Working for Northumberland County Council

Thinking of a career at Northumberland County Council? Find out about our latest employment opportunities and what it's like to work with us.

​Find out about the learning and development opportunities with us.

Performance Appraisal & Supervision

As an employee of the council you will receive an annual performance appraisal and regular supervision meetings or 1:1’s with your manager.  These provide the opportunity for you and your manager to jointly identify, plan and review the learning, development and support you may need to fulfil the requirements of your role effectively.

NCC Corporate Development Programme

It is really important that we invest in our employees and ensure that they have the right skills and competencies to do their job.  There are many in-house opportunities available for NCC employees and together these form our Corporate Development Programme.  These courses are free to employees of the council and cover topics ranging from first aid training to project management and from customer service skills through to leadership.  Details of courses and dates of events are advertised on the council’s learning management system, Learning Together.


Learning Together

As an employee of the council you will be provided with your own personal Learning Together account.  Using Learning Together you will be able to access the mandatory learning that all employees of the council are required to complete.  You will also be able to access a whole host of learning courses and opportunities to help support you in your specific role.  These resources include eLearning modules, training videos and classroom events.

There is something for everyone and you can access the system 24/7 and using a range of devices including PC’s, laptops, tablets or smartphones.

Northumberland County Council prides itself on being an adaptive and flexible organisation capable of responding to increasing external and environmental pressures.

Consequently we are managing a wide programme of changes over the next few years. Some examples include:

County Hall refurbishment - The council is currently investing in improvements to it’s property portfolio including major refurbishments to our headquarters at County Hall, Morpeth.  These improvements will provide employees with a more modern, flexible working environment from which to work.

New Ways of Working - This project will allow many staff to work closer to where they live and the communities they serve in towns across the county.  This is a concept which will involve the whole of the organisation - we will be redesigning services and roles and the way we work, eliminating waste and removing duplication, reducing but improving and sharing our office space, working in a more agile and flexible way and creating efficiencies to achieve budget savings.

North of Tyne Devolution Deal - Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside council’s have approved a deal to create a new combined authority for the North of Tyne area.  The deal offers the opportunity of unprecedented new powers and funding to the area, including a £600 million investment fund. The deal will have considerable benefits including new homes, more and better jobs, investment in skills for the future and improved transport.  This investment and new powers are expected to generate £1.1 billion for the local economy, create 10,000 new jobs and leverage £2.1 billion in private sector investment.

​Northumberland County Council demonstrates a commitment to ensuring the health and wellbeing of its employees.

Northumberland County Council demonstrates a commitment to ensuring the health and wellbeing of its employees. We have received ‘Continuing Excellence’ in the North East Better Health at Work Awards (the highest option) which recognises our efforts in addressing health issues within the workplace. As part of our workplace Health and Wellbeing provision, we offer our employees the following:

• A manager-led occupational health referral system
• A shared occupational health service with Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust which offers various services including a qualified psychologist and a physiotherapist
• A personal counselling helpline available for all staff to access
• A Public Health service with a staff member responsible for Workplace Health
• A non-denominational Faith and Chaplaincy/Independent Listening Service   
• Mandatory stress awareness training for all staff
• Stress Management training

We are an equal opportunities employer and aim to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

We are seeking to recruit a diverse workforce and welcome applications from all suitably qualified people regardless of sex, religion or belief, race, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, whether they are married or are in a civil partnership, are disabled or maternity or pregnancy status. 

We are a Disability Confident employer and guarantee to interview disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for a job and we can provide application information in alternative formats and make reasonable adjustments to the application process. We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion. We have a number of staff groups including the Disability, BAME and LGBT+ staff groups which offer support to our staff. 

Trans or non binary applicants can request support from the Trans Inclusion HR Officer during the application process. For more information about this and for other useful information, please go to our Equality in Northumberland page.

The council’s Corporate Plan 2018-2021 is the council’s main strategic planning document and is a clear statement of the vision, strategic themes and policy priorities of the authority.

Click here to view the council’s Corporate Plan 2018-2021.

