Job Description

• Bentley Parish Council
• Address: Whites Cottage, Heath Road, East Bergholt, Colchester, Essex CO7 6RJ
• Salary: £29,540 - £31,022 per annum (pro rata)
• Hours: Part Time, 10 hours per week
• Contract: Permanent
• Reference: 0772

A unique opportunity for you to join Bentley Parish Council as our Parish Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer, to provide administrative support to the Council, closely supporting the Chair in the running of meetings and advising the council on policy and legislation to enable effective decisions to be made by the Parish Council.

Your responsibilities

• Preparing agendas, attending meetings, taking minutes, advising Councillors on procedural and legal matters, and progressing actions as well as keeping policies and procedures under constant review.
• Handling all incoming and outgoing correspondence and acting as a first point of contact for residents.
• Managing the Council’s finances including settlement of invoices, collection of income, budgeting, bank reconciliation, financial monitoring and reporting and preparation for audit and year end procedures.
• Coordinating and submitting responses to planning applications on behalf of the Council.
• Managing and updating the Council’s website and publishing statutory information to the website, notice boards and social media channels.

As the Clerk to the Parish Council is the Proper Officer and Responsible Financial Officer of the Council you will be acting as its principal adviser on governance, legal, procedural and financial matters. You will be responsible for ensuring that the Council conducts its business lawfully, efficiently and transparently and supports councillors in delivering services and projects for the community.

What you will need

To undertake this role, you will need to:

• be a skilled communicator with excellent literacy skills as you will be required to interact with the public, Councillors, and other organisations in both verbal and written formats.
• be highly organised, methodical and thorough in your approach to completing tasks and managing your time and be able to prioritise your workload, working on your own initiative with minimal supervision.
• have experience with accounting or finance software including Excel and be able to deliver projects efficiently to budget.
• have experience or knowledge of the parish sector and ideally, an understanding of local government law or procedures.

Ideally you will hold a CILCA (Certificate in Local Council Administration) or be willing to commit towards achieving this qualification at Parish Council expense.

What we will offer you

Becoming a Parish Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer provides the opportunity to fulfil one of the most rewarding jobs in a local community. A competent Clerk is an essential element of a successful Parish Council.

We will provide training to the post-holder with opportunities for continuing their professional development. Mentoring and other support will also be available.

You will be mainly working from home with attendance at evening monthly Council meetings with some occasional additional meetings when required. Reasonable expenses connected with working from home and travel to meetings are also payable in addition to the salary.

About us

Bentley Parish Council are advertising this vacancy due the retirement of our long-standing Clerk. Bentley is a small but thriving rural village with about 830 residents. We are seeking someone with energy and enthusiasm who is committed to working with councillors to continue to improve our community.

For more information

Please read the (pdf)

To find out more, please arrange a call by contacting Marianne Munday, Chair, by emailing chair@bentleysuffolkparishcouncil.gov.uk

How to apply

To apply, please submit your completed Application Form (Word) to chair@bentleysuffolkparishcouncil.gov.uk

Closing date: 5.00 pm, 19 June 2026.

Interview date: July 2026.

Promoted as SPJ (Standard Plus Job) on Suffolk Jobs Direct.