Working for us
Whether you are starting your career or looking for a new challenge, Central Bedfordshire Council offers you the opportunity to make a real difference to our residents and businesses and personal growth and development.
Don’t just take our word for it, hear from some of our staff and recent successes.
Kirstie - Social Worker
I started here as a newly qualified social worker, and since then I’ve progressed to a senior social worker, and eventually into a management role. The council are really committed to training, learning and developing and understand the benefit this has, not only to employees but also the children and families we work with. I’m now doing my PHD, and has been really supportive.
Neve - former apprentice
I didn't want to go to University, and with an apprenticeship I was able to learn and earn at the same time. My apprenticeship experience has been a positive one; it's provided me with the opportunity to attain a qualification but best of all I have made a career!
Christina, who is currently completing a Level 3 Business Administrator apprenticeship at the Council
Applying for an apprenticeship at the Council is the best thing I’ve done – it allowed me to step onto a new career path. Now I look forward to going to work and the future looks so much brighter.
Fanella Hackney, Senior Planning Officer
Landing this job was a fantastic opportunity for me as I knew I had an interest in planning and urban design but had no formal training or previous work experience. The Academy Team within Central Bedfordshire is unique from a lot of other graduate planning jobs within a local authority setting because it enabled me to enrol in a fully funded master’s degree which is accredited by the RTPI and receive on the job training whilst studying.
I completed my master’s part-time over 2 years between 2020-2022, by which time I’d been promoted to Senior Planning Officer within the Council. I’m really enjoying my current role as I get to work on more complex and larger-scale developments where I feel as though I can make a genuine positive influence in achieving high quality design to benefit the area.
I could not be more positive about my time spent at Central Bedfordshire so far. There are excellent opportunities for career progression and a strong network of support from managers and through a peer-mentoring scheme.
Hybrid working
We're all about reducing our carbon footprint, and that means we're all about reducing your carbon footprint as well.
That's why we offer hybrid work opportunities for a large number of positions. Not only does this eliminate the need for a five-day office commute, it also allows you to work in a location that is most convenient for you. We understand that hybrid working isn't for everyone, so we encourage candidates to discuss their preferences with us at anytime during the recruitment process.
We believe that our people are more important than their postcodes, so we value the way you work over your location. We want to empower individuals to work flexibly, which may be primarily in their homes, with the option to also work as a wider team collaboratively at least once a month in one of our office locations.
All hybrid employees are eligible for a hybrid working payment of £250, irrespective of whether they work full time or part-time. As part of our hybrid offer there is also an option to work from abroad for up to 1 month a year.
Full list of what we can offer you:
- a hybrid working arrangement giving you the option to work from home and access any of our office locations. We recognise and value the importance of supporting our employees to balance their home and work life and to be able to work in the most efficient way
- a £250 one-off hybrid worker payment to help you adapt your home for safe and suitable working conditions
- a comprehensive IT package to support you to work safely and effectively
- annually paid social work fees for qualified social workers in adults and children’s (including senior practitioners) and Team Managers where required
- the ability to work abroad for up to a month a year
- the opportunity to lease electric vehicles at competitive rates with our staff electric vehicle (EV) leasing scheme
- generous family-friendly policies and practices
- a welcoming and inclusive environment that empowers differences
- friendly and supportive staff networks
- annual leave allowance 25 days + statutory holidays rising to 32 days with length of service
- Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). This is a valuable part of our rewards package for employees and includes Life Assurance. You can find out more on the Bedfordshire Pension Fund website
- an exceptional Employee Assistance Programme which helps support employees with workplace changes as well as other work, family and personal issues
- a huge variety of courses and role-specific training and learning to help you succeed and develop
- access to discounts on top UK retailers and local retailers
All roles that we can offer as Hybrid are advertised on our website, look out for Contract Type - Hybrid.