Community development officer to city councillor
A community development officer already meets 45% of what the city councillor role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
51.3/ 100
1 How much of what a city councillor is expected to do is already part of a community development officer’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 city councillor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A city councillor role treats 5 of its required skills as things a community development officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on legislative acts
- build community relations
- government policy implementation
- maintain relations with local representatives
- maintain relationships with government agencies
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 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A city councillor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a community development officer background worth leading with.
- already held public law business, administration and law
- already held public finance business, administration and law
- already held analyse community needs communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held build community relations communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held maintain relations with local representatives communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held advise on legislative acts communication, collaboration and creativity
All 12 carried skills, including the 5 the city councillor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 15 missing skills fall into 6 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 perform political negotiation required
- still to learn write meeting reports required
- optional, not held promote political campaign optional
- still to learn good governance required
- still to learn public administration required
- optional, not held political parties optional
- still to learn analyse legislation required
- optional, not held inspect government incomes optional
- optional, not held inspect government expenditures optional
- still to learn observe confidentiality required
- optional, not held manage administrative systems optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage staff optional
- optional, not held bookkeeping regulations optional
- optional, not held election law optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a city councillor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 good governance study this
- 02 public administration study this
- 03 analyse legislation 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 12 skills that carry over
- already held advise on legislative acts skill
- already held build community relations skill
- already held government policy implementation knowledge
- already held maintain relations with local representatives skill
- already held maintain relationships with government agencies skill
- already held analyse community needs skill
- already held budgetary principles knowledge
- already held manage government policy implementation skill
- already held perform project management skill
- already held project management principles knowledge
- already held public finance knowledge
- already held public law knowledge
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held inspect government incomes optional
- optional, not held manage administrative systems optional
- optional, not held promote political campaign optional
- optional, not held bookkeeping regulations optional
- optional, not held election law optional
- optional, not held inspect government expenditures optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage staff optional
- optional, not held political parties optional
20 held skills the city councillor role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on economic development skill
- not needed by the target role build trust skill
- not needed by the target role carry out strategic research skill
- not needed by the target role conduct public presentations skill
- not needed by the target role conduct public surveys skill
- not needed by the target role develop professional network skill
- not needed by the target role ensure information transparency skill
- not needed by the target role ensure public safety and security skill
- not needed by the target role geography knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify sources on potential target communities for art skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with local authorities skill
- not needed by the target role perform public relations skill
- not needed by the target role perform resource planning skill
- not needed by the target role present reports skill
- not needed by the target role promote social awareness skill
- not needed by the target role provide improvement strategies skill
- not needed by the target role public housing legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role rural development strategies knowledge
- not needed by the target role study community as a target community skill
- not needed by the target role work within communities skill
5 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 good governance required
- still to learn public administration required
- optional, not held bookkeeping regulations optional
- optional, not held election law optional
- optional, not held political parties optional
Other moves recorded from community development officer
Common questions about this move
Can a community development officer become a city councillor?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A community development officer already covers 45% of what a city councillor is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 5 of which the city councillor role treats as required.
What skills does a community development officer need to become a city councillor?
6 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is good governance.
How hard is the move from community development officer to city councillor?
Its learning distance is 51.3 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.