Professional posts in Local Government - Lawyers, personnel officers and accountants
If you're a lawyer, architect, chartered secretary, personnel officer or any one of dozens of other professions you may be surprised to discover the breadth of jobs there are open to you in local government.
Once seen as the resting place of the unambitious or time-serving professional, local government is now open to such scrutiny, competitive pressure and organisational change that the type of career open to professional staff can be as exciting as its private sector equivalent.
And for the most able, the route to the very top is well-trodden. Many local authority chief executives are drawn from the ranks of lawyers and accountants, whilst the number from personnel, property and chartered secretary background is steadily increasing.
This article looks at the range, scope and type of careers open to professionals in law, personnel and finance in local government . It should be read in conjunction with the introductory article on the structure and history of local authorities.
If you're a lawyer used to working in a professional practice, you may be surprised to learn that local authority lawyers are organised and work in much the same way that they do in the private sector. Many legal departments operate like a mini-practice within a local authority, advising the Council's officers and elected member on aspects of contract or property law. But there are a number of specialist disciplines found in local authority legal departments not often found in small commercial practice that reflect the roles of the authority.
Local authorities both prosecute and defend, and the prosecuting role reflects the enforcement powers vested in most large councils. In a unitary authority, for example, legal staff will be involved in enforcing environmental health matters, trading standards cases, child protection and educational issues (usually truancy). Actions are also possible in respect of highways matters public rights of way and commons.
Defending the Council against actions brought by the public is an important part of the local authority lawyer's role. Then there are the Employment Tribunal cases, the advice on constitutional matters, elections law, public sector property transactions and compulsory purchases.
Few local authorities take on newly-qualified lawyers in graduate induction programmes, so you may have to wait for a vacancy to arise, or write speculatively to your chosen councils and try to use a period of work experience to 'make your mark'. If you are an law undergraduate, you may find that your local council would welcome some part-qualified, unpaid help during the vacation period - few legal departments are generously staffed.
Legal work in a local authority is rarely dull and carries the advantage of being able to make a positive, immediate contribution to the local community. However, you will not make your fortune practising law in a Council. Top salaries for those who reach Chief Executive rarely exceed £120,000 in large authorities - and Heads of Legal Services with around 10 -15 years' experience can command about £60,000.
Personnel staff working in local authorities are more likely than their counterparts in the private sector to be professionallyn qualified, so if you're seeking to move into the field, you will have to be willing to qualify with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
Personnel (or Human Resources) is a well-respected profession in the local authority field, with senior elected representatives from the Society of Chief Personnel Officers in local government (SOCPO) regularly advising government or taking a part in the development of the profession. It is also a career open to the 'ground-level' entrant: you can move into a personnel department in a clerical capacity and train whilst you work.
As with many other professions, graduate training programmes are uncommon, except in the largest councils. However, an 'A' level or equivalent or graduate wanting to work in the field can accept an entry-level job (paying around £12-14,000 per annum) in a function related to HR and try to move in by volunteering for secondments or projects in Personnel.
A speedier approach is probably to work as a Personnel Officer in a related field (perhaps the NHS or a utility company) and transfer into Local Government as posts arise. Watch the pages of the professional journals or websites for vacancies
HR staff in local government perform the full range of professional tasks: recruitment, promotion, restructuring, redundancy, retirement, career planning, employee relations, health and safety, training and casework. Remuneration and benefits is one field where private sector expertise is unlikely to flourish: most local authorities use a standard pay scale and a limited number of job evaluation schemes and there is little opportunity to be creative about departures from this.
A senior HR officer with about five years' post-qualification experience can expect to earn around £35,000; a Head of HR can commend around £60,000. Several Council Chief Executives now have HR backgrounds.
Those already qualified to work in the accountancy profession will know that Local Government has its own, well-respected qualification for accountants - the CIPFA (Chartered Institute for Public Sector Finance and Accounting). The best way to move into public sector finance is to take this qualification whilst working in a local authority, although there are openings (often at a lower level) for management accountants or those with relevant degree-level qualifications.
Public sector accountants can hope to work on a range of fascinating projects, as well as the bread-and-butter debtors and creditors work. Payroll and pensions are run in-house in many local authorities and offer the opportunity to develop specific areas of expertise not found in private sector companies where the function is outsourced. Audit is a key area of expertise, with a high level of status because of the need to show complete propriety when dealing with public money.
Increasingly, public sector accountants have to work alongside their private practice counterparts in projects funded by a blend of public and private-sector investment. This is a highly specialised discipline, and many accountants with this experience subsequently move to private sector practice. Also, many council departments are 'arms-length' trading units, required to make a specified rate of return from their activities. It goes without saying that these units need high-quality accounting advice, as they often find it difficult to bring private sector financial discipline to bear.
Accountants have traditionally had a seat at the Directors' table in local government and a Head of Finance can expect to earn around £80,000 per annum in a large authority. Many Chief Executives have a finance background - with salaries of up to £120,000.
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