Heather Barnes on Devon County Council
Classic car enthusiast Heather Barnes joined Devon County Council as head of
HR in June. Passionate about her red, soft-top 1969 Triumph TR6, she is taking
it to Brittany for two weeks this year. She likes to combine car events with
fundraising for the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths.
Barnes joins the council from Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, where she was
responsible for personnel and training. In her new position, she will take care
of HR services including employee relations, recruitment, payroll and training.
Her role is primarily about strategic leadership.
"I hope to raise the profile of HR and demonstrate what it can provide
to an organisation as diverse as this," she says.
Initially, Barnes intends to develop the HR service from within, focusing on
the continual professional development of HR staff. While operational delivery
and HR strategy had previously been separate, her new post brings them both
together.
She cites influencing and persuading as her strengths, and says the biggest
risk she ever took was resigning from a post in Scotland without having a clear
indicator of where her career was going.
CV
June 2001 Head of HR, Devon County Council
March 2000 Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, personnel and training manager
1995 HR director, Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration
1994 Personnel officer, Central Regional Council
On the move…
Julia Cheeseman has joined TLH Leisure Resort in Torquay as its new training
officer. She will be responsible for training, including the staff in the central
departments and at its four hotels. She will organise induction courses for new
staff and modify existing programmes including food hygiene and health and
safety.
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Accountant and business adviser PKF has expanded its HR department with
three new appointments. Elizabeth Barton joins as HR manager, having worked at
Tesco and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. She will be responsible for
day-to-day operational issues such as remuneration, performance management and
policies and procedures. Nigel Hutchinson will head a specialist team focusing
on the recruitment of fee earning staff. Mary Murphy, who has worked at PKF for
over four years, has become development manager, concentrating on career
development.
Alison Frondigoun will join Edinburgh-based accountancy firm Chiene &
Tait CA as HR manager. Previously with Scottish Provident, she will provide
in-house and external HR support. As the role is new, she will cover all
aspects of HR from policy through to implementation.
