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Careers
Want to know what it’s like to work at Stevenage Borough Council? Read some testimonials from some of our existing employees for an insight into their jobs.
Sport has always been a big part of my life and to be able to learn more about sport/leisure in a work setting as an Apprentice Leisure Officer was the perfect fit.
During the two year apprenticeship I undertook work experience in different Stevenage Leisure sites across the town, and learnt how they operate. Furthermore, I was able to gain qualifications such as the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification and Level 2 in Fitness Instruction. As I developed in the role I gained more responsibility taking on numerous Sports Development Projects commissioned by Sport England to increase participation of residents within the town.
Following my apprenticeship, I was promoted to Sport and Leisure Officer allowing me to further develop the Councils Sports Development programmes and events. One such project was assisting and then later leading on the Councils Community Sport Activation Fund commissioned by Sport England worth over £250,000. I was also involved in civic events such as the Queens 90th Birthday celebration and the Royal Anglian Regiments freedom of the town.
I left the Council in August 2017 to start a three year degree in Sport Management and Development at the University of Portsmouth. During my last year of university I applied for and was successfully offered the position of Corporate Events Officer which I started on the 8th June 2020. My new role consists of managing the Councils corporate events such as Stevenage Day, Fairland’s Fireworks Display, Pride Awards and Remembrance Sunday, to name a few. I also support colleagues with their events and provide advice and support to the local community regarding events within Stevenage. I look forward to using my previous experience within the Council and knowledge from university to drive the Councils event programme moving forward.
I was a service user of SBC –growing up I spent most afterschool’s, weekends and schools holidays at my local Playcentre with my friends. When I was too old to attend, I started volunteering and then became a Casual Playworker. It was the perfect job for someone at university as it meant I was able to work my way through school holidays to earn some extra money for when studies started again.
Towards the end of my degree, the opportunity arose to support the Play Service administration that goes into planning for the long summer opening. I saw this as a chance to gain further experience, whilst looking for a full time job after graduating. I was successful in getting the position and found myself in the office environment seeing all the behind the scenes action which went into Holiday Playwork. This role was a real learning opportunity for me; I was on the other side of Playwork and developing an understanding of how the wider council works and how we as a service fit into other areas.
Fast forward to September 2020 I was offered a fantastic opportunity and made the jump over to the Regeneration team as their Assistant Programme Officer. As someone who has always been unsure of their career path I thought I’d give it a try, as given everything that had been thrown my way had worked well so far! I started in a brand new team in the middle of a global pandemic which wasn’t ideal, but thanks to the technology I was able to meet new colleagues virtually.
As I was a complete newbie to the world of project and programme management I was given the opportunity to enrol onto the Prince 2 Foundation course; glad to report I passed first time! Now with this knowledge and understanding of the project management world I’m able to better support the team and the work.
My career pathway so far has shown if you have the right attitude, self-belief, drive and support around you, you can get to where you want to be (even if in the beginning you didn’t know where you’d end up or what direction you’d take). I truly believe all my past roles, mentors and experiences have provided me with the right tools to be applied to the job I desire, and I think the job I’m in now may be the perfect path for me.
I started as an apprentice at SBC in September 2020, having previously worked as a supermarket delivery driver through the pandemic and looking for a change in career. I had previously worked in maintenance and had been self employed but had always had an interest in housing and community work. Once I saw the apprenticeship scheme, I welcomed the opportunity to change and begin something very new.
My first few weeks of the apprenticeship really bolstered the fact that I had made a great choice. Amongst the excellent support with training, I have also been enrolled for the CIH level 3 qualification which works alongside my apprenticeship and is a key source of knowledge that is essential for my role at the council.
I am currently working to gain as much knowledge from my team and my studies to offer the best advice and service that I can. I plan to pass my CIH course in 2022 and then look to hopefully start planning for a CIH level 4. I would like to remain at the council and gain as much experience I can through support and training. There is a lot of opportunity within the council and I intend to work towards those opportunities and develop my experience and knowledge to the best of my ability.
I find that I have role that can make changes in someone’s life. Being able to assist the community in a positive way makes my role very rewarding. If you have been considering a change and want something more rewarding and fulfilling, then have faith in your abilities and make the change.
I joined Stevenage Borough Council as an Anti-Social Behaviour Apprentice in January 2017. I wanted to join SBC with the apprenticeship role in the Anti-Social Behaviour team as I had completed work experience with the team when I was in Secondary School. Since then, I have completed my Apprenticeship and have been successfully promoted to the Community Safety Officer role I am currently in.
My experiences so far on my career pathway have all been positive. Initially I found it difficult changing from being an Apprentice to an Assistant and then the same with becoming a fully-fledged ASB Officer. I am lucky enough to have a very supportive team who all want to see others thrive in their career and they have helped and supported me along the way. I shadowed other team members and received plenty of training to help me better understand my roles.
I am truly thankful for the team that I work with every day. They provide me endless amounts of support if it be that I need to talk through a case that it’s very stressful or things happening in my home life, the team are always there to provide a helping hand and a shoulder to cry on when needed. I have had amazing mentors and management who encouraged me to trust my instincts and own ability to know what the right thing to do is. They regularly take the time to tell me how proud they are of me with how far I have come and how proud I should be of myself.
