About the Role

This is an outstanding opportunity to join Fareham Borough Council; an impressive, high performing organisation which provides high quality, customer focused services that deliver value for money. We have bold ambitions and strong values, centred around people. Taking a one team approach, we will ensure that Fareham remains a prosperous, attractive and safe place to be so that our communities and businesses thrive and the lives of our residents are improved.

We are passionate about the role that we play in the community and the services we provide and we are very proud of our achievements. Our employees take ownership of customer enquiries in a positive and trusting culture, intent on delivering great services in a way which matters to our customers. 

We are in a really good position to achieve and deliver a challenging agenda. With a new corporate strategy launched imminently you will work to support leading Councillors to achieve our goals and priorities. There are challenges on the horizon but with our history of careful financial planning and as a well run and well led Council we are confident of our ability to succeed and to succeed well. 

We are looking for an exceptional applicant who can bring demonstrable strategic and management leadership, with respect for the democratic process, enjoys working collaboratively and has excellent financial awareness to find creative solutions which support the vision and delivery of Fareham's ambitious plans.  

We are truly proud of our Borough and the work carried out by officers of the Council on behalf of the Executive and of the Council and rightly so. With excellent Member/Officer relationships, we consider ourselves to be 'Team Fareham' and together we achieve success. We are delighted when people tell us we are a 'friendly and professional organisation' and our employees tell us that it is 'a nice place to work'.  And we don't want this to change.

As our Chief Executive Officer, you will need to share our passion and values to continue our important journey and shape the future of Fareham. 

If you believe you have the skills and qualities we are looking for, and the information on our web pages makes you smile, we look forward to hearing from you!

If you have any queries on any aspect of the recruitment process, need additional information or wish to have an informal discussion, please contact Sarah Robinson, Director of Support Services - srobinson@fareham.gov.uk

Job Description, Person Specification and Terms & Conditions

• Job Description (73 KB)
• Person Specification (62 KB)
• Terms and Conditions

Returning Officer (RO) and Electoral Registration Officer (ERO)

In accordance with Fareham Borough Council's Scheme of Delegation to Officers, as contained in the Constitution, the Chief Executive Officer will be appointed as the Returning Officer (RO) for all Borough Council elections and as the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) for the Fareham County Constituency.  

As RO, you play a central role in the democratic process. Your role is to ensure that the election is administered effectively and that, as a result, the experience of voters and those standing for election is a positive one. You should set out at an early stage what you want to achieve and what success would look like for you. As local government RO you are personally responsible for the conduct of the local government election, including:

• publishing the notice of election
• administering the nomination process
• printing the ballot papers
• publishing the notice of poll, statement of persons nominated and notice of situation of polling stations
• the provision of polling stations
• appointing Presiding Officers and Poll Clerks
• managing the postal voting process
• verifying and counting the votes
• declaring the result

Your duties as RO are separate from your duties as a local government officer. As RO you are not responsible to the council but are directly accountable to the courts as an independent statutory office holder. While you can appoint one or more persons to discharge any or all of your functions, you cannot delegate your personal responsibility for delivering the election.

You should have a working knowledge of the legislation governing the conduct of the election. This means that, in addition to having a clear understanding of your statutory functions, you should have an overview of what the legislation contains and an understanding of how it affects the administration of the election, so that you can review, question where necessary, and quality-assure the whole process. 

As RO, you are subject to breach of official duty provisions. This means that if you or your appointed deputies are, without reasonable cause, guilty of any act or omission in breach of official duty you (and/or your deputies) are liable on summary conviction to an unlimited fine. 

As Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) you are responsible for compiling and maintaining the register of parliamentary electors and the register of local electors. In order to be able to vote in elections in England, a person's name must be included in a register of electors. In addition to maintaining the register, you have a duty to process absent vote applications, maintain the absent voting record and produce the lists of absent voters for an election. The operational duties are carried out by the Electoral Services team, led by the Head of Democratic Services. 

The statutory functions, including the duties of the ERO, are set out in legislation. Further duties can be imposed by a direction of the Secretary of State.