Think you can help with short-term clerking, or managing a council's finances? Then read on...
DAPTC often receive requests for urgent, short-term help with clerking and/or finances at parish and town councils - in other words, a locum clerk/Responsible Financial Officer (RFO). A locum clerk is someone who steps in to support a council through a period when they have no permanent clerk or where the incumbent clerk needs short-term help. This might be due to sickness, maternity leave, vacancies, helping with workload or a combination of factors. The work varies from council to council, as do the hours and the duration of support. More often than not this position will include the RFO role, although in some cases (mainly larger councils) the clerk and RFO roles are split. This means that sometimes a council may only be seeking one or the other.
DAPTC is establishing a register of people available for locum opportunities so that, when we receive a request for help, we can link councils with suitable candidates. We would seek to ensure there is a broad match between a council’s needs and a clerk’s/RFO's skills/experience/availability and put you in touch with each other. Whether a locum meets the needs of a council will be for the council to decide after direct discussions and/or interview.
It’s difficult to give clear information about pay and rewards for a locum role, as this would be between the individual and council. When we're notified of a need for a locum, however, we will request details of the outgoing/current postholder's pay and rewards and the council's expenses policy. This information will be passed to potential locums on our register and provide a starting point for negotiation. We will advise councils of the need to be flexible in negotiating and that urgency and other circumstances may mean paying at a higher point on the salary scale.
Providing locum support can be very satisfying and rewarding as you’ll know you’ve helped a council at a time it needs it most. It also provides a flexible opportunity for additional income that suits experience and other commitments and helps develop skills for adding to a CV. Ideally, clerks will be CiLCA-qualified with some experience.
Anyone wishing to be added to the register should email a CV and details of general availability to
If you have any queries about locum roles, contact Will Austin,
