Public sector jobs in Nottingham

Nottingham has two councils recruiting side by side. Nottingham City Council runs services inside the tight city boundary, while Nottinghamshire County Council, based at County Hall in West Bridgford, runs county services for the suburbs and towns around it. The largest other employers are Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the county-wide police and fire services.

City council or county council?

Nottingham City Council is a unitary authority. It does everything for the city: social care, children’s services, housing, bins, libraries, roads and planning. Its boundary is drawn closely around the urban core, so places most people think of as Nottingham, such as West Bridgford, Arnold, Beeston and Carlton, sit outside it.

Those areas are in the two-tier part of the county. Nottinghamshire County Council handles adult and children’s social care, education services, highways and libraries there, while the district councils (Rushcliffe, Gedling and Broxtowe among them) deal with bin collection, housing, planning and leisure. A social worker job and a waste collection job in Beeston are therefore advertised by different employers. How councils are organised explains the split in more detail.

The city council has been under severe financial pressure in recent years, including government-appointed commissioners, and that has meant restructures and recruitment controls. The East Midlands Combined County Authority, set up more recently with an elected mayor, recruits separately for transport and economic roles.

Council pay

All these councils use the NJC pay spine as the basis for pay. The 2026/27 award added 3.3 per cent from 1 April 2026, and SCP 2 was deleted, so the lowest point is now SCP 3 at £25,614. Each council grades its own jobs, so the same job title can sit on different points. A few sample points:

Spine point	Annual pay from 1 April 2026
SCP 3	£25,614
SCP 10	£28,608
SCP 20	£33,673
SCP 30	£42,123

These are calculated from the 2025 spine plus the 3.3 per cent award. Spine points explained covers how you move up a grade, and benefits of working for a council covers leave, pension and other terms.

Hospitals and health

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust runs the Queen’s Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital. Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health, learning disability and community services, including secure services. East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust covers 999 calls across the region.

From 1 April 2026, a healthcare assistant on band 2 is paid £25,272, rising to £25,760 to £27,476 at band 3. Registered nurses start on band 5 at £32,073. Healthcare assistant jobs in the NHS explains what the job involves and how to apply.

Police and fire

Nottinghamshire Police covers both the city and the county. Constables start at £32,255 (PP1) from 1 September 2026 and reach £52,015 at PP7. Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service pays firefighters £31,539 in development and £40,358 when competent, from 1 July 2026. Both also employ police staff and support staff on locally set pay.

Schools and colleges

Maintained schools in the city are linked to the city council and those outside it to the county, though many schools in both areas are academies. Teacher pay from 1 September 2026 starts at £34,069 (M1), under the award accepted by the government. Teaching assistants and other support staff are paid on the NJC spine, usually pro rata for term-time working.

Teachers in maintained schools who want to move between schools have to time their resignation. Under the Burgundy Book, you resign by 31 October to leave at 31 December, by the end of February to leave at 30 April, or by 31 May to leave at 31 August. Academies often use the same dates, but check your contract.

Finding vacancies

Anyone in the Nottingham area should check both councils’ careers pages, plus the district council for their borough. NHS roles are on NHS Jobs, school roles on Teaching Vacancies and police and fire roles on each service’s recruitment site.