Policy Officers are required to do effective management of a council. They implement, review, develop, and put to practice policies and strategies for their area. Policy officers work with senior officers, elected members, and chief executives on specific projects. They support policy managers to build relationships with other corporate or regional teams, opinion informers and central government.

Policy Officers usually perform many of the following tasks:
• Researching corporate impact of new legislation.
• Working with a team in the system development.
• Conducting investigations into the council.
• Facilitating corporate strategy.
• Creating policies.

• Being a good negotiator
• Being a leader.
• Having decision making abilities.
• Having teamwork skills.
• Having analytical thinking.
• Having competent math skills.
• Being able to understand financial concepts.
• Having interpersonal skills.
• Being able to work under pressure.
• Being motivated.

There are no specific requirements to be a Policy Officer, but it is recommended to have a level qualification or a degree. Economic Research, Public Administration, and Social Work are good choices of degrees for this area. Sometimes it is required to have GCSE with grades from A to C in English and Math.

Most cases also require experience of policy work in housing or business areas. A social science subject is also a recommendation for some job placements.