For 13 years Judi Fisher has been front of house for Bridgwater Town Council and could be found any day in the front office of the Town Hall sharing a High Street office with former Town Clerk Alan Hurford as an open and accessible front door for the people of the town to their council. When Alan retired after 15 years in 2018, Judi continued as Mayors officer and front desk. Big changes have been taking place at Bridgwater Town Council with a suite of offices opened upstairs, new staff being taken on and projects such as management of the cemeteries being transferred over from Sedgemoor. The Town Hall building offices have all now been rented out to outside bodies to provide community use and an income stream.
Whilst Judi’s previous role was made redundant she was nevertheless offered the chance to take on a new role within the council but opted instead to accept the redundancy. Town Mayor cllr Tony Heywood presented Judi with a Wilkins gift voucher from members, flowers from many well-wishers and a personal gift of cut glass candlesticks. The Mayor thanked her for all the work she had done for the Town over the past 13 years and described Judi’s departure as “The end of an era”.
Town Council Leader Brian Smedley said “Alan Hurford and Judi Fisher have an important place in the history of our town council, establishing a role for it in the wider community and ensuring it engaged with the people it was set up to serve on a personal and public basis. Alan and Judi’s characters were exactly right for setting the tone for the creation of a council in Bridgwater and devoted hours above and beyond the call of duty to making sure it survived with limited staff and resources. But everything has to end and times change. New Town Clerk David Mears has taken the council in a new direction, generating income, expanding services, increasing staff and moving us up a gear. And it’s right that any person at the helm should have their own aspirations and ambitions and be supported in that by the Council. So it’s a massive debt of gratitude to both Alan and Judi for getting us here and strong support to David for taking us forward.”
JOB VACANCY
Office Administration Assistant. This is a permanent, part-time contract.
Grade: NJC SCP 4 (£18,933) plus annual pay rise as awarded by the NJC and Local Government Pension Scheme
Hours of Work: 37 per week, Monday to Friday
Leave Entitlement: 22 days’ pro rata per annum, two statutory days, plus public holidays
Responsible to: Town Clerk
We currently have a fantastic opportunity for a full-time Office Administration Assistant to join our team. The main purpose of this role is to work as part of a growing team providing administrative support to the Town Clerk and Cemeteries services, to ensure the smooth running of the office and Cemeteries. You will also be responsible taking the minutes of various meetings.
Candidates should have excellent interpersonal skills, be computer literate and have experience of working in an office. They should be able to work as part of a small team, yet also be confident working on their own initiative. Previous experience in the public sector would be helpful, although not essential and training where
required will be provided.
The successful candidate will be confident and enjoy dealing with members of the public, as part of the local community. The post includes responsibility for updating the council’s website and taking minutes of meetings. These meetings are during the day with the exception of the full council meeting, which is one evening bi-monthly.
Your working week will also include working with our cemetery team (both grounds and admin) to help with administrative support.
Closing date: 14 October 2020
Interview date: 16 October 2020 (morning at the Town Hall – social distancing and
COVID secure measures in place).
For application pack please visit – https://bridgwater-tc.gov.uk/news/officeadministrator-vacancy/