Barbara Peacock, a former senior council employee, has landed the executive director job in charge of education, housing and social care in the borough, the council announced this morning.
Barbara Peacock: returning to Croydon
Peacock will succeed Paul Greenhalgh as “executive director, people”, when he takes early retirement in July.
The position is one of the three most senior jobs at Croydon Council, carrying with it a six-figure salary.
Peacock will be arriving at Fisher’s Folly at a time of considerable flux among the hot-desking execs: as well as Greenhalgh’s departure, CEO Nathan Elvery is due to leave, with the exec director for place, Jo Negrini, taking charge as interim chief executive.
Peacock previously worked at Croydon for three years from 2007 as director for development and care, during which time she led on children’s social care and school standards. She has also worked at Action for Children, the country’s largest children’s charity. She worked at Sandwell council in the Midlands for two years after leaving Croydon, and moves back to south London after four years at Medway as director of children and adults services.
“I’m confident that Barbara has all of the personal qualities and experience we were looking for and I’m delighted to be able to welcome her back to Croydon, where she has already shown her ability to drive change,” is what the press office suggested that Tony Newman, the leader of the council, might say.
On the announcement of her new job in Croydon, today Peacock was quoted as saying: “It’s tremendously exciting to be returning to a borough I already know so well to help the council to continue delivering improved services to local people. I’ve developed a variety of new skills in my time away and I’m determined to use my many years of experience to lead what I know is an exceptionally strong set of services at an important time in the borough’s history.”
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The question must be asked, how can one individual be ultimately responsible for Education, Housing and Social Care. Three massive issues in any borough let alone one like Croydon that’s shambolic to say the least. The world in which councils operate are just too complex for one person to successfully manage all three. A one legged person in an arse kicking competition springs to mind.