EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY - DEPUTY CLERK

25 February 2026

Ashington Town Council is one of the largest town councils in Northumberland, with 18 elected Councillors across six wards, a budget exceeding £1.2 million, and a small but dedicated team delivering real impact for the communities of Ashington. We are ambitious for our town and we are looking for an exceptional officer to join us as Deputy Town Clerk.

ASHINGTON TOWN COUNCIL

Deputy Town Clerk

LC3 (SCP 33–36) | £44,075 – £47,181 per annum

Permanent | Full Time (37 hours per week) | Ashington, Northumberland

About Us

Ashington Town Council serves a town with a proud industrial heritage and a community with real ambition for its future. We deliver a broad range of services and initiatives that make a direct difference to residents' daily lives. These include the management and improvement of allotment sites, play areas, bus shelters, public seating, litter bins, memorials, and street furniture across the town. We work in close partnership with Northumberland County Council through an Enhanced Neighbourhood Services agreement, focused on environmental improvements and the kerb appeal of our town centre and neighbourhoods.

Beyond our physical assets, we run an active events programme, support community organisations through a grants programme, lead on climate action and environmental initiatives, and invest in youth engagement and activity through our Youth Advisory Committee. We have a dedicated Climate Change and Environment Committee and want to be able to take our responsibilities to the environment seriously.

We are governed through Full Council, a Finance and General Services Committee, a Personnel Committee, and a Climate Change and Environment Committee, with additional consultative groups.

We are ambitious for Ashington and for the Council, and we are looking for an exceptional officer to join us as Deputy Town Clerk.

About the Role

This is a genuinely interesting and varied post at the heart of the Council’s work. You will deputise for the Executive Officer/Responsible Financial Officer (EO/RFO), acting as Proper Officer and Deputy Responsible Financial Officer in their absence, and providing governance and statutory support across all Council activities.

Alongside that deputy function, you will take strategic lead responsibility for the Council’s community services portfolio. This includes:

• developing and delivering events, from commissioning and procurement through to contract management, licensing, risk assessment, and post-event evaluation;
• leading on community engagement and communications strategy, working closely with our Administration and Communications Officer to connect effectively with residents across all channels;
• driving forward on climate action, including project delivery, and budget monitoring; and
• providing civic support to the Civic Head and Members and developing partnerships with community and voluntary sector organisations.

This is a role for someone who is as comfortable advising Members on a point of local government law as they are commissioning a town-wide event or developing a consultation strategy. It demands breadth, professional judgement, and the ability to work effectively in a politically sensitive environment.

About You

You will have experience of working at a senior level in local government and a sound understanding of the governance and statutory framework within which town and parish councils operate. You will be CiLCA qualified or committed to achieving CiLCA within 18 months of appointment.

Critically for this role, you will be able to demonstrate proven experience of events commissioning and community engagement work — these are not peripheral to the post but central to it. You will be an excellent communicator, a confident report writer, and someone who brings energy and professionalism to everything they do.

You will hold a full current driving licence. Access to a vehicle for work purposes would be advantageous. The role requires flexibility to attend evening meetings, typically once or twice per month, and occasional weekend working for events and civic functions.

What We Offer

• A salary of £44,075 – £47,181 per annum (LC3 SCP 33–36), subject to the national pay award
• Membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme
• 28 days annual leave plus public and bank holidays, with three days taken between Christmas and New Year
• A permanent, full-time post with flexible working arrangements within our core office hours
• A supportive working environment with genuine scope to shape the role

A note to prospective applicants

We want to be straightforward with you about this vacancy. The combination of statutory governance knowledge and hands-on community services leadership that this role demands is not easy to find, and we know it. We have designed the post carefully and graded it appropriately, but we are realistic about the current jobs market in our sector.

If you are reading this and thinking ‘this is exactly the kind of role I want, but I’m not quite there yet’ — please get in touch. Depending on the field of applications we receive, we may look to re-advertise this post on a Deputy Town Clerk (Developing) basis at a lower grade, offering a structured development pathway to the full role for the right candidate. If that is something that interests you, we would welcome a conversation before you decide whether to apply.

Please contact Sarah Eden, Executive Officer, at sarah.eden@ashingtontowncouncil.gov.uk or on (01670) 624521. There is no obligation, and it may be a useful conversation for us both.