The plan:

• informs the budget setting process for the whole council
• provides a policy framework for each council service to shape and produce a service statement
• outlines our approach to transforming the way services are delivered
• shapes our ongoing organisational development

The plan describes the Vision of the council.  This is:

“To make Northumberland a county which you regard as a great place to live, and in which you can access the things you enjoy, whilst having the opportunity to learn and thrive”

The plan sets out the council’s Priorities.  These are:

• Living - we want you to feel safe, healthy and cared for
• Enjoying - we want you to love where you live
• Connecting - we want you to have access to the things you need
• Learning - we want you to achieve and realise your potential
• Thriving - we want to attract more and better jobs

The council is currently reviewing our Values to ensure that they reflect our ambitions for the next four years.  These will form the basis of our new organisational strategy and will support the following themes:

• Ensuring our services are customer focused
• Supporting communities and staff to embrace change and innovation
• Involving communities and staff in decisions which affect them
• Supporting communities to feel safe
• Creating a health and positive working environment

For the council to deliver its vision, values and priorities requires a contribution from all of our employees.  No matter which service or team our employees belong to, and no matter what job they do, they all have an important role to play.

​World renowned as a visitor destination, Northumberland is also the ideal location to strike a perfect work/life balance.

About Northumberland 

World renowned as a visitor destination, Northumberland is also the ideal location to strike a perfect work/life balance. What better way of enjoying the picturesque scenery and stunning coastline than to sample it on an everyday basis?
 
Despite being one of England's largest counties, Northumberland offers easy commuting. There's an extensive road network across the county, with the A1 and A69 linking Northumberland with Scotland, the south and west respectively. The National Express East Coast Main Line carves a picturesque route through the county and along the coast, ranking as one of Britain's best loved rail journeys, whilst Newcastle International Airport is also within easy reach.  It is a geographically diverse county with a large stretch of coastline, the Cheviot Hills, Northumberland National Park, Hadrian’s Wall, Kielder Water and many urban centres along with picturesque market towns. Plus, did you know that government research (compiled by Community Life) found that the North East is the friendliest region in England? Spending your daily commuting time amongst the beauty of the County is just one of the perks Northumberland County Council has on offer!

 Housing and Education
 
The North East offers a wide variety of housing, which is amongst the most cost-effective in the UK. Popular residential areas within Northumberland include:

• Urban centres in South-East Northumberland such as Blyth, Ashington, Bedlington and Cramlington
• Picturesque market towns including Alnwick and  Amble in the north, Hexham in the west and Morpeth in the centre of the county
• Rural villages such as Otterburn, Bamburgh and Allendale

If you have a family, many excellent schools exist in both the state and private sectors within the County. A full list can be found here.

History, Culture and Events
 
Northumberland offers something to suit everyone when it comes to history, culture and events. Some examples include:

• In August 2016 we hosted the Tall Ships Regatta in Blyth which attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the country and the globe
• Residents’ Festival takes place every year offering free and discounted entry to top attractions to residents of Northumberland and NCC employees
• Northumberland has more castles than any other county in the UK with some examples including Alnwick, Bamburgh, Warkworth and Dunstanburgh
• Northumberland Live takes place in Blyth each year with chart-topping acts headlining and local bands also being given the chance to showcase their talents
• Kielder Water is the third largest protected Dark Sky reserve in the world and the Observatory located there offers many public events
• There are a variety of theatres including Alnwick Playhouse, the Phoenix Theatre in Blyth and Queen’s Hall in Hexham
• Northumberland is famous for its walking and cycling routes so why not keep active by taking a guided walk along Hadrian’s Wall or taking a cycling or horse riding trek through Northumberland National Park

 
Find out more…

http://www.visitnorthumberland.com/
http://www.yournorthumberland.co.uk/

The Chief Executive of the council oversees the operation of five directorates each led by an Executive Director. These senior officers make up our corporate leadership team.

Corporate Leadership Team

The Chief Executive of the council oversees the operation of five directorates each led by an Executive Director.  These senior officers make up our corporate leadership team.

Our People

Within the five directorates, we have employees working in both customer-facing and support service roles.  These employees represent a range of professions, trades and disciplines.

Our Services

As a council responsible for one of the largest counties in the UK, we offer a range of services across our five directorates.  Some examples of our services include:

Adult Services Directorate: services including residential care for adults, learning disability services, safeguarding, short term support services, adult mental health, home improvement, telecare and public health.

Children’s Services Directorate: services including children’s social care, fostering and adoption, youth service, safeguarding, residential services for children, looked after children, education and skills and school support.

Finance Directorate: services including revenues and benefits, corporate finance, customer services, transactional services, shared audit, shared procurement, property services and capital programming.  Fire and Rescue services are also overseen by the Executive Director of Finance who is also the Deputy Chief Executive (this is a shared role).

HR & OD Directorate: services including human resources and learning and organisational development, legal, democratic services, information services, communications, registrars and culture and tourism.  The Executive Director of HR & OD is also the Deputy Chief Executive (this is a shared role).

