Equal opportunities officer

Equal opportunities officer job description: Typical employers | Qualifications and training | Key skills | Useful links | Find jobs and courses

Typical responsibilities of the job include:

• maintaining knowledge and awareness of current discrimination legislation
• designing and/or evaluating equal opportunities monitoring schemes
• providing advice about equal opportunities legislation to other staff in relation to recruiting, training and retaining staff
• liaising with external equal opportunities organisations such as the The Equality and Human Rights Commission
• investigating sources of grants and practical assistance (eg to assist with employing people with disabilities)
• designing, organising and running equal opportunities training courses
• ensuring that promotional opportunities are handled fairly
• writing job advertisements targeting particular groups of candidates and arranging for their publication in appropriate newspapers or magazines.

A wide range of public and private sector organisations employ equal opportunities officers including universities, colleges, private companies, government departments, service industries, local authorities, industrial organisations and police/military establishments. Large organisations may employ a dedicated equal opportunities officer. In smaller organisations equal opportunities officers often have other human resources tasks (such as the recruitment, training and development of staff; salaries, pensions and benefits administration etc).

Vacancies are advertised in newspapers, via the internet and in specialist publications such as The MJ, Opportunities, Personnel Today and People Management. Recruitment agencies also advertise positions.

Qualifications and training required

It is not essential to have a degree to become an equal opportunities officer, although it may be a requirement for some posts (particularly those at senior levels). It is important to possess an appropriate personality for the job: equal opportunities officers need to be approachable, diplomatic and able to interact well with people from a wide range of backgrounds. Relevant paid or voluntary experience is helpful and can be gained via placements or vacation work.

Key skills for equal opportunities officers

Good interpersonal, analytical, problem-solving, teamworking and verbal/written communication skills are essential. It is also desirable to have an awareness and understanding of the key race, disability and gender discrimination laws.