Public sector jobs in Norwich

Norwich is Norfolk’s county city, and a lot of county-wide public sector work is run from here. Norfolk County Council has its headquarters at County Hall in the city, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital sits on its south-western edge, and community health, mental health, police and fire services for the whole county are managed from Norwich or close by. Many of these jobs involve travel across a large rural county, which affects how you are paid as well as what you are paid.

The main employers

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust runs the main acute hospital at Colney, just outside the city boundary. Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust provides community nursing and therapy services, and Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health services across both counties. East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust covers 999 calls.

Local government is two-tier. Norfolk County Council runs adult and children’s social care, education services, highways, libraries and Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service. Norwich City Council handles housing, planning, waste collection and environmental health within the city, while Broadland and South Norfolk district councils cover the suburbs and countryside around it.

Norfolk Constabulary covers the whole county from its headquarters at Wymondham, south-west of the city.

Pay in 2026/27

Employer	Pay point	Annual pay
NHS	Band 2	£25,272
NHS	Band 5	£32,073 to £39,043
NHS	Band 6	£39,959 to £48,117
Councils	NJC SCP 3	£25,614
Councils	NJC SCP 25	£37,563
Police	Constable PP1	£32,255
Fire	Firefighter (development)	£31,539
Schools	Teacher M1	£34,069

NHS rates apply from 1 April 2026, council rates from 1 April 2026 after the 3.3 per cent award, police from 1 September 2026, fire from 1 July 2026 and teachers from 1 September 2026 (once the 2026 pay and conditions document is in force for maintained schools).

Jobs that cover the county

Community and social care roles based in Norwich often cover large patches. A district nurse or community therapist may visit patients in villages miles from the base, and an adult social worker in a county team may cover a wide rural area. The fire service also has on-call firefighters based at stations in market towns.

For jobs like these, the travel terms matter as much as the salary:

• Mileage rates. NHS trusts pay mileage under the Agenda for Change handbook, and councils under their own policies. If your employer pays less than HMRC’s approved mileage allowance payments, you may be able to claim tax relief on the difference (mileage allowance and tax relief).
• Essential car user status. Some council posts carry an essential car user allowance because the job cannot be done without a car (essential car user allowance).
• Lease and salary sacrifice cars. Many NHS trusts and councils run them. They reduce taxable pay but can affect pension and other pay-linked benefits.

Ask about these at interview if the job involves driving.

Pensions and leave

Council staff, including Norfolk Fire and Rescue support staff, join the Local Government Pension Scheme. In 2026/27 a member earning between £29,001 and £47,300 pays 6.5 per cent in the main section, or half that in the 50/50 section, which builds up half the pension. NHS staff join the NHS Pension Scheme, where someone earning £32,073 pays 8.3 per cent. NHS staff start on 27 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays, and council staff on at least 23 days plus bank holidays and two extra days.

Many community and school staff work part-time. Leave and pay are then pro rata, and the LGPS contribution band follows what you actually earn, not the full-time figure.

Where to apply

NHS roles at the Norwich trusts are on NHS Jobs. Norfolk County Council, Norwich City Council and the district councils each run their own careers pages, as does Norfolk Constabulary. School jobs, in Norwich’s maintained schools and academy trusts, are mostly on Teaching Vacancies.