VACANCY – DUNCTON PARISH CLERK

Duncton Parish Council is seeking a Parish Clerk to start as soon as possible to support our Parish Council with 6 members.  Parish Council meets 6 times per year (with an annual meeting of the parish) and (based on arrangements with our previous Clerk) the role is offered at 5 hours per week on a flexible basis.

The primary responsibilities of the Clerk are:

  • To prepare, in consultation with appropriate members, notices, agendas and minutes for meetings of the Council and any Committees.
  • To attend all meetings of the Council (6 meetings per year plus the annual Parish Meeting).
  • To receive correspondence and documents on behalf of the Council and to deal with the correspondence or documents or bring such items to the attention of the Council.
  • To assist in implementing the decisions made by the Council.
  • To ensure that statutory and other provisions governing or affecting the running of the Council are observed.
  • To monitor and balance the Council’s accounts and prepare records for audit purposes.
  • To ensure that the Council’s obligations for Risk Assessment are properly met.


Some prior experience is preferred and the role would work well as an additional Parish for anyone already employed as a Clerk in the local area.

The role will be paid at an appropriate National Association of Local Councils pay scale depending on experience with a range from £12.21 – £13.73 per hour.

Full details of the role are available here:

We are an equal opportunity employer and we encourage all potential applicants to apply.

Please direct applications or enquiries to:

Andrew Mills
Chair, Duncton Parish Council
andrew@duncton.org
07476 955 885

The Village of Duncton

Duncton is a beautiful village nestled against the South Downs in the heart of the magnificent West Sussex countryside. Situated on the A285, we are 11 miles from Chichester and a short hop over Duncton Hill to the sea. Please see our Village Info & Contacts page for a village map and leaflet.

This website is run by the Parish Council. If you have anything that you would like to have added to the website (upcoming events, Village news etc.) please contact clerk@duncton.org.

The Parish Council
All our councillors are volunteers and are committed to representing their community. They:

  • give views, on behalf of the community, on planning applications and other proposals that affect the parish
  • undertake projects and schemes that benefit local residents
  • work in partnership with other bodies to achieve benefits for the parish
  • alert relevant authorities to problems that arise or work that needs to be undertaken
  • help the other tiers of local government keep in touch with their local communities

We want to work closely with our community and encourage residents to get in touch with us and attend meetings.

Duncton Parish Council forms part of the first tier of local government, elected by our residents to represent the community.
We work closely with Chichester District Council, (CDC), West Sussex County Council (WSCC) and the South Downs National Parks Authority (SDNPA). Our activities fall into three main categories: representing our local community, delivering services to meet local needs, and improving quality of life and community wellbeing.

What is a Parish Council?

  • It is a local authority and sometimes referred to as a Local Council.
  • Is the first tier of local Government and closest to the people
  • It comprises a chairman and councillors
  • Councillors are elected every four years
  • The chairman is elected annually from among the councillors
  • It is a statutory body corporate and acts corporately

What can a Parish Council do?

  • It can only act within the scope of the statutory functions given by Parliament 
  • It can own land and other assets, employ staff, enter into contracts for services, supplies and works 
  • It must appoint an officer to manage its financial affairs 
  • It can raise a tax through a precept and must set a budget for the purpose of revenue (and capital) income and expenditure 
  • It can borrow monies for capital expenditure