Welcome

As the largest local authority in the southwest of England, Devon County Council plays an important role in the communities and lives of local people. We want you to make an impact where it matters the most. We work together to improve life across Devon. We want to create a place that people enjoy living in, as well as a place that you enjoy working. You’ll see the impact you’re making, whether your work in social care, education, children’s services, public health, corporate services, HR, legal, communications, roads and transport or waste and recycling.

One of the best things about working for Devon is the opportunity to work and make a difference to one of the most beautiful parts of the country. Devon is one of the largest counties in the UK, and the only one to have two coastlines. It has a wonderful variety of landscapes and activities to enjoy and has good transport links to the rest of the country.

By working for Devon, you will be supported to make a real difference to this beautiful and vibrant county. Without the staff at Devon County Council, we would not be able to build our strong, resilient communities, look after the beautiful landscapes or provide first class education to the thousands of children in the county.

Our Values

The core principles and behaviours have been specifically designed to unlock potential of individuals, teams, and the organisation. Principles outline what is expected from the way we work to give us greater clarity, purpose, and learning.

Behaviours are how we approach our work and interact with others in terms of qualities expectations and measures.They are a fundamental part of our overall approach to becoming a learning organisation; committed to continually evolving, adapting and transforming so that we can deliver the best possible services for the people and communities of Devon.

People First

We are committed to putting people and relationships at the heart of everything we do. We aim to unlock the potential in every individual and to collectively support teams and service areas to deliver the best outcomes for the people of Devon.

We are ambitious for our people and will empower and enable them to use their skills and knowledge to shape Devon County Council’s future. Through feedback and engagement with our staff, potential candidates and Elected Members, we have identified six key themes that will impact on our Performance and Culture.

People First will guide us through the challenges and opportunities ahead as a key foundation of everything we do.

Our Benefits

• Up to 34 days paid leave per year, depending on length of service, plus additional time off for bank/public holidays.
• Secure Local Government Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions with tax-efficient savings.
• Sick pay up to a maximum of six months full pay and six months half pay depending on length of employment.
• 24/7 free confidential advice and support through our Employee Assistance Programme.
• Discounted bus travel and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme.
• Flexible retirement options.

• Good maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave over and above the statutory minimum requirements.
• Paid volunteering opportunities supporting our local communities.
• Foster friendly employer providing additional support for carers, as well as leave entitlements to support your family.
• Flexible by default, offering a range of inclusive options aimed to help you achieve a better work-life balance.
• Comprehensive benefits platform bringing together many of our benefits into one easy-to-access place.

Caring For You

Wellbeing is about people and creating the conditions for us all to thrive. We want you to be working in an environment that supports and improves your physical and mental health, as well as personal development and protect what you value.

As an employer we recognise that in the UK, people experiencing mental ill health continue to report stigma and discrimination at work. Having signed the ‘Charter for Employers Positive about Mental Health’, we are committed to creating a supportive and open culture, where colleagues feel able to talk about mental health confidently and aspire to appropriately support the mental wellbeing of all staff.

Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), offers confidential, impartial advice and support online and over the phone, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

We offer a Contributory Health Scheme, enabling staff to claim money back for health costs such as opticians, dental, therapy treatments, hospital stays and day surgery, and access to health and wellbeing services.

Employees are entitled to an eye test voucher for Display Screen Equipment (DSE) users.

Our dedicated Wellbeing Hub provides information and advice on how to access support, including a variety of resources, with contact details for both internal and external support services.

Family First

Our family friendly approach makes Devon a great place to work, whatever your situation. We are flexible by default, offering a range of inclusive options aimed to help you achieve a better work-life balance. We also offer parental leave, childcare support, support for carers, emergency time off for dependants and career break schemes to support your life outside of work.

Flexible Working Options

This includes part-time, job share, compressed hours, or term-time only with some opportunities for hybrid office and home working. Our flexible working policies are aimed at helping employees to achieve a better work-life balance by enabling greater flexibility as to when, how and where they work, whilst meeting service requirements at the same time.

Foster Friendly Employer

We are committed to supporting employees who are prospective foster carers and to supporting those already providing care by providing time off where necessary. We will do this, wherever possible, by creating a fostering-friendly organisation that offers flexible working arrangements which respond to the needs of all foster carers or approved kinship carer employees.

Opportunities for Growth

We offer a rewarding, stimulating and challenging career that follows the principles of openness and fairness every step of the way.

Your development is important to us, and we encourage you to reach your full potential through a range of different learning opportunities such as coaching and mentoring, apprenticeships, secondments, shadowing as well as accessing our online learning platform packed with courses.

We support employees to achieve professional qualifications and/or nationally recognised qualifications. We encourage you to give back to our local communities through volunteering, developing your skills, capabilities, and experiences.

We encourage and facilitate mentoring and coaching opportunities and we have a Coaching Network with sessions available for everyone in the organisation.

Apprenticeships are offered from level 2 to level 7 and are available to both new employees recruited on an apprenticeship (through our Step-In programme) and existing employees alongside their current role (through our Next Step Programme).

We encourage and support staff to become employee volunteers to benefit local communities, as well as to develop your skills, capabilities, and experiences to support your learning and development needs.

Money Matters

Working with us, you will automatically qualify for our fantastic pension scheme and benefit from flexible retirement options. You can also make Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC’s), payments are made through your salary with full tax relief.

You can benefit from everyday cash savings with our comprehensive benefits platform, including 100s of lifestyle savings from well-known retailers and organisations.You can save on health care plans, eye test vouchers and home and electrical items. You have access to our benefits platform bringing together all our employee benefits into one easy-to-access place.

We offer a range of travel and transport benefits including discounted bus travel and hire cars for longer journeys. The Cycle to Work Scheme offers the opportunity to purchase a brand-new bike and accessories and spread the cost over a year. We also give you the chance to drive a brand-new, fully maintained, and insured vehicle for a fixed monthly amount as part of a salary sacrifice scheme.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to eliminating discrimination, providing equality of opportunity and challenging prejudice in order to advance the achievement of equality and foster good relations between diverse groups in Devon.

We will ensure that services are provided in a way that embraces diversity and promotes fairness and access. As an employer, we will enhance and value diversity within our workforce through inclusive practice.

We are committed to the Armed Forces Covenant, which is a promise by the nation ensuring members of the armed forces community are treated fairly. We are also proud to be a Disability Confident and Mindful Employer.

We have a range of staff networks that provide ways to celebrate our diversity, challenge inequality and offer safe spaces to share experiences.

Our Vision of Equality and Fairness

• People can achieve their own potential and a good quality of life.
• Everyone can access services, facilities or information.
• There is public involvement and influence in decision making, planning, policy and service delivery.

• Devon is a strong, safe and inclusive community.
• People have trust and confidence to report incidents of abuse or discrimination.
• Our workforce, at all levels, is supported and broadly reflects the diversity of the community.