This is a non FDC vacancy
Whittlesey Town Council is recruiting a new Town Clerk. In addition to acting as the Proper Officer of the Council, the Town Clerk is the Responsible Financial Officer.
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Whittlesey Town Council not only covers the settlement of Whittlesey itself, but includes Eastrea, Coates, Turves, Pondersbridge, King's Delph and the more rural areas in between. The Town has over 14,000 electors, contained within six Town Council Wards, electing fourteen Town Councillors.
The Full Council normally meets eleven times a year, usually on a Thursday. There are usually two Mondays a month when Town Council Committees meet. Council and Committee meetings are in the evening. Meetings take place at Peel House, Queen Street, Whittlesey.
The principal responsibilities of the Clerk are to take and produce minutes of meetings of the Council and its committees, issue the Summons to meetings and advise the Council as to the legality of proposed actions.
The Clerk also maintains the financial records of the Council, using the Scribe accounting system, making payments and accepting receipts as necessary, and is responsible for producing monthly financial statements for the Council including reporting on variances to budget. The Clerk assists each year in the preparation of the Council's budget and is responsible for liaison with internal and external auditors.
The Council owns Peel House, and the clerk is responsible for organising regular maintenance and repair work, including liaison with managing agents who deal with the two residential flats above Peel House. The Clerk manages a small number of commercial tenants at Peel House and also manages access by community groups and others to the Council chamber.
The Clerk is responsible for carrying out the resolutions of the Council and its committees, and for communications in the Council's name.
There are four Civic Events each year: the Mayor's Ball, the Civic Service, the Remembrance Sunday Parade and Service and an Easter duck race. The Clerk assists in the preparation and management of all four Civic Events and is expected to attend them all. These events occur outside usual working hours/days.
The Clerk is responsible for the Town Council lottery licence and for applying for road closure orders for Civic and entertainment events.
Whilst the list above represents the main responsibilities of the Clerk, there are several other areas where the Clerk has a role, and the responsibilities of the Clerk do change depending upon the resolutions of the Council and its Committees.
The Town Council requires its Town Clerk to hold the Certificate in Local Council Administration, but will consider employing a person who is willing to study for the qualification.
Working hours average at 37 hours per week (including evening and weekend attendance at meetings and Civic events). There is some limited flexibility as to specific daily working hours, potentially including some remote working. However, at a minimum, on at least four weekdays a week the Clerk will work from the Town Council Office in Peel House. The Town Council Office will be open to the public three or four mornings a week, and the Clerk will be responsible for dealing with public enquiries. Our preference is that Tuesdays and Thursdays should be the days of the week that the Office is not open to the public, but we can be flexible as to which weekday morning(s) the Office is not open to the public (apart from Fridays when the Office does need to be open).
The Town Council is open to both job-sharing and flexible working arrangements.
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