Cambridge Road Estate - Community Board Clerk

About the Borough

This special place in South West London between the capital and the country has been a Royal borough longer than anywhere else - it is where the first kings of England were crowned.

Today it is a vibrant and diverse borough, with a long history and strong cultural and community heritage. Kingston's riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of our district town centres (Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington) have something unique to offer.

Situated in Zone 6, Kingston is among the best-connected town centres in London – with direct train links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and Tramlink.

Kingston’s people are innovative and entrepreneurial, and have a strong sense of community pride. The borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years, reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival and Kingston University, which boasts more new graduate business start-ups than any other.

We have seen tremendous generosity and compassion within our communities, particularly in response to COVID-19, which is a demonstration of Kingston’s key strength. The council offers a strong level of support to vulnerable groups and those who need additional support, which has also increased significantly as a result of the pandemic. Like most places, the average age of our population is rising as more people are living longer, so we are working closely with residents to help them maintain their independence and further improve the cost effectiveness of our service to meet the ongoing rise in demand.

Kingston is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds, which helps to create the rich sense of community shared across the borough. In particular, Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK.

About the Service and Team

The Cambridge Road Estate

Kingston Council and housing developer Countryside Properties are working in partnership to deliver regeneration proposals at Cambridge Road Estate (CRE). The proposed plans will deliver high-quality new homes, gardens, play areas, streets, community facilities, new jobs and local training opportunities. Together, we are working closely with residents and neighbours, to shape the regeneration plans for the estate.

About the Role and Our Ideal Candidate

The CRE Community Board

The Community Board is made up of residents; community group representatives; ward councillors and council officers. The Board represents the interests of residents by reviewing proposals and providing feedback and ideas. This is a bank which is mainly home-based except that meetings take place on site in the Cambridge Road Estate in Kingston.

Further information on the CRE Community Board is available here:

https://www.cambridgeroadestate.com/get-involved/community-board

The Role

The clerk for the Community board reports to the Resident Engagement & Social Value Lead and is responsible for the administration tasks for the successful organisation and delivery of Community Board meetings and associated administrative tasks.

The main duties are to:

1. Organise, attend and minute Community Board and sub groups meetings; workshops and training sessions
2. Organise the agenda and papers for the meetings in liaison with stakeholders
3. Maintain the Action Log, chase and compile responses
4. Maintain the forward plan of work and the tracker
5. Arrange meeting invitations for speakers
6. Arrange meetings with the Joint Venture Board
7. Handle enquiries for the Community Board and liaise with the Chair
8. Arrange the administrative aspects of training and support for the Board
9. Arrange meetings and other communication with stakeholders as required
10. Undertake the administrative aspects of planning and delivery of an AGM
11. Manage the administrative aspects of member recruitment and election
12. Process expenses for Community Board members
13. Organise distribution communicationmaterial
14. Any other duties that are commensurate with the role of Clerk to the Community Board

Time commitment

There are approximately six Board meetings per year lasting 2 hours each plus other meetings as described above. The time commitment will vary from month to month but, generally speaking, the expectation is approximately 14 hours per meeting adding up to roughly 84 hours per year. The successful candidate will need to commit to flexible working as meetings can take place in the evenings and occasionally some events at weekends.

Skills and Experience

The successful candidate will need to demonstrate the following:

• Excellent verbal and written communication with experience of delivering the tasks associated with a clerk role
• Demonstrates attention to detail
• Strong planning and organisational skills
• Effectively manages their own time but also able to work as part of a team
• Familiarity with Google Suite is preferred but experience of using email; spreadsheets, calendar and document management is essential
• Experience managing confidential matters and material
• Ability to work with a range of stakeholders in a professional and sensitive manner
• Task driven and able to meet deadlines and timescales

Our Values

Becoming an enabling council is a key principle that runs through our organisational development and is embedded in everything we do. Underpinning these priorities are the following values:

• Supportive of trying new ideas, with the courage to change direction.
• Transparent and connected in all that we think, say and do.
• Appreciative of each other, recognising and celebrating success.
• Respectful of difference and valuing diversity.

Our Offer to You

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff supported by our IT infrastructure, Google Chromebooks and Google Apps, which have acted as a key enabler for collaborative and streamlined working. We operate hybrid working, a flexible working model which allows staff to work from a variety of locations and staff are not required to work within the office 5 days a week. It enables staff to achieve a work life balance whilst still meeting the needs of the organisation.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
• Three volunteering days per year in Kingston
• Flexible and agile working arrangements
• Comprehensive learning and development programme
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
• Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
• Subsidised gym membership

Application Process

Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

We are committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) so all personal information that can identify job applicants e.g. name, title etc is completely anonymised during the shortlisting process. Our hiring managers review applications based on the knowledge, skills and experience demonstrated in your application, and how well these match the job profile. Our HR Shared Service with Sutton Council was recently recognised nationally for having the ‘Best Inclusion and Diversity Programme’ at the PPMA Excellence in People Management Awards 2023, something that we’re incredibly proud of.

Hiring managers are encouraged to ensure that their interview panel is diverse, and representative of a range of protected characteristics, to help remove unconscious bias and ensure candidates are treated fairly during the selection process. Some characteristics may not be obvious, but our panels are diverse wherever possible. We have a number of measures in place to inform and support our approach, including mandatory EDI and unconscious bias training for all staff, safer recruitment training for diverse panel members, engaging with our staff networks and encouraging allyship. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce.

Additional Information

We are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough. Our aim is to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and staff feel a sense of belonging. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, particularly Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, and disabled candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce.

As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to thinking differently about disability and taking action to improve how we recruit, retain and develop disabled people. We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role.

We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are an accredited London Living Wage Employer and this means that everyone working at the Royal Borough of Kingston, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers receive the London Living Wage. The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living.

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.