Equalities & Partnerships Advisor

Equalities & Partnerships Advisor

Fixed Term, 24 months

Full Time, 37 hours per week

£26,786 to £31,512 per annum

Location: Chelmsford / Hybrid

Working Style: Anywhere worker

Closing Date: 16th November 2025

Essex County Council (ECC) is one of the largest and most dynamic local authorities in the UK, serving a population of 1.5 million residents in the historic and beautiful county of Essex. ECC has an ambitious agenda for our county reflected in our strategy Everyone’s Essex. 

As an Equalities and Partnerships Officer at Essex County Council, this role will be based in the Council’s Equalities and Partnerships Team which covers a range of challenging issues of national and local importance including; ensuring that council services are inclusive and accessible; working effectively in partnership with other organisations across Essex to better joined up outcomes for public services, and; improving community safety across Essex.

A core function of team is to provide secretariat and project coordination support that joins up the work of a number of different partnership groups including the Essex Health and Wellbeing Board, Safer Essex, Essex Chief Executives Forum and the Essex Leaders’ Group. 

The team is also responsible for coordinating the Council’s internal equality assurance processes, providing advice and guidance to other departments on equalities issues, as well as direct delivery of bespoke programmes of work aimed at tackling inequality, and improving community safety.

The Role:

We are seeking an Equality and Partnership Officers with strong organisational skills to:

• Work with the chairs and lead officers of key strategic partnership groups to provide effective planning and secretariat support for key meetings to ensure that they are organised on time and run smoothly on the day, that accurate notes and actions are recorded, and that agreed actions are followed up on with those responsible for them.

• Work with project leads in the team, the wider Council and external organisations to help to co-ordinate different partnership projects and events from design to implementation and evaluation stages, support implementation and problem solve and overcome any barriers to delivery.

• Also work with other members of the team to support the council’s internal equality assurance and monitoring processes, the development of equalities best practice advice, guidance and learning resources and be an advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our internal and external facing activities.

With excellent people and communication skills you will:

• Be confident working with other council departments, County Councillors, and a range of senior leaders from across a range of other public services including, Local Authorities, Police, Heath, Fire, Universities, and our Community and Voluntary Sector partners to help the team build effective and sustainable relationships that will lead to shared action.

• Contribute to communications on our partnership projects, helping to tell the story of journey we are on and the progress we are making to support local people across Essex.

The backbone to this work will be your desire to strive for a fairer Essex where equality of opportunity, and working in partnership is at the heart of your thinking in order to deliver our shared ambitions to widen access to opportunity and ensure better outcomes for Essex Residents.

How we work

This role is considered an ‘anywhere worker’ by Essex County Council and is predominantly a remote position. However, there is an expectation to be in the office in Chelmsford, Essex, at a minimum of once a month. The role will also involve travel to other locations across the county and beyond to support different meetings and projects as required.

Essential Qualifications, Skills and Experience

• Educated to Level 3 (A’ Level or equivalent) or the equivalent by experience
• Experience of working with senior leaders and co-workers to provide either meeting secretariat or project management support.
• Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal) with demonstrable interpersonal and negotiating skills and experience.
• High level of IT and digital expertise in order to fully support the needs of the team and work in a hybrid environment (including the use of Microsoft Teams, Word, PowerPoint and Excel).
• Excellent organisational skills: the ability to manage multiple tasks, prioritise and meet deadlines with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail
• Experience of effective working within a team environment and liaising with a wide range of contacts in a professional manner
• Good numeracy and ability to assist with managing small budgets for projects and team activities
• Ability to think creatively, identify and develop ideas from a range of sources and translate ideas into actions

Desirable Qualifications, Skills and Experience

• Demonstrable understanding of working in a multi-agency setting and evidence of successful collaborative working with partners.
• Experience of having worked in a political environment.
• Experience of working with a wide range of partners including in the public sector, voluntary sector, multi-faith groups and grass-roots community organisations.
• Demonstratable knowledge and experience of equalities issues, equality impact assessments and projects aimed at tackling inequalities.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex . With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process.

We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles , including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

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If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk

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