Join the Team

Organisation name

Billinghay Parish Council (BPC)

Role Title

Parish Councillor

Location of position

Billinghay Parish

Main purpose/ summary of role

A community leader, within a local government setting, you will be expected to represent our residents and our community, to: manage buildings and community spaces; decide finances; deliver services; influence and shape development policies; comment on planning applications, write and review standing orders, financial regulations and policies; undertake community engagement activities; work to improve the quality of life and the environment in our local area; work to bring about improvements though local projects; lobby other service providers; work in partnership with other parishes and agencies; and most importantly, work with the community and residents we serve.

Description of tasks (not exhaustive)

Please note, Parish Councillors work together as a “corporate body” and do not make individual decisions, or carry out any actions without the authority of the full council.

• Attending Council meetings, the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council (AMPC), Annual Parish Meeting (APM), Annual Finance Meeting (AFM) and committee meetings;
• Organising and attending Parish Council events such as the Christmas tree lighting ceremony;
• Preparing for meetings, making research based decisions, and voting;
• Researching and carrying out community engagement activities; such as public events, surveys and questionnaires, and analysing the results;
• Setting budgets and the precept;
• Scrutinising and commenting on planning applications;
• Risk assessing;
• Listening to resident’s questions and concerns;
• Working within GDPR guidelines for creating, storing, retrieving and sharing information to maintain confidentiality;
• Inspecting bank reconciliations and finances;
• Writing funding bids for projects;
• Writing, reviewing and amending policies;
• Making recommendations and financial decisions;
• Promoting Billinghay in the village and beyond;
• Supporting the Chairperson, Clerk and Council;
• Liaising with local groups, government officers, other councils and a range of agencies and professionals.

Time Commitment

This varies from month to month and week to week depending on consultation activities, planning matters, reading and preparing for meetings, organisation of events and attendance at meetings, networking days and conferences. Councillors are expected to attend all ordinary meetings and reasons for absence have to be accepted by the Council. A typical ordinary council meeting lasts 2 - 2.5 hours.

Training

All Councillors are expected to undertake Code of Conduct training and new Councillor training as soon as possible after election /co-option. In addition, other training is undertaken to help Councillors develop in their role and to inform sound decision making at committee and Council level. Relevant training should be completed prior to election as Chairman of a committee/full Council.

Key Skills and Qualities

• Open minded;
• Good communication skills, both written and verbal;
• Confident at public speaking;
• Punctual with good time management;
• Positive and solution focused;
• Organised and prepared;
• Resourceful and innovative;
• Honest and reliable;
• A team player;
• Approachable, impartial and objective;
• Understanding of local government, voluntary and community sectors;
• Have knowledge of the standing orders, financial regulations, and Council policies.

Code of Conduct   

All Councillors are expected to comply with the Parish Council / NKDC Code of Conduct whilst undertaking Council business and / or representing the Council or Billinghay as part of your role.

The Nolan Principles

These are the principles for working in public office and form part of the Code of Conduct.

Disposable Pecuniary Interests (DPIs)

All Councillors must be eligible for election or co-option to the Parish Council. As well as this, to ensure transparency, Councillors are required to disclose any DPIs, and any financial outlay related to the election / co-option, which except in special circumstances, will be available to view on the NKDC website and BPC website. Failure to declare a DPI or expenditure is a criminal offence.

Reimbursement of expenses

Travel and other expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with Council policies and financial regulations.

Application procedure

• Completion of an expression of interest form;
• Attendance at a minimum of one ordinary Council meeting;
• Meet with the Clerk, and with the Chairman of the Council.
• Eligible applicants will be invited to interview.

Please refer to the Co-option policy for further details and to check your eligibility to apply.

Contact Information

A Billinghay Parish Council email address will be provided for you.

Please be aware that your name, address, phone number/s and email address will be in the public domain. In certain circumstances it may be possible not to display some details - please talk to the Clerk about this.

Benefits to the Councillor

Satisfaction of making a difference in your local community.

Councillors will have the opportunity to develop a range of skills including: PR, marketing, project managing, IT, analytical, and fundraising skills, and will build a strong network with a range of individuals and groups.