Paul Sweeney MP is looking to recruit a Parliamentary Assistant to provide close support and personal assistance in his London office. This will be a part-time role based in the House of Commons office covering 2.5 days in a mid-week arrangement (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday).

The ideal candidate will be a highly motivated individual with a personal commitment to Labour, Co-operative, and Trade Union values; able to work, prioritise and task manage with minimal supervision, with a flexible approach to this varied role. The successful post-holder will have excellent time management skills, will be well-organised and proficient in all aspects of IT and communications. This post is suitable for a degree-level qualified person, or with the equivalent experience working in personal assistant, administrative and research roles.

Main Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain current knowledge of Bills, EDMs, legislation and debates;
• Submit applications for debates, manage requests to speak and urgent questions, and draft written and oral parliamentary questions;
• Undertake research, provide briefings, and write articles on a wide variety of issues;
• Diary management, ensuring the Member is notified of upcoming priorities, and progress routine administration;
• Handle and manage email and telephone enquiries for the Member in the Westminster office;
• Prepare and edit correspondence, communications and other documents;
• Respond effectively to correspondence and enquiries from both constituents and organisations on policy issues;
• Work with stakeholders on a range of campaigns and projects;
• Organise and oversee high-quality events in Parliament;
• Utilisation of social media tools to generate Facebook and Twitter content as required to promote the MP’s work to constituents.

The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate:

• Excellent rapid research and writing skills, reflecting good attention to detail;
• The ability to take the initiative and prioritise workload under pressure, while ensuring routine tasks are expedited;
• Strong organisational skills to prioritise, with the ability to work efficiently to tight deadlines;
• A good working knowledge of politics and parliament;
• Excellent time management and multitasking skills;
• Confidence and the ability to interact effectively with stakeholders, including the Member’s constituents, visitors, guests, groups;
• An aptitude in the utilisation of all aspects of IT; including use of content/client relationship management systems, social media, website content management systems, and Microsoft Office functionality.