A new start with us
Thank you for your interest in a job at Harrogate Borough Council. When you work in local government, you get to make a difference to the lives of people every day and you can see the impact of what you do in local communities.
Our residents are at the heart of everything we do and everyone here is ambitious for the district and the council. We are driven by our values that guide what we do and how we do it. Why not come and be part of 'Team Harrogate' too!
Follow the links below to find out more about why we think the council is such a great place to work, what we offer, our employee benefits and how we can help you develop your career for the future.
We look forward to receiving your application.
Our district
The Harrogate district offers an oasis of communities and countryside, history and heritage, businesses and brands: a sparkling gem in the heart of Yorkshire, a district of distinctiveness alive with opportunity.
We are a progressive and vibrant place with independent retailers mixed with stunning countryside and a warm welcome that combine to make a high-quality lifestyle. The district is regularly voted among the best places in the UK to live, work, and raise a family.
While we're renowned for being a haven for tourists and visitors, we are home to thousands of businesses in the financial and professional services, creative and digital, logistics, scientific research and development sectors.
It’s an exciting time to join us
The eight district and county council in North Yorkshire are coming together in April 2023 to form a new single unitary authority.
The single council will provide the resilience, scale and financial sustainability to deliver outstanding services, tackle the challenges facing the whole county after the Covid-19 pandemic, take advantage of future opportunities and provide secure, varied and interesting career prospects for our staff.
Come and join us
This is an exciting time to join us as we make the transition to one new council, coming together to maximise the services we deliver for our residents. So join us today and enjoy a long and fulfilling career in the most beautiful part of the country.
One unified organisation gives us the opportunity to further focus on the way we work, and to work in a more agile and flexible way, centred around our customers. Through local delivery hubs situated across the county we can offer staff increased flexibility as to how and where they work, for some roles the freedom to work anywhere across the county.
In turn our staff are able to enjoy a good work-life balance. As part of a larger organisation we can offer greater investment in staff development, greater choice and career development.
While the change to form one new organisation can understandably create the feeling of uncertainty the vast majority of staff will be unaffected. As work to bring services together after April 2023 commences there will inevitably be the need to re-shape some services; it will be an exciting opportunity to be involved in the design and delivery of modern public services for the benefit of our communities.
This re-shaping will be done in a way to minimise redundancies by removing vacant posts created by natural turnover. As a large council with an average turnover of some 11 to 13 per cent any service restructures from 2023 will be done in a planned and managed way, with genuine and full staff and union involvement and consultation, with plenty of opportunity to address any reduction in posts by removing current and anticipated vacancies. So colleagues current and future should not worry. In joining us you will have job security, more so then the vast majority of employers can offer.
You can be safe in the knowledge that the new unitary council will offer employees a positive, supportive, flexible and inclusive working environment, committed to delivering high quality and effective services to our residents, communities and visitors.
While you are applying for a vacancy with an individual district, borough or the county council, if successful, you will become an employee of this council only up to March 2023. From April 2023 your employment contract will migrate to a newly formed unitary council.
What this means for you?
While the combining of the existing councils into one council will have very little change for the majority of staff; the vital services that we deliver will continue; there are some significant benefits:
The new larger organisation provides all staff with access to many more varied and numerous roles, being a part of a bigger team enables greater personal development, support and career enhancement. A larger organisation provides more job security and greater support.
New people joining us, will be initially employed by the existing employing council and will transfer alongside all other staff in April 2023. This will be a seamless transition, with very little change and strong levels of communication and staff support throughout to answer any question you might have.
Staff are and will continue to be our most valuable asset and we look forward to welcoming new colleagues to join us.
Best for our communities and the people we serve
In addition to working flexibly from council offices and home, our staff work on the frontline in every community, delivering services into every town and village and even into people's homes.
The single council would go even further with more locally based staff, more local access points for residents to get council services and a bigger say in how they are delivered in their community.
Varied locations alongside flexible and remote working wherever possible provides greater choice and variety for our staff
Strengthening services
A single council will further develop nationally acclaimed essential services. By uniting we will take the best of all council services and have the scale to improve things for everyone living and working here.
Strengthening communities
A single unitary council will be simpler and easier for residents and communities to access. There will be one council with one point of contact for all the support and services our residents need. Thirty local access points around the county will give everybody, everywhere the chance to have direct, face to face contact about services.
A new council will drive a revolution in empowering communities and staff.