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Deliver public services with a commercial twist

What does it mean to work at the heart of public services with one source? You’ll spend your day alongside dedicated, like-minded specialists tackling often complex and always vital challenges. You’ll be part of services that deliver the best possible value for residents and communities. And go home knowing you’re helping everyday life run more smoothly.

Also, we have one of the widest portfolios of any local authority shared service. And that means opportunities: to be part of innovative solutions, try new things, learn from experts, and really push on in your career.

Add our friendly, diverse and council-centric ethos; and you’ve the perfect mix of commercial and public sector worlds. A place where you can voice ideas, drive change – and take pride in everything you do.

Your application and beyond

Because of our unique not-for-profit structure, all available roles ultimately sit contractually within one of our council partners. However, we’ll handle everything to do with your recruitment, development and ongoing support.

  1. 1

    Applying
  2. 2

    Interviewing
  3. 3

    Joining
  4. 4

    Settling
  5. 5

    Developing
  6. 6

    Progressing

  • Click on a role that matches your ambition, and you’ll be directed to that role within our new application portal. There, you’ll find a more detailed summary together with a full job description. Application forms differ from council to council – but you will have the chance to write a compelling cover letter.

  • If your application is successful, you’ll be invited to interview, likely over Zoom. It’s a chance to see if the role is right for you, as much as for the interviewer to assess your skills. Depending on the opportunity, there may be further interviews until we make an offer.

  • If you accept our offer, our HR team will be in touch to make sure everything’s in order. Your line manager will be in contact regularly too, so you can ask further questions and find out what to expect during your first days and weeks in the role.

  • At some point during the first few weeks, our induction programme will give you the chance to understand the vision, breadth, scope and structure of both your council and one source. As well as future colleagues, you’ll likely meet senior figures – it’s a great place to start networking.

  • You’ll have the headspace to get to grips with your role during the early weeks. However, we’ll also have a proper discussion about where you see your one source career going, and what you need us to do to get you there.

  • After 12 months at most, we’ll sit down with you to review your achievements, set out new milestones – and perhaps target a training programme or two. We’d like to think the time will also be right to start talking about moving into a more senior position.

The one source effect

You'll find it's the unique combination of our people, services and technologies that elevate your impact here. In fact, we pride ourselves on giving you the right environment to grow – just like we did for these members of the team behind our brand new Oracle Fusion-powered recruitment platform.

Tech & Innovation Business Analyst

“My role was to pinpoint the new system’s specifications. Working with HR, Finance, Procurement, service users and external stakeholders was a real eye-opener. I saw how HR systems can handle all kinds of different processes. And really enjoyed being part of an innovative team that shared ideas and genuinely valued opinions.”

HR & OD Lead

“I led on the platform’s recruitment, learning and performance management modules. It meant finding solutions to hiring teams’ unique challenges – like the Quick Reference Guides we introduced to help hiring managers quickly adapt to the new system. I learnt a lot too, skills that’ll be invaluable on all kinds of future digital projects.”

Procurement Officer

“It’s my job to make sure we choose suppliers that can deliver, while offering best value, minimising waste, and helping us grow. Here, my role involved translating system requirements into a tender and then managing the process – from reviewing proposals to arranging the demos. I also negotiated, drafted and managed the contract with the winning supplier.”

Future careers

If you’re a natural at solving problems and want to have a positive impact on society – we can help you make the most of your talent, and open the door to a diverse, rewarding and far-reaching career.

Graduate programmes
We have two graduate pathways. Our two-year NGDP programme is a generalist public sector course that includes structured learning as well as strategic and public-facing placements across all our departments.

Our four-year CIPFA programme is a finance-specific course. You’ll complete a number of placements with operational accounting and project teams as you study for the CIPFA PQ, the specialist public sector finance accreditation.

You’ll need a 2:2 degree to apply to either programme. But it can be in any subject – in fact, 40% of CIPFA students didn’t study a finance-related degree.

Apprenticeships
Learn while you earn at one source, and you’ll enjoy great rewards in the short and long term. You’ll have the security of 18-months’ paid work that’s vital to one of our partner boroughs. And if you soak up as much experience and knowledge as you can – and prove you’re committed to improving public sector services – you could land a permanent role that leads all the way to the top.

Whichever you join, you can expect to build a deeply impressive foundation of experience and contacts. Most importantly, these are nationally-recognised routes into top-level public sector roles – for example, there are more CIPFA PQ members in senior management positions than any other accountancy body.

