If people ask me what I do, I usually say I work for a local authority in the section that deals with arranging council meetings attended by councillors Most local authorities have democratic services officers. But it’s an important job and title.”DEMOCRATIC SERVICES OFFICERLondon Borough of LambethName of post-holder: Antoinette Duhaney, 38″Basically, we support the democratic process, which means servicing the council’s main committee meetings as supporting members. So we get agendas together for meetings, we do progress chasing and we attend those meetings and give advice, prepare reports and write minutes of those meetings and circulate them.”What does she do on a day-to-day basis?”We can deal with requests for information, such as committee papers. Sometimes we get requests to look up old documents that are in our archives for confirmation of what decisions have been made by a committee at a particular meeting on a particular date. And Ealing Food Links is a network that provides an overview of food-related projects in the borough.”What does she do on a day-to-day basis?”Completely different things – go to meetings, meet with the projects, prepare presentations…”What is Five a Day?”Eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.”Do people usually know what her job title means? “If they work within the NHS, yes. I can see how the title could be confusing if people don’t know what it is. Grab Five will be introduced to primary-school children in 22 schools in Acton and Southall, aimed at seven- to 11-year-olds, through curriculum-based activities related to food and nutrition.

Cooking Your Way to Health Clubs is a cookery club for adults in Southall and Acton. Club leaders are trained to hold cookery sessions for community members, and they will be supported by a community dietician; the aim is not to teach them to cook, but to increase food-preparation skills and encourage them to adapt traditional recipes to healthy alternatives. I try to ensure we meet our legal obligations, and that we provide the best service to our customers, regardless of race, gender or disability.”Do people understand his job title in social settings?”Out of 10 people, three of them will ask what that actually is I don’t think it’s silly. I think it’s fine because it adequately describes what we do, but there are a bit too many S’s. I confess I sometimes say I’m a health-promotions specialist because it seems easier.”WALKING OFFICERBristol City CouncilName of post-holder: Helen Jones, 28″We co-ordinate a project to encourage people to come out walking who are either in poor health or who are rehabilitating from illness, to build up their physical activity level to the recommended five times a week for 30 minutes of moderate exercise.

It’s looking at how we provide services, for example, and ensure that everybody receives services of the quality they need and fairly.”The other aspect of the law is ensuring we have the best and most qualified staff, and that they’re all treated equally in terms of selection and training, regardless of race, gender, disability etc.”So, what does he do?”I write policies and procedures that help to develop our workforce, and also policy guidance in terms of how we provide the best services.”So, what does he do on a day-to-day basis?”I have meetings with committee organisations and user groups to identify what their needs are.”What does he think of his job title?”It think it describes exactly what I do. I do about two walks a month, covering for colleagues.”DIVERSITY CO-ORDINATORThurrock CouncilName of post-holder: Arif Sain, 36″It’s basically ensuring that the local authority meets it legal obligation under the equality laws The other aspect is institutionalising those laws Actually, “institution” is the wrong word. Some people have the perception that you are out walking every day, but it’s not like that. What does she think of her job title? “I think it’s great; people know what I’m about I do what it says on the tin, as they say. And walking is perfect for that.”What does she do on a day-to-day basis?”I co-ordinate six walking groups across Bristol city. We work on publicity; I give talks to different groups and we train volunteers to lead the walks.”Helen, who used to do “community development in sustainable projects”, drives to work.