About

The City of London Corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile, but our work goes beyond that of a local authority and our impact echoes far beyond these boundaries. We’re dedicated to a vibrant and thriving City, but our work contributes to a diverse and sustainable London as well as a globally successful UK.

What we do

We like to say this is the City of whatever you make it. And we mean that. The sheer diversity of our responsibilities throws up a career’s worth of opportunities. And all of this stems from our position as the uniquely-connected champion of the Square Mile.

The Square Mile is the historic centre of London and is also known as the ‘City’ – the financial and commercial heart of the UK. Our reach extends far beyond the City’s boundaries, making a positive contribution to the private, public, charity and community sectors across the capital and beyond.

This, along with our independent and non-party political voice and convening power, enables us to promote the interests of people and organisations across London and the country and play an influential role on the world-stage.

We’re also responsible for a wide portfolio of work and institutions including the City of London Police, the London Port Health Authority, the Barbican and the Guildhall School. Not to mention green spaces such as Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest, as well the Animal Reception Centre at Heathrow.

Working for us

The City of London Corporation provides a unique range of services beyond the roles of any ordinary local authority. We offer a variety of employment opportunities and are developing and evolving the way we work to ensure we remain at the forefront of social enhancement

A commitment to diversity

We’ve been a successful and prominent organisation for centuries but the secret to our success is to . And the way we keep developing, evolving and staying relevant . We do thisis by ensuring we continue to bring in ideas, energy and expertise from outsideour external environment. This is where you could come in.

The diversity of the people we look for extends to where they join us from.

We welcome applications from all sections of the community, enabling people to be valued for their strengths and to reach their full potential.

We’re proud to be a member of the Disability Confident scheme and of our status as an Employer with Heart and a London Living Wage employer.

We value the rich diversity and creative potential people with different backgrounds, skills and abilities bring to the workplace.

We take all our obligations seriously – especially in terms of employment/equality law and Codes of Practice.

Our Equal Opportunities Statement (80KB) aims to treat all current and prospective employees fairly, with dignity and respect. 

Apprenticeships

We have two apprenticeship routes within our team, AAT and professional accountant.

The AAT route covers level three and four AAT apprenticeships and is managed as part of the corporate apprenticeship scheme.

The professional accountant route is a level seven apprentice programme bespoke to the service. This has recently been redesigned and includes rotation around the service, mentorship and a progressive remuneration scheme aligned with progression through the qualification. Our aim is to train and retain our apprentices as we grow them into the finance leaders of tomorrow.

Learning & Development

High-calibre learning and development are right at the heart of who we are. At the City of London Corporation, we’re proud to offer a wide variety of opportunities for employees to keep their skills updated and fresh with new ideas, research and technology.

The city of growth

Our philosophy is to use a blended approach to learning – offering a rich and wide-ranging selection of courses. These are aimed at developing your skills and confidence across the board, using interactive and fun delivery methods.

Our online learning portal is a great tool too. City Learning is accessible via most mobile devices to give all our people the flexibility to learn in a way – and at a time -that suits them.

We’ve also upgraded our training rooms with technology to enhance the learner experience and added new courses that challenge old ideas and thoughts around classroom delivery.

Development is not all about classroom and online learning. We take a much broader view as we attempt to tailor your development to suit your needs and ambitions. For example:

  • Coaching and mentoring opportunities with qualified coaches and mentors
  • Shadowing
  • Apprenticeships and levy-funded training from level 2 to level 7
  • Profiling tools to help support individual and team development
  • Bespoke training and team interventions
  • Facilitation of team away days

Within the finance service we have a dedicated learning board with representatives from each functional area of finance. This board is responsible for identifying training needs and developing or procuring training materials, courses or work experiences that meet those needs. Upskilling our team to ensure that they meet the needs of the future of finance is a significant focus area in our transformation programme. 

There are also other learning events for you to attend. Rediscover Learning is the annual employee campaign to inspire continuous learning. This ranges from

conference events to a programme of bite-size sessions often run by our own employees. Rediscover Learning usually takes place in May each year to tie in with national Learning at Work Week. A version goes on tour away from the Guildhall to locations such as the Ports, Hampstead Heath and the Animal Reception Centre at Heathrow. 

Rewards and wellbeing

We believe that rewards go well beyond salary. That’s why we’ve spent time and resources developing an all-round package of life-improving benefits and offers.

Benefits

There are a wide variety of benefits and discounts available to City Corporation employees. Here are just some of them:

Travel and Transport

  • An interest-free annual season ticket loan and bicycle loan. Cycle 2 Work, a salary sacrifice scheme that saves you paying tax or national insurance when getting a new bike.

Education and Learning

  • A wide range of in-house and external courses to help with professional and personal development. 

Arts and Culture

  • Free entry to Tower Bridge exhibition and Guildhall Art Gallery; discounts at the Barbican cinema; West End theatre offers.

CityBenefits Portal

  • Access to the CityBenefits portal, which is run by Reward Gateway, for a range of retail and leisure benefits.

Annual Leave

  • A minimum annual leave entitlement of 28 days plus eight bank/public holidays (full time equivalent).

Pension

  • Employees are automatically admitted to the City Corporation's Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
  • With LGPS, there is no investment risk – this is a pension based on your pay and length of service, and your pension increases with inflation, so the value of your pension is protected.
  • The City of London Corporation Share the cost of your pension, and you receive protection and security on ill-health, family and dependents.

Health and Wellbeing

  • Corporate rates for gym memberships and our own staff sports and social clubs.

CityWell

  • CityWell is the City Corporation's Employee Health and Wellbeing Strategy. The aim is to establish a resilient health and wellbeing programme which continues to develop and adapt to the changing needs of City Corporation employees in years to come.

Staff Networks

  • We are committed to supporting and encouraging our Staff Diversity Networks at the City Corporation. We recognise the benefits and opportunities the networks create, driving employee engagement, enthusiasm and collaboration around important equality and inclusion issues.
  • We have 7 Staff Diversity Networks that every employee is welcome to join, enabling colleagues to meet and discuss common themes and issues in a safe and confidential environment.
    • City Pride LGBTQ+ Network
    • Multi-Faith Network
    • Disability, Ability and Wellbeing Network (DAWN)
    • Women's Inclusive Network (WIN)
    • Carers and Parent's Network
    • CLEAR (City of London Ethnicity and Race) Network
    • Young Employees Network (YEN)

Employee Volunteering Programme

  • The City Corporation, in line with its aims to contribute to a flourishing society, shape outstanding environments and support a thriving economy, offers employees paid special leave time during normal hours to encourage employees to volunteer their time and skills to Volunteer Involving Organisations (VIOs) operating within the Square Mile, London and beyond.

Other

  • A payroll giving scheme.