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Town Clerk Job Description

What does a Town Clerk do?

The Town Clerk is a senior administrative officer responsible for the efficient running of local governance. Their duties generally include preparing and distributing meeting agendas, attending town council meetings, keeping minutes of meetings, maintaining legal records and documents, liaising with other local authorities and government departments, and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations and laws. The Town Clerk acts as a central point of contact between local government and the community and is responsible for ensuring transparency and accountability in the decision-making process. They may also be involved in managing budgets and overseeing the work of other administrative staff.

Our Town Clerk job description includes the Town Clerk responsibilities, duties, skills, education, qualifications, and experience.

Town Clerk Example


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If you need an example job description for a Town Clerk download the one below, alternatively we have many other Public Sector job description samples and a job description library with over 3000 job descriptions templates that you can download for free.

What does a Town Clerk do?

The Town Clerk is responsible for providing professional, strategic and administrative support to the Town Council. This includes attending and taking minutes at Council meetings, providing advice and guidance on Council procedures and regulations, managing the Council's financial and administrative affairs, and acting as the Council's representative to the public, other organisations, and the media. The Town Clerk ensures that the Town Council's policies and actions comply with relevant legislation and regulations. They are also responsible for overseeing the recruitment and management of staff and for providing guidance to the Mayor and Councillors.

Town Clerk Role Purpose

The purpose of a Town Clerk is to manage the day-to-day operations of a local town council. This includes providing comprehensive advice and guidance on all matters relating to the council’s activities, ensuring the council is compliant with all relevant legislation, and providing support for councillors and staff. The Town Clerk is also responsible for developing and monitoring the council’s budget, overseeing the town’s finances, and ensuring that the council’s services and facilities are maintained to a high standard. Additionally, the Town Clerk is also responsible for liaising with external organisations, responding to public enquiries, and representing the council at public events.

Town Clerk Role

The Town Clerk is responsible for the efficient running of the Town Council, managing staff, preparing agendas and reports, and ensuring that council activities comply with relevant legislation.

Town Clerk Duties

  • Maintain and update official records and documents
  • Provide administrative support for local council meetings
  • Handle customer enquiries and provide information on local services and regulations
  • Process applications and licences as required
  • Organise and manage public events
  • Contribute to the development of policies and procedures

Town Clerk Requirements

  • Excellent communication and customer service skills
  • Computer literacy, including experience with Microsoft Office
  • Good organisation and administrative skills
  • Problem solving and decision making abilities
  • Attention to detail and accuracy
  • Ability to work well under pressure

Town Clerk Skills

  • Organisational skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Knowledge of local government legislation
  • Good communication and interpersonal skills

Town Clerk Personal Traits

  • Good communication skills
  • Strong organisational and administrative skills
  • Ability to work to deadlines
  • Ability to work on own initiative

How to write a Town Clerk Job Advert

Use our job advert template to write a job advert for posting on job sites and job boards. Our job advertising templates are carefully created to help you reach your audience and beat the competition to the best talent.

A job description informs the reader about a job, whereas a job advert’s main objective is to sell the job opportunity to attract as many suitable applicants possible. A job advert maybe the first touch-point a candidate has with your company so it is important to create a great impression.

Job Advertisements should enticing, so considering using short, exciting language which get the reader’s attention.

How to write a Town Clerk Job Description

To write a job description, we recommend starting with a job description template from our job description library, which contains examples for 800+ positions and professions. Our job description examples include a job summary with duties and responsibilities and skills and requirements, which can be personalised for your job vacancy.

Job Description Advice - Guidance on How to Personalise a Town Clerk Job Specification

The hiring process and recruiting new employees to fill your key roles requires a degree of personalisation if you are to attract the best employees in a competitive employment market. The right person for a crucial role or more senior roles will likely have other employers targeting them. As your job description will be the first point of contact, you need to nail your pitch and provide the best possible service.

Job Description Tips - Help on formatting a Town Clerk Job Specification

When creating your bespoke description and advert, you should cover and promote these points:

Job title: This should accurately reflect the role and include keywords that top talent might be using to search for jobs.

Job duties: The day to day duties, such as administrative tasks, which vary depending on the company and inform the candidate if they can complete the role.

Technical skills: These are the hard skills required through training, such as proficiency with Microsoft Office.

Soft skills: These include the interpersonal skills and general abilities the right candidates will possess. For example, the competency to prioritise multiple tasks, handle customer queries and customer complaints, work alone, or build a good relationship with coworkers.

The company's culture: Highlighting your company culture and values ensures employees thrive and find outstanding job satisfaction. Candidates that are not the right fit won’t waste their time completing the application process, meaning you can focus on qualified individuals and hire in a more timely manner.

Career progression: Including the career path will entice candidates looking for career growth. 

Training and development programs: Smaller companies may need employees with previous experience or provide educational assistance over internal training offered by larger organisations with more significant resources. 

Employee benefits: Compensation and benefits often fail to appear in job ads and while you may want to hold your cards close to your chest, failing to include them is a mistake. Consider answering common questions, such as working hours and paid leave. Researching the average salary for the role in these early stages will ensure you don’t waste your interviewer’s and the candidate’s time.

Skill gaps: Your company may need to bring in new skills beyond those required to complete the key role and duties. Thinking on an organisational level can be beneficial when contemplating skills diversity.

Legal requirements: Ensure your job advert and description does not ask for inappropriate or discriminatory personal details, such as age, marital status, or religion.

How to Hire a Town Clerk

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