Where councils advertise jobs

Every council advertises its jobs on its own website, and most also post them on at least one shared portal. Scotland is the simple case, because every council uses myjobscotland. England has no single national site, so you need the council’s own careers page plus whichever regional or national job board it uses. Knowing which council actually runs the service you want to work in saves a lot of searching.

Start with the right council

Large parts of England have two tiers of local government: a county council and a district or borough council covering the same area. They run different services. County councils run social care, education support, highways and libraries. District councils run housing, planning, bin collection, environmental health and leisure. Unitary authorities, metropolitan boroughs and London boroughs do both.

The “find your local council” tool on GOV.UK shows which councils cover your postcode, and you can then check each careers page. The guide to how councils are organised explains the structures in more detail.

Council careers pages

The council’s own jobs page is the most complete source, and searching for “[council name] jobs” finds it. Most use an applicant tracking system where you create an account, set up job alerts by service or location, and apply online. Some still take downloadable forms by email.

Councils often advertise internal-only vacancies first, or ring-fence jobs for staff at risk of redundancy, before opening them to the public. Those never reach external boards. The guide to internal vs external vacancies explains how this works.

Shared and regional portals

Many councils in England share regional job sites run by groups of councils or regional employers’ organisations. North East Jobs covers councils and other public bodies in the North East, and WM Jobs covers West Midlands councils and other public sector employers. Other regions have similar consortia, and a council’s careers page usually says if it uses one.

National boards carry council jobs too. LGjobs, linked to the Local Government Association, lists posts from councils across England and Wales. Jobs Go Public covers councils, housing associations and other public bodies, and many councils use it for professional and senior roles.

In Scotland, myjobscotland lists jobs for every council and many other public bodies, including some health and social care partnerships. You apply through a single account on the site.

Welsh councils advertise on their own sites, often in both Welsh and English. Some posts require Welsh language skills, and the advert says which. See Welsh language skills in public sector jobs.

In Northern Ireland, the district councils advertise on their own websites and on local newspapers’ job pages. Health and social care jobs are on HSC Jobs, not council sites, because the HSC trusts run social care there.

School support jobs

Council-maintained schools in England sometimes post support staff jobs on the council’s jobs site, but many now use the DfE’s free Teaching Vacancies service, and academies usually advertise through it or their trust’s own portal. For school support work, check both.

Social care, agency and interim work

Children’s and adult social care jobs appear on council sites and on specialist boards for social workers. Many councils also fill posts through agencies, especially for social work, planning and building control. Agency workers have day-one access to the council’s vacancies and shared facilities, and after 12 weeks in the same role they get the same basic pay and conditions as comparable permanent staff.

Reading the advert

Council adverts usually give a grade and a salary range. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland most councils use the NJC pay spine, where pay points run from £25,614 at the bottom (SCP 3) to £56,293 at SCP 43 from 1 April 2026, with each council setting its own grades on top. Some London and larger councils use their own scales. See the NJC pay spine for each point. Part-time and term-time posts may show the full-time equivalent, so check the hours.

Most council applications use a form with a supporting statement scored against the person specification, and few accept CVs alone. The guide on how to get a council job covers the form, tests and interviews.