One source introduction
One Source

Experienced and executive careers

Maybe you’re in the public sector and want a role with more variety, or perhaps you’re tired of the corporate world and want your talent to benefit society rather than shareholders. Either way, this is an opportunity to make the most of your skills and personality.

Our diverse teams welcome people with all kinds of professional backgrounds. It’s how we’ve built one of the industry’s broadest and most successful shared service portfolios. Bring your best ideas, work among people who share your values – and help our partner councils deliver services that are vital to everyday life.

Life at one source

  1. People

  2. Culture

  3. Vision

  4. Values

  5. Environment

  6. Rewards

  • We’re believe our individual differences give us an edge. Meet our teams, and you’ll find not just experts in their field, but people from all walks of life. That diversity means more unique ideas, better understanding of the communities we serve and, frankly, a lot more fun.

  • We’ve the same public service ethos as our partner councils, so expect a friendly, open and warm welcome. But as part of one source, you’ll also want to deliver value every step of the way, and enjoy a genuine sense of being part of an industry innovator.

  • We deliver affordable quality to the public sector. This comes from striking the balance between cost-effectiveness and exceptional delivery. Ultimately, you’ll find our recruitment, training, investments and processes are all built around our partner councils’ residents and businesses.

  • To continue enhancing the work of our partner councils, we strive to be flexible and diverse in our approach. We think commercially: harnessing new ideas and expert knowledge to solve every challenge. But equally, we mould every solution and our behaviours around each partner council’s needs – so the final service runs smoothly.

  • We’ll make sure you have the tools – including the hardware and software – to deliver for the communities we work with. And together with our approach to remote and flexible working, they’ll also help you find a work-life balance that fits around you, your interests and your family.

  • Competitive packages are a given – wherever you work. But we also offer up to eight weeks’ leave and the Local Government Pension Scheme; plus generous maternity, paternity and parental leave. Over time, you could take a career break. And you’ll enjoy the often life-changing benefits of flexi-time from day one.

Putting the best ‘you’ forward

Ready to fill in your application form or preparing to interview? Remember: we’re normal people, just like you. No one’s going to try to trip you up. And always keep in mind this is a two-way process: ask as many questions as you want, so you can get a really good feel for what it’ll be like here and whether it’ll work for you.

To help, here are some simple tips on how to make sure you’re 100% prepared.

  • Injecting personality into your application

    Obviously, fill out the application form in full. But only sit down to do it when you have no pressing appointments, so you can give each question the attention it deserves.

    It’s likely you’ll have an opportunity to attach a cover letter. This is arguably as important as the form itself: show us the type of person you are, how you think – and mention any experiences or skills that might make you the right choice for the role.

    When you think you’ve finished, take a break, then check through everything again – it’s amazing how many things you change when you look at it with fresh eyes.

  • Getting ready to interview

    The key to a good interview is good preparation. Learn as much as you can about us. Don’t stop at this website – check out news sites and the council you’re hoping to work with. Look for events or topics you can start a discussion on, and show you’re really engaged in what we do.

    Read the job description and think of examples that prove you meet its requirements, like when you’ve ‘worked to deadlines’, ‘led a team’ or ‘developed a strategy’. Now, how did you tackle the situation? What was the result of your actions and decisions? And if you faced the same challenge today, what would you do differently?

    It’s important to pull together a list of questions you have about the role too – so you can decide whether we’re right for you.

    At least three days before the interview, make sure you can access Zoom, either by downloading it or using the web application. And finally, decide where you’ll sit during the interview – ideally without any embarrassing photos behind you.

  • Interview technique

    The night before, get your outfit ready. Re-read your application and the job description, and think about what questions we might ask. Then have a relaxing evening and, especially if it’s an early start – set an alarm.

    Switch on your computer or laptop well in advance of the interview. And before you start, make sure you’re comfortable.

    When you’re on the call, simply be friendly and yourself. We’re talking to you because you’ve impressed us – this is your chance to tell us more about how you work, what motivates you and what you’ve achieved. If you don’t understand a question, simply ask the interviewer to repeat it or ask it in a different way.

    Importantly, there are no time limits. It’s better to pause, collect your thoughts and give a concise answer than ramble for thirty seconds before you think of what you really want to say. So: consider why you’re being asked a question and connect it to an example from your experience. And remember to ask your own questions about the role.

    Once it’s over, we’ll get back to you as soon as we can with feedback – whether you’re successful or not.

We have some of the most innovative and respected public sector shared services in the UK.

Your challenges are unique – but our experience makes us the perfect people to find the perfect solution. What’s more: we only work with the public sector. We share your passion for the communities you serve.