Place Directorate: services including housing services, neighbourhoods, planning, technical services, elections and economic and inclusion policy.

We have a wide range of exciting employment opportunities throughout the council.  Our current vacancies can be found here.

The video below features some of our employees working across the organisation.  They talk about their roles and how they contribute to the work of the council and the range of staff benefits that they have access to as employees.

Northumberland County Council strives to develop a strong and sustainable workforce and consequently is always looking to develop homegrown talent. We currently employ over 100 apprentices across all of our services.

We also operate several graduate schemes in areas including Human Resources, Information Services, Law (2-year training contracts), Finance and Surveying. 

All trainees - both graduates and apprentices,  will have access to extensive training and support throughout their role. This varies depending on the programme joined. For example; qualifications relating to your field (e.g. NVQ, professional qualification) or role specific development such as on-the-job training or a workplace mentor.

For more information on Work Experience and to apply for a placement please email learningandod@northumberland.gov.uk

For more information on apprenticeships and to apply please visit our apprenticeship page here

All our current vacancies can be found her

 

​Find out about benefits you get as a Northumberland County Council employee.

• 25 days annual leave plus public and bank holidays (rising to 30 after 5 years of service)(pro-rata for part-time employees)
• Automatic enrolment into the Local Government Pension Scheme
• Flexi scheme applicable to majority of roles
• Family leave provisions above and beyond the statutory minimum
• Fair pay for all staff with examples of this including automatic pay progression to top of band, an annual pay award agreed through collective bargaining and the Northumberland Living Wage
• Free staff parking at council sites
• Local government discount schemes available to all employees with offers at local businesses along with various national brands
• A choice of recognised trade union memberships
• A commitment to work-life balance offering flexibility through various schemes including job sharing, home working, flexible working, part-year working, and compressed hours
• A relocation scheme is offered to those moving from outside the area (for further details please contact a member of the HR team)

We also run a salary sacrifice scheme where staff can save money in various ways including:

• Car Leasing Scheme (visit our provider NHS Fleet Solutions for more details)
• Give as you Earn (G.A.Y.E.) charity contributions
• Additional voluntary pension contributions
• Home Electronics Scheme
• Childcare Vouchers
• Cycle to Work
• Training/subscriptions

Welcome to Northumberland County Council. We hope you have a rewarding and enjoyable career with us.

Whether you are a new employee joining the council or you are an existing employee moving into a new role we feel it is important that you receive an effective and timely induction.

A good induction will help you to settle into your new role and working environment and help you to understand the organisation and what is expected of you.

Below we have provided some guidance for employees and for managers to ensure that we deliver an enjoyable and consistent induction experience.

This guidance outlines the main stages of induction which will ensure you are prepared for your role and employment with the council.

A structured induction period ensures that new employees feel welcome, valued and settled in their new role.  This then forms the basis from which employees can quickly get up to speed, perform their duties effectively and begin to make a contribution to their team, their directorate / service and the council.

Induction is not a ‘one off’ event.  It is a process which actually starts during recruitment and appointment through to the completion of a successful probationary period.  Here at Northumberland County Council we have a structured approach to induction which includes the following stages:

Before you start work:

You may be asked in your conditional letter of appointment to provide certain information, for example: 

• Evidence of Right to Work in the UK (if copies were not provided at interview)
• Qualification certificates (if copies were not provided at interview)
• Evidence of Professional Body membership (where applicable to the position)
• Driving licence (where applicable to the position)

Once you have accepted the offer of appointment you will be required to complete an Appointment Statement and a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) form (if this is a requirement of the post).

To complete your Appointment Statement you will need the following:

• Bank statement/ utility bill/ Driving Licence
• NI number – P45/P60/NI card/ payslip

Details of the process and evidence you will need to complete a DBS disclosure can be found at Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

Your confirmation letter should contain details of where you will need to go and who you will need to report to on your first day.  If you are not sure about how to get to County Hall or your new place of work – you can use street map to help you get there http://www.streetmap.co.uk/ 

Arrival - Day 1

When you start work for Northumberland County Council, what takes place on your first day will vary depending on your role and the department which you join.  In broad terms it will begin your integration into a new environment with new colleagues.

More specifically, the following is likely to take place on your first day:

• You will be introduced to at least some of your new colleagues, including your manager and where appropriate your induction colleague or buddy
• You will be given a tour of your new workplace to help you find your way around and will be made aware of some basic ‘environmental’ arrangements such as toilet facilities, lunch breaks, fire procedure etc.
• You will have an opportunity to check and submit any outstanding employment paperwork

This guidance helps managers to plan and prepare for the arrival of a new employee or team member. It includes the stages of induction that ensure employees are welcomed and supported.

