Sarah Radcliffe, Technical Administrations Officer
My name is Sarah Radcliffe and I currently work at Bradley Road in the Burials Team.
I joined West Wiltshire District Council (WWDC) in June 2008 on a temporary contract as a Legal Assistant in Planning Enforcement. I then worked with the Local Land and Property Gazetteer and Geographic Information Systems team for four months, before returning to planning in order to cover a maternity leave post for ten months, as a Planning Support Officer.
I applied for permanent posts and was successfully appointed to the Technical Section working from both Bradley Road and Kennet House in Devizes. My role was to administer the sewer crew working out of Kennet House in Devizes and Parsonage Way depot in Chippenham. My time at Bradley Road was spent assisting the Burials Officer running the seven cemeteries that the former WWDC owned. The sewer work has since moved over to Streetscene and is now based at Parsonage Way Depot.
The main aspects of my current role are within the burials section at Bradley Road. I take the bookings for the interments at the seven cemeteries that we own, liaise with our contractors who dig the graves and look after the grass cutting etc. I keep records of all the burials both in our paper records and electronically. My job isn't just office based; I regularly go out to the cemeteries to meet people, who wish to pre-purchase a grave space for example. The job is certainly full of surprises and there are issues to deal with such as rabbits, badgers and moles digging up the cemetery! We also have many enquiries from the public who are researching family trees and require information about their relatives. Apart from the burial work I raise purchase orders and invoices for my department.
In March of this year I was awarded Employee of the Month for going that extra mile by finding a new grave for a family so that the sister could be laid to rest near her brother.
Wiltshire Council is a good employer and has given me plenty of support and opportunities to further my experience and the ability to work flexibly supports both the needs of my role and my family commitments.
