Hackney Council appoints a new Director, HR and Organisational Development
Sandra Farquharson FCIPD has been appointed new Director, HR and Organisational Development for Hackney Council. Sandra is currently the Assistant Director People & OD at The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.
A Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, with 35 years of public sector service, Sandra spent 22 years at the Ministry of Defence where she also served as the Vice-Chair of the Ethnic Minority Steering Committee for several years. In her most recent position in Kingston, she won the council’s 2022 Municipal Award for Workforce Transformation, Community Diversity & Inclusion.
This is a key new role for us and is part of a substantial investment in our HR and Organisational Development capability. We want our staff colleagues to say in two years time that we are one of the very best councils in the country. Sandra’s appointment, her membership of the Corporate Leadership Team, and the bringing together of our HR and OD teams are the key building blocks to achieve that.
I am absolutely delighted that I have been appointed as Hackney’s Director, HR and Organisational Development. I accept this role with great pride for what Hackney represents, as a welcoming and diverse borough, that has such strong and committed Members and workforce and cares deeply about the service and support that we give within the community.
Hackney is indeed a special place of significance, having an uncle who came over on the Empire Windrush as a demobbed ex-RAF soldier and another uncle whose first residence when he came to England from Jamaica, was in Hackney. Times have changed significantly since then and I know there are many challenges ahead within Public Services, but I am delighted that I am able to join you all, playing a lead role in supporting how Human Resources contributes to those changes that help us to take care of those who need us most.
Sandra brings a wealth of experience and expertise to Hackney, and I have no doubt that she will be a valuable addition to the Council. I am confident that she will thrive in our welcoming and supportive culture at Hackney, and I am excited to see the positive impact she will have as she starts her new role.