City councillor to secretary general
A city councillor already meets 52% of what the secretary general role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
46.4/ 100
1 How much of what a secretary general is expected to do is already part of a city councillor’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the secretary general role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A secretary general role treats 7 of its required skills as things a city councillor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- bookkeeping regulations
- budgetary principles
- good governance
- maintain relationships with government agencies
- manage staff
- perform project management
What stands in the way is 6 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A secretary general role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a city councillor background worth leading with.
- already held good governance social sciences, journalism and information
- already held bookkeeping regulations business, administration and law
- already held public finance business, administration and law
- already held build community relations communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage administrative systems management skills
- already held advise on legislative acts communication, collaboration and creativity
All 14 carried skills, including the 7 the secretary general role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 14 missing skills fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn coordinate government activities in foreign institutions required
- still to learn represent national interests required
- still to learn apply conflict management required
- still to learn represent the organisation required
- optional, not held apply diplomatic principles optional
- optional, not held build international relations optional
- optional, not held establish collaborative relations optional
- optional, not held implement strategic management optional
- optional, not held liaise with local authorities optional
- optional, not held prepare presentation material optional
- still to learn audit techniques required
- optional, not held legislation procedure optional
- still to learn conduct financial audits required
- optional, not held develop international cooperation strategies optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a secretary general role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 coordinate government activities in foreign institutions practise this
- 02 represent national interests practise this
- 03 apply conflict management practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 14 skills that carry over
- already held bookkeeping regulations knowledge
- already held budgetary principles knowledge
- already held good governance knowledge
- already held maintain relationships with government agencies skill
- already held manage staff skill
- already held perform project management skill
- already held project management principles knowledge
- already held advise on legislative acts skill
- already held build community relations skill
- already held government policy implementation knowledge
- already held manage administrative systems skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held manage government policy implementation skill
- already held public finance knowledge
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held develop international cooperation strategies optional
- optional, not held apply diplomatic principles optional
- optional, not held build international relations optional
- optional, not held establish collaborative relations optional
- optional, not held implement strategic management optional
- optional, not held legislation procedure optional
- optional, not held liaise with local authorities optional
- optional, not held prepare presentation material optional
13 held skills the secretary general role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse community needs skill
- not needed by the target role analyse legislation skill
- not needed by the target role election law knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect government expenditures skill
- not needed by the target role inspect government incomes skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relations with local representatives skill
- not needed by the target role observe confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role perform political negotiation skill
- not needed by the target role political parties knowledge
- not needed by the target role promote political campaign skill
- not needed by the target role public administration knowledge
- not needed by the target role public law knowledge
- not needed by the target role write meeting reports skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn audit techniques required
- optional, not held legislation procedure optional
Other moves recorded from city councillor
Common questions about this move
Can a city councillor become a secretary general?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A city councillor already covers 52% of what a secretary general is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 7 of which the secretary general role treats as required.
What skills does a city councillor need to become a secretary general?
6 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is coordinate government activities in foreign institutions.
How hard is the move from city councillor to secretary general?
Its learning distance is 46.4 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.