James Duddridge, MP for Rochford and Southend East is recruiting for one full time (37.5 hours) Constituency Caseworker based in Southend-on-Sea.

You will be the first point of contact for members of the public. You will be required to work within a small team, managing a varied caseload and forming good working relationships with local government representatives and other key stakeholders to meet the needs and queries of constituents.

Local knowledge of the area and the issues that its residents and businesses face would be an advantage.

Duties will include:

• Dealing with queries from members of the public, including policy issues, taking the appropriate initial action to resolve, document or escalate their concerns or enquiries.
• Attending constituency surgeries and other meetings as appropriate.
• Gathering relevant information to assist with resolving cases.
• Drafting responses to constituents and keeping them updated with case progress.
• Retaining records and information confidentially and in line with the Data Protection Act.

The above is a non-exhaustive list and will depend on the successful candidate’s experience and areas of interest.

Skills required include:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a desire to provide a compassionate, high-quality service to constituents
• High degree of personal and political sensitivity, with a sympathetic telephone manner
• Awareness of central and local government structures, and the ability to undertake research on casework issues
• Ability to use own initiative, prioritise workload and proactively work through complex issues with constituents
• Good IT skills, knowledge of MS Office package, an ability to work with social media platforms and to adapt to new software programmes
As part of the role, some travel throughout the constituency is likely to be required, as well as occasional weekend work