Associate Programme

To recruit an Associate, you must:

• Be able to secure funding and HR approvals for a minimum of 12-month placement starting on the date of the cohort you are applying for (April or October).
• All roles applied for must have already been unsuccessfully advertised, and HR sign-off must be agreed upon before you submit your EOI.
• Ensure that the programme is compatible with your procurement rules.
• Be able to provide the selected Associate with a formal job offer and sign an employment contract a month before the Associate is due to start in post.
• Roles must be establishment posts within an Authority – Associates are not to be employed as a contractor or via an agency.
• You must have signed our Authority Agreement to be eligible for shortlisting. We will only invoice you for our fee if you successfully recruit a candidate.

No, Public Practice operates two intakes each year, one for jobs starting in the spring (April) and the other in the autumn (October).

We try to provide a small window on either side of these two months in exceptional circumstances. We always recommend contacting us to explain your hiring needs, and then we can advise accordingly.

Public Practice does not conduct pre-employment checks on behalf of Authorities. You should follow your normal full procedures concerning pre-employment checks when taking on an Associate.

Associates are employed directly by the Authority.

You will be expected to provide the Associate with an employment contract in the same way you would any other employee. We do not accept Associates as freelancer contractors or via agencies or umbrella companies.

As the Associate’s employer, your organisation will pay the Associate directly. The Expression of Interest form asks for an expected salary range, and Associates will also provide their current salary in their applications to Public Practice. Public Practice will share salary information with candidates when matches are proposed. The final pay arrangements are to be negotiated between you and the Associate.

Typically, funding for placements is secured from a variety of sources:

• Budget growth / restructures
• Insourcing services
• Internal/external recharging
• Uplift in planning fees
• Planning Performance Agreement fees
• Design Review fees

We only charge a fee if you successfully recruit an Associate through us.

Upon entering into an employment contract with an Associate, your Authority will be asked to pay a placement fee to Public Practice of £6,000 (+VAT).

In the rare circumstance that an Associate leaves the position within the first 5 months, we also offer a tapering refund.

Authorities can agree to extend the contract with their Associate at the end of the original term if it is not already permanent. There is no additional fee to Public Practice if the Authority wishes to extend or offer Associates a permanent contract at the end of the fixed term period.

On submission of an Expression of Interest, we review your submission and issue you with our Service Level Agreement within 5 working days. A template of the draft agreement can be requested from us in advance if you wish.

Agreements must be signed to proceed with the process.