This guidance is provided to assist managers in planning an effective induction programme that enables all staff new to the council, or existing staff moving into a new role, to settle into their new role and environment and enable them to deliver what is expected of them quickly and effectively.

Placing the employee at the centre of induction is key to ensuring that they are fully engaged in their induction process and that they have an enjoyable, positive experience.

Purpose of Induction

The success of the council depends upon our ability to recruit and retain excellent people at every level.  An effective induction contributes to this and should:

• provide a welcome and orientation into the council
• provide clarity on expectations of the employee
• form a basis from which employees can quickly get up to speed, perform their duties effectively and begin to make a contribution to their team, their service and the council.

Induction is not a ‘one off’ event.  It is a process which actually starts during recruitment and appointment through to the completion of a successful probationary period.  The council has introduced an integrated approach to induction which incorporates the following stages:

Planning an Induction

To enable new members of staff to settle into their new role quickly and effectively, they should be provided with a planned induction programme covering information on the council, directorate or service and their specific job role.  For those new to the council, induction will run concurrently with the probationary period.

Planning an induction programme should begin once the candidate has accepted the offer of employment and a start date has been agreed.  

During an employee’s initial induction period, they will need to consume a great deal of information.  So in developing an induction plan, the manager should follow these few principles:-

• Avoid over-loading.  If the induction period is too intensive and involves a great deal of information being given in a short period of time it is likely to be ineffective
• Prioritise what information you need to provide and when
• Ensure you are clear about the employee’s work objectives and expected standards of performance
• Ensure that the information that you are planning to provide has a relevance to the employee’s job role or the council
• Ask the employee on their first day or preferably before they arrive, how they best learn and adapt the programme to meet these.  Remember that people learn in different ways
• As elements of the council’s induction rely on the use of information technology, assess whether the employee has the relevant level of IT literacy skills and if not, provide the relevant support
• Involve other people.  An important part of the induction process is getting to know your new colleagues and their work environment
• Do not assume that a transferring or returning employee does not need to follow an induction programme, they will

The induction should be planned making use of the manager’s pre-induction checklist and the employee induction checklist. These checklists provides a generic framework and therefore some topics will not be relevant and you have the scope to include other topics specific to the role of your team.  It is acknowledged that the timescale for delivering the induction will vary according to the role and person.

Northumberland County Council are currently looking to appoint to two positions both of which make a vital contribution to the promotion and operation of the authority’s elected members’ ethical framework which covers not only County Council members but all of the members of the Parish and Town Councils in Northumberland.

Northumberland County Council are currently looking to appoint to two positions both
of which make a vital contribution to the promotion and operation of the authority’s
elected members’ ethical framework which covers not only County Council members
but all of the members of the Parish and Town Councils in Northumberland.

1. Independent Chair
The Independent Chair provides an impartial presence on our Standards Committee
and will provide leadership in respect of the elected members’ ethical framework
throughout the county. It is an opportunity to make a contribution to the fairness and
integrity of the authority. The Committee is made up of eight County Council elected
members, three parish council representatives in addition to the Independent Chair.

2. Independent Person
The Independent Person is a statutory position which is designed to provide a further
level of independence and objectivity to the assessment of complaints made against
elected members, working closely with the Monitoring Officer and the Council’s
Standards Committee. The Council may appoint more than one Independent Person.
Both positions attract an annual allowance of £2,700, paid monthly in instalments
with a term of appointment of two years which may be renewed.
The estimated time commitment required to undertake the roles will vary. On
average they will both involve attendance at four daytime Committee meetings per
year plus associated preparatory work/reading, although it may be necessary to
attend other meetings from time to time. In addition the Independent Person will be
expected to meet with the Monitoring Officer on an infrequent basis to consider such
complaints as may be received from time to time.

About these positions
Independent Chair Recruitment Pack
Independent Chair Application Form
Independent Person Recruitment Pack
Independent Person Application Form

004626\01362256

How to apply
Please submit a completed application form in respect of the relevant position
demonstrating how you meet each of the criteria in the Person Specification
and send by post or e-mail to
Liam Henry, Monitoring Officer,
Northumberland County Council 
County Hall, Morpeth, NE61 2EF,

Legal.services@northumberland.gov.uk by 8 th October 2019.

Please also include the contact details of two referees.