make the process fair.

Application Process

Please apply using your CV and a two-page covering letter. Think carefully about the skills, knowledge and experience in the advert and cover this in your CV.

The closing date for applications is Sunday 10th November at 23:59pm.

In return for your commitment and expertise, you will enjoy excellent benefits and scope to grow. Rewards vary according to the business area but mostly include:

1. Final salary pension scheme
2. Free travel for you on the TfL network
3. A 75% discount on National Rail Season Ticket and interest-free loan
4. 30 days annual leave plus public and bank holidays
5. Retail, health, leisure and travel offers