Toft Newton Parish Council

Job Vacancy: Parish Council Clerk, Responsible Financial Officer and Proper Officer.

Toft Newton Parish Council are seeking to appoint a new Parish Council Clerk, to start as soon as possible.

About the parish and parish council:

Toft Newton is a rural parish in West Lindsey, Lincolnshire, situated approximately four miles to the west of the historic market town of Market Rasen.

Covering 935 hectares in the West Lindsey Dunholme and Welton ward, the parish of Toft Newton has approximately 480 residents, spread across the hamlets of Toft Next Newton, Newton by Toft and Newtoft.

Located adjacent to the former RAF Faldingworth airbase, the parish of Toft Newton hosts a handful of small businesses, a 12th century, grade II parish church (St Michael’s) and a 41-acre reservoir on the upper reaches of the river Ancholme.

Toft Newton Village Hall (separate to the parish council) which contains a social club (also a separate organisation), changing rooms, a good-sized kitchen, and a large multipurpose hall, was rebuilt in 2016 using a mixture of national lottery and local authority funding. In 2024, the parish council made a significant grant to the village hall association, match funded by West Lindsey District Council to install 30 photovoltaic solar panels and a 10kw battery. This has safeguarded the Village Hall’s long-term future.

The parish council meet on the first Tuesday of every other month, these meetings are held in the village hall. It is a requirement of the post that the Parish Council Clerk attend these meetings in person.

The parish council is responsible for the playing field and park behind the village hall as well as grass cutting around the parish, for which Lincolnshire County Council make an annual financial contribution.

Toft Newton Parish Council made 12 small plots of land available as allotments in 2019, these are no longer used, so the council is exploring alternative uses for this piece of land, current ideas include making the land available to increase the sporting and leisure opportunities available within the parish.

The parish council currently has five experienced, enthusiastic (independent / not aligned to any political party) Councillors out of a possible seven.

In addition to the Parish Council Clerk, the parish council also employs a Park / Playground Warden.

The three West Lindsey District Councillors include a very experienced Independent Councillor and two first term Liberal Democrat Councillors. The Lincolnshire County Councillor is a newly elected Reform UK Councillor and the local MP is a Conservative.

The annual precept in 2024-25 and 2025-26 was £10,400. Having previously been £10,000 for several years.

About the post:

As a Parish Council Clerk, you will also be the Responsible Financial Officer and the Proper Officer. If you are new to the role of a Parish Council Clerk, you can see a brief summary of the role here: https://www.slcc.co.uk/the-role-of-a-clerk/.

As this is a statutory post, the Parish Council Clerk, must be at least 18 years old, and will be employed for three hours per week.

The rate of pay is dependent upon qualification.

The unqualified rate will be paid at scp 9 through to scp 11 - currently £13.47 to £14.13 (pay award pending).

The qualified rate will be paid at scp 14 through to scp 17 - currently £14.84 - £15.58 (pay award pending).

A tax-free working from home allowance of £26.00 per calendar month is payable. Mileage will be paid at £0.45 per mile, other necessary expenses will be reimbursed.

Annual leave is calculated at 17.16 hours per year.

Wages are paid directly into your bank account on the last Wednesday of each month, apart from in December, when they are paid on the Wednesday prior to Christmas Day.

Requirements:

A knowledge of how local councils work would be beneficial, as would experience of working for a town or parish council in a similar role.

However, administrative and / or accounting experience, a community spirit and commitment to enhancing the parish is more important.

A CiLCA qualification would be advantageous, if you do not hold this qualification, you should be willing to work towards completing this during the first two years in post.

The post holder will be appointed on a permanent basis, subject to satisfactorily completing a probationary period.

A laptop will be provided for council use. The council is keen to move towards becoming a paper-lite organisation.

The current Clerk will facilitate a detailed handover and is currently working on an A-to-Z manual and an annual work plan to support the handover to the new Parish Council Clerk.

The future:

The Parish Councillors / village hall association are currently looking at several ideas for improving the parish, these potentially include:

• Developing a neighbourhood plan.

• Installing new play equipment.

• Redeveloping the football pitch.

• Buying a piece of woodland in the parish to safeguard it for the enjoyment by current and future generations.

How to apply:

For further information and an informal conversation please e-mail Michael Lewis, the current Parish Council Clerk on toftnewtonpc@outlook.com.

Applications via CV and a covering letter, are to be sent to Michael Lewis marked “Private and Confidential” by e-mail to toftnewtonpc@outlook.com or by post to:

Toft Newton Parish Council,

c/o PO Box 1659,

Epworth,

Doncaster,

DN9 1UL.

Applications will be reviewed as they come in, therefore no closing date has been set.