Job Description: Elected Representative of the People
Reports to: The Electorate
Benefits: Excellent; includes generous vacation, complete health and dental coverage (depending on level of government), full travel expenses, special license plates, free parking, many other perks
Description of Duties: The Elected Representative of the People (ERP) will work with a team of other elected officials and experienced staff to craft legislation to improve the functioning of society. Will be assigned to one or more committees which will, among other duties, monitor one or more aspects of executive branch operations. These operations are undertaken by skilled civil servants overseen by an elected Chief Executive. The ERP and the committee(s) on which s/he serves will provide advice and consent as required or requested to the Chief Executive, various boards, committees, and commissions. The ERP must effectively communicate public policy, and progress in solving current societal issues to the general public, as well as to co-workers engaged in other aspects of oversight. In addition, the ERP must effectively seek input and feedback from constituents, many of whom have little interest in or understanding of the complexities of the social problems the ERP and his/her colleagues have been assigned to address. The successful candidate will have experience in effectively identifying and negotiating solutions to a complex range of inter-related societal challenges.
Required Skills and/or Experience:
Communication skills. Must be willing and able to read, understand, and comment on voluminous amounts of written legal material on wide-ranging subject matter, from economic development to education to health care. Other necessary communication skills include extemporaneous oratory, and ability to build trusting relationships with co-workers. Must be able to manage up, or improve the standing and influence of those in senior positions. Good listening skills, politeness, and even-temperedness, as well as ability to negotiate and compromise are essential, as is a healthy sense of humor.
Ability to work effectively as a member of various teams. The ERP will be assigned to one or more committees, but will also be under pressure to meet the more narrow re-election and fundraising goals of the ERP’s sponsor/party. In order to be effective on the job, it is essential that the short-term goals of the sponsor/party be secondary to the longer term societal goals identified collectively. This tension can sometimes become extraordinary, yet performance evaluation will be made on the ERP’s demonstrated commitment to and effectiveness in serving the larger society rather than the more narrow and self-serving goals of the sponsor/party.
Ability to fundraise. Separate from, but related to, to the specific duties of the ERP is the ability to raise funds for re-election campaigns. Dependence on financial sponsors whose demands are often not aligned with the ERP or his/her constituency raise frequent, if not constant, ethical dilemmas, requiring an exceptional degree of honesty and integrity. Fundraising duties are an accepted part of any ERP’s life, but must be undertaken outside the course of normal duties, and strictly on the ERP’s own time. Failure to do so can result in censure, public humiliation, and in extreme cases, legal prosecution.
Other desirable qualities for the successful candidate:
Benefits: Excellent; includes generous vacation, complete health and dental coverage (depending on level of government), full travel expenses, special license plates, free parking, many other perks
Description of Duties: The Elected Representative of the People (ERP) will work with a team of other elected officials and experienced staff to craft legislation to improve the functioning of society. Will be assigned to one or more committees which will, among other duties, monitor one or more aspects of executive branch operations. These operations are undertaken by skilled civil servants overseen by an elected Chief Executive. The ERP and the committee(s) on which s/he serves will provide advice and consent as required or requested to the Chief Executive, various boards, committees, and commissions. The ERP must effectively communicate public policy, and progress in solving current societal issues to the general public, as well as to co-workers engaged in other aspects of oversight. In addition, the ERP must effectively seek input and feedback from constituents, many of whom have little interest in or understanding of the complexities of the social problems the ERP and his/her colleagues have been assigned to address. The successful candidate will have experience in effectively identifying and negotiating solutions to a complex range of inter-related societal challenges.
Required Skills and/or Experience:
Communication skills. Must be willing and able to read, understand, and comment on voluminous amounts of written legal material on wide-ranging subject matter, from economic development to education to health care. Other necessary communication skills include extemporaneous oratory, and ability to build trusting relationships with co-workers. Must be able to manage up, or improve the standing and influence of those in senior positions. Good listening skills, politeness, and even-temperedness, as well as ability to negotiate and compromise are essential, as is a healthy sense of humor.
Ability to work effectively as a member of various teams. The ERP will be assigned to one or more committees, but will also be under pressure to meet the more narrow re-election and fundraising goals of the ERP’s sponsor/party. In order to be effective on the job, it is essential that the short-term goals of the sponsor/party be secondary to the longer term societal goals identified collectively. This tension can sometimes become extraordinary, yet performance evaluation will be made on the ERP’s demonstrated commitment to and effectiveness in serving the larger society rather than the more narrow and self-serving goals of the sponsor/party.
Ability to fundraise. Separate from, but related to, to the specific duties of the ERP is the ability to raise funds for re-election campaigns. Dependence on financial sponsors whose demands are often not aligned with the ERP or his/her constituency raise frequent, if not constant, ethical dilemmas, requiring an exceptional degree of honesty and integrity. Fundraising duties are an accepted part of any ERP’s life, but must be undertaken outside the course of normal duties, and strictly on the ERP’s own time. Failure to do so can result in censure, public humiliation, and in extreme cases, legal prosecution.
Other desirable qualities for the successful candidate:
- Appealing personal history
- Photogenic appearance
- Memorable, unembarrassing name
- Appealing, supportive spouse
- Personal wealth (particularly for candidates not already in office)
- Ease with constituents from all socio-economic classes
- Ability to say the same thing over and over again as if it's the first time you've said it
- Ability to smile, shake hands, and say pleasant inanities for hours a day without cracking
- Ability to pass babies back and forth to parents without dropping them
- Willingness to spend long periods of time away from home
- Respect for the political process
- Ability to build and effectively supervise a team
- Relatively clean criminal background
- Passing knowledge of constitution
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