Employer
Kingston Council
Location(s)
Kingston, Sutton
Workplace Type
Hybrid Working
Contract Type
Volunteer
Working Hours
Volunteer
Grade
Other
Grade (Other)
Volunteer - allowance or expenses can be paid
Hours Per Week
2
Salary Range
Volunteer - allowance or expenses can be paid
Salary Basis
Other
Salary
Volunteer - allowance or expenses can be paid
Application Deadline
19/10/2025, 23:55
Anticipated Interview Date(s)
23 October 2025
About the Borough
Joining us, you get to work for not just one high performing London Borough, but two.
Kingston and Sutton councils have a number of shared services serving both authorities, with some teams and roles more focussed on one council than the other, but the majority are shared across both, meaning you get multiple opportunities to learn from a wider pool of activities and two different political bodies.
We work flexibly in both Kingston and Sutton offices, and support working at home or flexible working patterns that enable you to tailor your working and personal life. We provide the equipment and tools to enable you to work flexibly, and in return ask you to use that flexibility to be creative and ambitious in the services we deliver.
There are some really exciting things happening in both boroughs. In Sutton, we are developing the London Cancer Hub, a world leading cancer research and treatment hub that will bring together professionals from across different sectors to identify and test new treatments and therapies. Over in Kingston, we are undertaking the largest housing regeneration programme ever delivered in the borough, building new energy efficient housing that will transform some of our oldest Council owned housing. Both boroughs have publicly committed to doing what they can to tackle the climate emergency and are investing in new technologies and societal change that will help bring carbon emissions down and improve our climate impact.
You should choose Kingston and Sutton if you are looking for an opportunity that will challenge you to deliver more, support you to achieve personal ambitions, and expect you to put borough residents at the heart of what you do.
Kingston is a beautiful Royal borough with a historic setting on the banks of the Thames with excellent schools and a bustling retail centre, all surrounded by open green spaces such as Richmond Park and Bushey Park, former recreation grounds for Tudor Kings and Queens. The Council is controlled by a Liberal Democrat Administration and has a council plan "Greener, Fairer, Safer, Together", that sets out a vision to be a vibrant, diverse and inclusive borough where residents are active, empowered, engaged and able to remain independent and resilient. The Council engages with residents through a number of forums and events through the year, and like Sutton plays a leading role in developing the South West Region of London.
Sutton is a well connected attractive part of London that has a reputation for excellent schools, green and leafy open spaces, and a history that drives a thriving heritage and culture offer through our museums and libraries. The Council is controlled by a long established Liberal Democrat Administration and has high ambitions set out in its corporate plan "Ambitious for Sutton", that will ensure Sutton remains a great place to live, work and raise a family. The Council plays a leading role in a number of local partnerships and places great emphasis on engaging effectively with its residents, listening to local voices and making their message heard across London Government.
About the Role and our Ideal Candidate
Independent Person (Standards)
Joint Appointment to the London Borough of Sutton and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
The Independent Person is a role required by law to support Monitoring Officers in Local Government and provide an independent view on Code of Conduct complaints submitted against members of the council (elected councillors). This role is being jointly advertised to support the Monitoring Officers in the London Boroughs of Kingston and Sutton.
Both Councils aim to maintain a small panel of independent persons, typically 2 or 3 at any one time, both to allow for any conflicts of interest and to share the workload. The expected average time commitment is dependent on the number of complaints received however it is anticipated the weekly commitment would be no more than 1 or 2 hours where complaints have been received. There may, on rare occasions, be a requirement to attend a standards hearing, which usually take place during the day and may take several hours, however these are rare at both authorities.
Key aspects of the role include:
* Providing timely advice to the Monitoring Officer in considering allegations that a councillor/co-opted member has breached the relevant council's Code of Conduct;
* Sometimes sharing your views on a complaint with the councillor against whom it has been submitted;
* If necessary, attending meetings of the relevant Council in relation to a complaint investigation and outcome. Some of these meetings may be held in public;
* be involved in disciplinary matters in relation to the dismissal of the councils' statutory officers.
It is essential that you:
* Are familiar with the Seven Principles of Public Life (the "Nolan Principles")
* Understand the role of the Independent Person and are familiar with both Council's procedure for handling complaints against elected members
* Are a good communicator with questioning skills
* Are inquisitive, open-minded and non-judgemental
It is desirable that you:
* Have an understanding of the pressures and constraints of serving as an elected or co-opted member of a democratically accountable public body
* Have experience of mediation or dispute resolution (previous experience as an Independent Person welcomed)
* Are qualified or experienced in legal or governance matters
* Have an understanding of the arrangements for dealing with Councillor complaints, the Councillors Code of Conduct and the ethical governance provisions of the Localism Act 2011
* Live and/or work in the Kingston / Sutton area
An Independent Person cannot:
* be a current or former (within the last 5 years) councillor, co-opted member or officer of either Kingston or Sutton Council or
* be a relative, or close friend of an individual who fulfils the criteria in the bullet point above
* be disqualified from standing for election as a councillor, ie been adjudged bankrupt or been sentenced to a term of imprisonment for a period of not less than three months in the past five years
* currently have and must not enter into any contractual relations with the council under which he/she will gain personally
About Us
As an Independent Person, you will not be a council employee. However, you will work closely with the Monitoring Officer, their deputies, and colleagues in reviewing Code of Conduct complaints.
A small allowance is payable by Kingston Council and reasonable expenses will be paid by Sutton Council in the discharge of this role. As technically a voluntary position, you will not be expected to work to a specific schedule but will correspond with the Monitoring Officer and other officers via phone and/or email when your advice is sought.
Our Offer To You
As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we're committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We're constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.
Employees have access to a wide range of benefits to enable staff to achieve a work life balance, some of which include:
* A generous annual leave entitlement of 25-32 days, plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply) depending on service and grade.
* Enhanced Maternity, Paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependents leave
* Three volunteering days per year in Kingston
* Hybrid working (dependent on the role)
* Flexible and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks
* Learning and development portal offering a range of courses
* Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
* Interest free season ticket loans
* Local Government Pension Scheme
* Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
* Zip car scheme
* Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support
Application Process
Apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application and check your CV details have been uploaded correctly in the relevant sections.
We understand and recognise the benefits of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace and are embracing AI where appropriate, to boost our productivity and streamline how we deliver our Council services efficiently; to provide the best possible outcomes for our residents and communities.
However, we reserve the right to reject applications where it is apparent that AI-generated content has been used in isolation and without personalised responses. At Kingston we value authenticity and are looking for individuals who can clearly demonstrate their own skills, experience and motivation for the role that they are applying for and embrace and demonstrate our STAR values.
Here at Kingston we have core values of Transparency and this is to be demonstrated during the application process and completion of the supporting statement and will be further tested at interview and selection stage for those who progress forward.
The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
As part of our award winning Diversity Programme we anonymise all applications received to reduce conscious and unconscious bias enabling every application to be reviewed on the knowledge, skills and experience shown in your application. We encourage our interview panels to be as diverse as possible (age, cultural, neurodiverse etc.) to reduce bias where possible. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce.
Additional Information
We are in the process of updating our payscales in line with the pay award for NJC, Chief Officers and Chief Executives for April 2025 therefore please take this into account when viewing the salary on this position.
We are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough and we strive to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and instil a sense of belonging in our staff. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce, therefore we welcome applications from under represented groups.
To support our workers and their families we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.
We are also proud to be a disability confident employer and guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role. As an accredited London Living Wage Employer all our employees are guaranteed the London Living Wage regardless of their length or type of contract.
The UK has a points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance. Sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.