The role is varied over the course of a review, which lasts about a year and you will conduct a number of activities which we believe makes the role an interesting and challenging position. All of our Review Officers are excellent communicators – you have to be able to write reports that are published so that councils and members of the public can tell us what they think about the proposed electoral arrangements. Review Officers brief the Commission at formal meetings once a month. At these meetings you are expected to present your findings, with the support of your manager, advising the Commissioners what warding arrangements you think best reflect our statutory criteria.

Review Officers build strong relationships with other Review Officers sharing information, and best practice which has led to the team having a strong collaborative working environment. We also work closely with officers from local authorities, typically Democratic Service Managers as we find that the best reviews are the ones where local authorities are engaged in the process and Review Officers have a fundamental role in building a positive relationship with the authority under review.

One of the key parts of the Review Officer role is analysing the information that we receive during the consultation. You’ll be responsible for reading the submissions that come in (typically between 20 and 200) for any review and determining what electoral boundaries should be recommended to the Commission. You’ll need to balance the statutory criteria and interpret information to identify where communities are.

You’ll also work closely with our communications team who are responsible for the majority of our consultations and help identify which stakeholders will be interested in the review. In every review you’ll get the opportunity to go to the authority under review and tour the area to see whether the boundaries you’ve identified work on the ground.