Wiltshire Council

Wiltshire Council

Wiltshire council is one of the largest employers in the county with close to 5,000 staff (not including schools staff), delivering over 350 services to deliver our vision to build stronger communities in Wiltshire.

Our priorities are:

• Growing the economy
• Stronger communities
• Protecting those who are most vulnerable
• An innovative and effective council

The work of the council includes social care and providing some aspects of transport, housing, and education. We are also in charge of a range of neighbourhood services including libraries and waste collection. In addition, there are many internal functions such as HR and Organisational Development, Legal, IT, carbon Reduction and Democratic Services to name just a few. So whatever type of role you find yourself in you will be contributing to making a difference to the residents of Wiltshire.

We are firmly committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and to the principles of inclusion and diversity in both employment and the delivery of our services. Read our statement of commitment to equality and inclusion.

The council is a Disability Confident Employer which means we are committed to employing people with disabilities and supporting them throughout their employment with us.

For our latest job vacancies visit: Wiltshire Jobs

About Us

Wiltshire Council delivers more than 350 services to the people of Wiltshire, from public health and social care to planning and street maintenance, schools and libraries.

Our staff work across multiple workplaces including from home, in the community and at our main hubs; County Hall (Trowbridge), Monkton Park (Chippenham) and Bourne Hill (Salisbury).  

Our Identity (a set of behaviours and ways of working) sets out who we are and provides a shared understanding of how we are all expected to lead, work and act with each other, our partners and our residents to deliver our services. They enable us to continually evolve and adapt to meet the changing needs of our residents and ensure that we continue to deliver great services and make a difference to the people of Wiltshire.

Our vision is to build stronger communities and our EPIC values underpin what we do, what we stand for and how we work.

Inclusion and Diversity

Our inclusion vision:

“We are an inclusive organisation that reflects the diverse backgrounds of the communities we serve, where everyone is valued as an individual and where fairness and respect run through everything that we do.”

Wiltshire Council is firmly committed to the principles of inclusion and diversity in both employment and the delivery of services. We celebrate the diversity of people who live and work in Wiltshire. Read more about our statement of commitment to equality and inclusion.

A family friendly employer

We offer a period of enhanced maternity pay to employees who return to work for a period of at least three months following maternity leave in line with the national local government scheme The council also has a shared parental leave policy, ordinary parental leave policy and flexible working policy which can provide further flexibility.

A Disability Confident employer

We offer a guaranteed interview to disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the post as part of our Disability Confident employer status.

We also provide information and support on mental health through our confidential wellbeing helpline; Flourish, our health and wellbeing website; and the provision of online and interactive courses such as personal resilience, stress management, mindfulness and managing anxiety.

Staff networks

Wiltshire Council has 4 staff networks which are supported corporately under the ‘Staff Voices’ umbrella: the BME (Black and Minority Ethnic), Carers and Disability, LGBT+ and Women's staff networks.

The networks complement a range of ways in which the council engages, consults and supports employees. They provide mutual support to staff with certain protected characteristics, help inform all staff about inclusion and diversity and advise managers on how to improve the quality of working life for all staff.

All staff and managers are encouraged to attend the network meetings and participation is viewed by senior managers as an important element in improving the council’s performance on inclusion and diversity.

Staff Benefits

Wiltshire rewards

Wiltshire Rewards offers discounts on many high street big brands and local retailers within Wiltshire. This includes cinema tickets, dining out and grocery stores to name a few. We also have a range of local discounts including Longleat and Bath Thermae spa.

Local Government pension

We are members of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) which means that all new employees who are eligible will automatically be entered into the scheme.

We also offer Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) which are a tax-efficient way to save for retirement. They provide an opportunity to supplement your Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and build up an additional retirement fund. You could take this as a tax-free lump sum, or it can be used to help you retire early.

#TeamEPIC

#TeamEPIC is our employee engagement group who work together to drive positive change across the organisation, turning ideas into action. This team of volunteers meet regularly (currently virtually) and have given us lots of initiatives including:

• EPIC ideas – a platform for all staff to submit ideas to make improvements, which are seen by senior leaders.
• EPIC impressions – a digital badge-based platform for colleagues to praise and thank one another for great work.
• EPIC Talks – a series of public lectures by thought leaders on key issues; delivered face to face and virtually.
• EPIC Values – our organisational values which define who we are, what we stand for and how we are expected to demonstrate these in how we work.

Family friendly policies

We have a range of family friendly and flexible working policies to support you . These include:

• Flexible working policies
• Maternity leave and pay policy
• Maternity support and paternity policy
• Shared parental leave
• Adoption leave policy
• Ordinary parental leave policy
• Family emergencies and compassionate leave policy
• Carers leave policy
• Purchase of annual leave policy

There are lots of additional benefits of joining Wiltshire Council, including:

• Access to our occupational health service
• Access to the financial wellbeing hub, including salary advances and personal loans
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounted gym membership
• Great work-life balance
• Great career progression
• and much more!

Learning and development

“Our learning and development offer is aligned with Our Identity and will enable delivery of our vision to have confident and skilled people working flexibly and utilising the tools available so that we are a resilient, efficient and inclusive organisation. It will support our staff to adapt to new ways of working, create agility and deliver a high-performance culture.” [Joanne Pitt, Director - HR & OD].

Our learning and development offer includes:

• Award winning e-learning
• Digital skills
• Customer service
• Mentoring
• Coaching
• First Aid
• Inclusion and diversity
• A great new starter induction
• Leadership and management programme
• And much more!

Inclusion and diversity training

We are committed to Inclusion and diversity and all managers, heads of service and directors have committed to undertaking our two courses: Equality and diversity in the workplace and Creating an inclusive workplace to ensure we build leaders’ capacity to be change agents and embed an inclusive work culture.

These courses are also offered to external organisations through Wiltshire Training at great value for money. Contact us for further information.

On the Equality and diversity workshop you'll understand the essentials of equality and diversity at work including a historical context, a look at the Equality Act 2010, Public Sector Equality Duty and the types of discrimination. You'll also learn about micro-aggressions and their long-term effect on individuals.

"This workshop was great.  The trainer was engaging and knowledgeable and the content led to interesting discussions.  It made me rethink things I see/hear." – Learner feedback.

On the Creating an inclusive workplace workshop you'll learn how to create a more inclusive workplace by understanding and challenging stereotypes and barriers to inclusion. This includes a look at the science and nature of unconscious bias and inclusive leadership.

“Everyone should do this course. Well delivered. The theory was backed up with evidence, studies, etc. really a good knowledge of the subject and we could see the trainer's passion for the subject. It made me reflect on my own practice." – Learner feedback

Wiltshire Training

We offer a wide range of training courses for individuals and organisations, including:

• A bespoke training programme available on request for group bookings
• First aid trainers approved and certified by Qualifications Network, a leading First Aid national awarding body, and are audited regularly by Internal and External Qualified Assessors.

Our most popular courses are open to everyone, and scheduled to run remotely via Microsoft Teams and at sites across Wiltshire throughout the year (post-pandemic).

Scheduled courses are the best option if only one person, or a couple of people, need training.

You can also book group training for your team. This is more cost-effective for larger groups and gives you more flexibility on time and location.

If you need specific or bespoke training for your team, please get in touch.

Email: learning@wiltshire.gov.uk

Phone: 01225 718560 or 01225 718866

https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/