Public sector jobs in Plymouth

Defence sets Plymouth apart. HM Naval Base Devonport is a large Royal Navy base, and around it sit Ministry of Defence civilian jobs and work for defence contractors. The other big public employers are University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust at Derriford, Plymouth City Council, the schools and the Devon-wide police and fire services. Most civilian public sector pay here follows national scales, starting at £25,272 in the NHS and £25,614 at the council in 2026/27.

Defence and the naval base

Devonport is a home port for Royal Navy ships and submarines, so the city has a large serving population as well as civilian defence staff. Joining the Royal Navy goes through a national recruitment system and no local job application. Joining the Royal Navy explains the steps.

Armed forces pay rose by 3.6 per cent, backdated to 1 April 2026. New-entrant starting pay is £27,282 for other ranks and £35,926 for junior officers (armed forces pay).

Civilian MOD posts in and around the base, such as administration, logistics, engineering support and finance, are advertised on Civil Service Jobs. Many need security clearance and some are reserved for UK nationals. A lot of the industrial work at the dockyard is done by private contractors, whose jobs are on different terms from the Civil Service. MOD civilian jobs explains the difference.

Derriford and health services

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust runs Derriford Hospital, the main acute hospital for Plymouth, west Devon and east Cornwall. Livewell Southwest, a social enterprise that delivers NHS services, provides community health services in the city. It is not an NHS trust, so read its contract terms on pay and pension carefully before accepting an offer. South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust runs 999 services across the South West.

Agenda for Change pay from 1 April 2026:

Band	Pay range	Roles
2	£25,272	Healthcare support worker, housekeeper
3	£25,760 to £27,476	Senior support worker, clerical officer
5	£32,073 to £39,043	Staff nurse, newly qualified paramedic
6	£39,959 to £48,117	Experienced paramedic, senior nurse

Paramedics usually join the ambulance service at band 5 and move to band 6 after a period of consolidation, depending on the trust. How to become a paramedic covers the degree and apprenticeship routes.

Plymouth City Council

Plymouth City Council is a unitary authority, responsible for social care, children’s services, housing, waste, parks, highways, libraries and support for schools. Its staff are paid on the NJC spine, which rose by 3.3 per cent from 1 April 2026. SCP 3 is £25,614 and SCP 20 is £33,673. Council employees join the Local Government Pension Scheme, and on pay from £18,401 to £29,000 the main section contribution in 2026/27 is 5.8 per cent.

Police and fire

Devon and Cornwall Police covers Plymouth along with the rest of the two counties and the Isles of Scilly. New constables start at £32,255 (PP1, from 1 September 2026) and reach £52,015 at PP7. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service pays firefighters £31,539 in development and £40,358 once competent from 1 July 2026. Both employ civilian staff on locally set terms, and the fire service also recruits on-call firefighters.

Schools

Plymouth’s schools are a mix of council-maintained schools and academy trusts. Teacher pay from 1 September 2026 starts at £34,069 (M1) outside London, under the award accepted by the government in July 2026. Teaching assistants and other support staff are on the NJC spine and usually term-time only, so the annual pay is a percentage of the full-time figure on the advert.

Applying from Plymouth

Other large public sector employers are a long way off, so most people look for work within Plymouth itself or commute into south-east Cornwall or west Devon. Civilian defence and other Civil Service roles are on Civil Service Jobs. NHS roles at Derriford are on NHS Jobs. Council, police and fire service jobs are on each organisation’s own site, and school roles on Teaching Vacancies.