*Please note that this lecture has now been rescheduled to Monday 16th June, 3pm
Northumberland
is a 'Land of Great Opportunities' and the County's Chief Executive believes
working in local government opens up equally great opportunities for people
who are passionate about serving communities.
In her inaugural
lecture as Northumbria University’s newest Visiting Professor, Dr Helen
Paterson will talk about her role running a local authority and what it means
to be a modern, responsive council; the challenges in terms of funding,
changing demand and expectation as well as the great opportunities that
councils and their partners can harness to benefit their residents.
About the Speaker
Helen is the Chief Executive at Northumberland County
Council. After initially teaching in Yorkshire, she successfully led three
Primary schools in Hampshire. From 2003 she was a Director in Solihull and
Executive Director of Children’s Services in Sunderland 2005-10. From 2010, in
Sunderland, as Strategic Director for Transformation, she led the Council’s
business transformation, efficiency and improvement work. She was Chief
Executive at Wrexham Borough Council from 2011-17 and at Walsall Metropolitan
Borough Council from 2017-2023.
Her priorities are
growing resilient communities through reframing the Council's relationship with
the public and the local economy. She seeks to harness the opportunities, time,
and energy within communities to enable them to develop themselves into strong
local providers of services. With the economy her focus is on investing in
skills and securing investment for jobs. She believes these foci increase
economic and social wellbeing and ultimately tackle inequality and poverty in
our communities. Helen has been influential in shaping innovative practice
nationally in England and Wales particularly within business transformation;
digital enabling; governance arrangements; regeneration; alternative delivery
models; social care; health and education.
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