This webinar is ideal for:

• Town, Parish & Community Council Clerks & Responsible Financial Officers
  

Locum work is not just for those considering a career change. It is a lens through which every clerk can examine their own practice — what they would find if they arrived at their own council tomorrow, how they give advice under pressure, and what they are leaving behind for whoever comes next.

Join Lee Jakeman, former Town Clerk across three large West Midlands councils and current Locum Clerk working with LGRC Associates Ltd, for an honest, practical, and occasionally wry account of what the locum role reveals about council life. 

Discover the realities of arriving at a new council, managing difficult correspondence and FOI requests, the importance of documentation and financial compliance, how to give advice that protects you and informs the Council, and the professional legacy every clerk is building right now — whether they know it or not.

You will discover:

• What to look for in your first week — the key areas that will shape your own Day One approach: Whether arriving as a locum at short notice or as a newly appointed permanent clerk, the first week is where reputations are made or lost. We'll explore the critical areas to check before anything else, and discover one simple approach that tells you more about a council in five minutes than a week of digging through files.
• How to give advice that protects you, informs the Council, and keeps you out of the politics: The most common mistake clerks make is not getting the law wrong — it is answering the wrong question. Learn a practical framework for presenting options rather than opinions, ready-to-use phrases that buy thinking time without losing authority, and how to structure reports so that advice is clearly documented and the Council can make genuinely informed decisions.
• What the next Clerk will find when you leave — and how to make sure it is something to be proud of: One day every clerk will leave their post. What happens next is being decided right now, by the files saved, the processes documented, and the systems put in place. Leave with a clear picture of the professional legacy you are building — and three practical steps you can take this week to make sure it is one to be proud of.