What is a political staffer?

Political staffers work for politicians, helping them do the job they were elected to do. The number of such advisors has grown significantly worldwide in response to increased challenges facing politicians in government. Their work is funded by taxpayers, yet their work goes mostly unseen despite being a vital part of parliament, government and democracy.

They have varying titles including political staffer, political adviser, special adviser or SpAds in the UK, exempt staff in Canada, and MOP(s) Act employees in Australia, personal staff, electorate staff and parliamentary staff.

They work for MPs, Senators, Lords, Party Leaders, Government Ministers and Prime Ministers, as well as political parties, both in opposition and government, in constituencies, parliament and government offices.

They occupy a diverse range of roles in office management, case work, policy, media management, communications, event management, research, strategy and stakeholder management. These roles demand diverse skills including political reasoning, strategic abilities, people skills, advisory aptitudes, extreme resilience, and specific expertise such as in event management, project management, market research and communication.

They work under immense pressure, whether it is at the coalface of dealing with the public in a constituency or being involved in high-level decision-making in the Prime Minister’s Office.

The way they are managed and supported has historically been deficient, devoid of the usual HRM practices that most professionals benefit from. This is why the Political Staffer Resource Centre was developed; to help disseminate practical tools from research and other relevant sources of support.