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Lourdes, Policy Adviser to the Executive
London Borough of Hounslow

"I started my local government career working as an administrator for the London Borough of Richmond, before moving to the Local Government Association as a policy assistant. I then went on secondment for a year to central Government, before deciding that I wanted to work locally again and applying for the post of PA to the Chief Executive at the London Borough of Hounslow. After a year I moved to my current role as policy adviser to the Executive (elected councillors).

I'm currently working on a project to help create a local framework for the council in line with 'Every Child Matters' and the Children's Act. However, other work involves working closely with elected councillors and writing briefing notes for them; project managing key initiatives such as engaging elected members in HR issues; providing general support and advice to councillors on policy issues.

To do the job you need good analytical, communication, report-writing and project management skills. You would also find it helpful to have an understanding of local government issues and the way local government interfaces with central Government.

The best thing about the job is being able to advise and support councillors, in order to help them make sound and fair decisions. It's good to be able to provide them with options and make the process easier to understand, especially as many councillors also work and do not always have time to go through everything in detail themselves.

The work can be challenging - it's sometimes tricky keeping up to speed with the vast amounts of Government policies and demands.

I am currently studying for a postgraduate certificate in management. After I've done that, I am considering another move back to one of local government's central bodies, as I really enjoyed seeing the variety and diversity of work within all local councils when I worked there before."

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