Senior appointments approved to Highland Council executive leadership team
6th September 2019
As part of The Highland Council's Redesign, the Council has announced two further appointments to new posts of Executive Chief Officer (ECO).
Stuart Black, Director of Development and Infrastructure, will take up the post of ECO for Transformation and Economy at the end of the month.
Stuart Black joined the Highland Council as Director of Planning and Development in 2008 and from 2014 was Director of Development and Infrastructure. In this post he was responsible for major projects including the delivery of the Inverness West Link, new council offices in Wick, Kingussie and Fort William, and lead officer for the £315M Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal.
Prior to this he held senior appointments with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and was Lecturer in Land Economy at Aberdeen University.
Stuart said: "I am looking forward to this new role and continuing to drive forward the sustainable economic development of the Highlands which has been the motivation for my career for the past 30 years".
Kate Lackie, previously Business Manager for the Chief Executive office, has been appointed to the post of ECO for Performance and Governance.
Kate has been a member of the Council's Senior Management Team for over 10 years during which time she has led a variety of policy and legislative initiatives and a range of business transformational projects. Kate studied history and political philosophy at Cambridge University before commencing a civil service career in the Northern Ireland Office, working on electoral reform and criminal justice policy before heading up the Political Development Unit responsible for the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. She was Private Secretary to two successive Secretaries of State before relocating to the Highlands to join the Council. Kate has volunteered at her local school, community council and sports clubs over many years and recently gained a Masters degree from Strathclyde University.
Kate said: "I feel very excited and privileged to be taking on this new role at such an important time of change for the Council and I am really looking forward to working with colleagues, Members and communities to drive forward the Council's improvement agenda."
Stuart and Kate will join three new Executive Chief Officers (ECOs) appointed in July
Liz Denovan, ECO - Resources and Finance took up post in August.
Carron McDiarmid, ECO - Customer and Communities takes up post in September.
Lesley Weber, starts on 25th September as ECO - Health and Social Care.
The new senior appointments will each have responsibility for a geographical area which will help to enhance local visibility and enable the Council to become better connected to communities at a local level.
The Highland Council approved all five posts yesterday.
The Highland Council has already significantly reduced senior and middle management posts in recent years saving over £3.5M and is now reducing management layers further. The new structure will also deliver savings.
The remaining Executive Chief Officer posts will be filled in the autumn.
Related Businesses
Related Articles
Trading Standards in Scotland act to drive consumer complaints about motor cars off the number 1 spot
Consumer complaints about second-hand cars have topped the complaints "league table" in Scotland for many years. Common problems include mechanical issues, misdescribed cars and history.
New Polling Scheme approved
Changes to a number of Polling Districts and Polling Places in the Highlands were agreed yesterday (Thursday 5 September 2019) at the meeting of The Highland Council. Members approved a new Scheme of Polling Districts and Polling Places that will be in place for the next four years.Golf club opening marks significant investment in Highland
Kings Golf Club Inverness, (formerly known as Torvean Golf Club), has officially opened a new course and clubhouse on the north side of the A82 trunk road, on the outskirts of Inverness, marking the completion of a £12.35M investment as part of the Inverness West Link Road project. The official opening ceremony took place today, Friday 30th August 2019, with special guest Bernard Gallagher, former three times Ryder Cup Captain and the Provost of Inverness Helen Carmichael.
Apply now for Community Transport grants
The Highland Council is now inviting applications for Community Transport grant funding, to cover the three-year period from April 2020 - March 2023. The Council encourages both current grant recipients and new applicants to submit applications.
Council's Capital Investment in Caithness
During the Caithness Committee on Tuesday 27 August 2019 Members had the opportunity to review progress of the capital programme for the area and scrutinise the amount of money spent to date. The current year's capital investment allocation for projects in the Caithness area is £4,210,000.
Members agree top priority for New Schools Investment Programme
Members have, at a special council meeting today, agreed a top priority for the Scottish Government New Schools Investment Programme bid. Members agreed that the proposed Tain 3-18 Campus project is nominated as The Highland Council's priority for consideration by the Scottish Government for inclusion in the initial phase of the New Schools Investment Programme with a delivery timescale by the end of 2021.Householders warned to be aware of bogus workmen
At this time of year many householders are thinking of their gardens, keeping them tidy or seeing to those jobs that need done before the weather turns. This is also the same time of year for criminals to take advantage of this and prey on the unsuspecting.Chromebook rollout prepares pupils for new era of digital learning
The Council has successfully distributed more than 20,000 Chromebook devices to all its schools to support learners to acquire key technology and life skills in facilitating a digitally enabled generation. Based on the ICT in Learning Strategic Action Plan 2015, The Highland Council started the Chromebook Project in November 2017 where every pupil in P6-S6 will be allocated a Chromebook for their use in school and at home for educational purposes and P1-P5 pupils will have access to Chromebooks at school on a 1:5 ratio.
Highland Placement Programme improves children's lives immeasurably
Considerable effort has been focussed on returning young people to Highland. Since the Councils enhanced Placement Programme began in June 2018, 34 young people have returned to Highland or circumvented OOA (Out of Authority) avoiding costs of over £5M as compared with these young people remaining out of area for a year.Council Funded Advice services assist 22,000 customers, exceed £22.5 million in financial gains
In excess of 22,000 customers were assisted by the Council's Welfare Support Team and Citizens Advice during 2018/19 for support with welfare, debt and housing issues. 3,372 customers were helped by the Welfare Support Team and 18,777 clients were assisted by Citizens Advice.Search Our Site
Information
Useful Links
What's On
Submissions
Newsfeed / RSS
