The professional body for HR practitioners in the public sector has elected a new president and expanded its board.
Pam Parkes, commissioner at Birmingham City Council, will serve as the new president of the Public Services People Managers Association until 2026, replacing Gordon McFarlane.
Parkes is supported by four new vice-presidents following the association’s decision to expand its board to make it more diverse, which it hopes will better develop its leadership pipeline.
The vice-presidents are: Sandra Farquharson, director of HR and OD at Hackney Borough Council; Steve Walker-Whitehead, director of people, equality and OD, Hounslow Borough Council; Natasha Brown, director of HR at Waltham Forest Borough Council; and Nichola Mann, acting director of people & governance at Brentwood Borough and Rochford District Councils.
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Together with other board members, they will support Parkes to provide leadership and build relationships with new and existing partners and sponsors.
Parkes said in response to her election that “HR has a key role to play in solving some of the big problems we face in the delivery of public services.”
Given that this year the country may have a new government, she said, “a critical mass of talented leaders is required to drive wider sector improvements and productivity. As is the way we organise and build our workforce capability.”
Parkes added that she would continue to advocate the role HR played in tackling people challenges, supporting transformation and giving advice which ensures every organisation can get the best from their people.
She praised former president McFarlane, under whom the PPMA had “strengthened its offer to members” and had boosted membership.
Parkes said she wanted to build on McFarlane’s legacy by focusing on seven policy areas. Among them was the promotion of the association’s talent development programmes and the strengthening of links with other public sector membership bodies.
These relationships would be increasingly important as HR embraced AI and helped transform public service delivery, where “system leadership will be key”.
She added she would “continue to speak truth constructively to power. To counter unwarranted, negative narratives in the media, preserve workforce morale and positively impact public perception.”
Parkes has 40 years’ experience in HR, recently as executive director for people and transformation at Essex County Council. In her role as commissioner to Birmingham City Council, her tasks include exploring solutions to the local authority’s equal pay issue.
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