Another high-profile Whitehall HR professional has been seconded to work in the private sector.
Susie Maxwell, who had most recently been working within the Civil Service diversity strategy team based in the Cabinet Office, has joined recruitment firm Green Park on a one-year secondment.
Maxwell was previously head of HR at the Prime Minister’s Office at 10 Downing Street. Her move follows that of former Home Office group HR director John Marsh, who is currently working for consultancy Ernst & Young.
Secondments of this nature are not new to the Civil Service, but cabinet secretary Gus O’Donnell and Civil Service HR chief Gill Rider are known to actively encourage senior civil servants to pursue these opportunities.
A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said: “The Civil Service actively supports secondments into the private and wider public sectors, both for HR and other professional fields.
“Secondments provide staff with a good opportunity to learn about other sectors and gain new skills, which they can then transfer back into the Civil Service. This allows us to refresh our knowledge and share best practice across our HR professional network.”
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During her secondment, Maxwell will work in Green Park’s public sector practice on a range of diversity and inclusion projects.
Maxwell said: “It’s a very interesting and exciting step in my career to see resourcing and diversity from the outside.”
