Graham White has quit his job as head of human resources at Surrey County Council to take up a similar role at Westminster.
White had been with the council since 2002 after joining from Ulster Bank. He was brought in with the task of reforming the council’s large and disparate HR service.
The council saved more than £9m by dramatically slashing the number of jobs in its HR department from 400 to just 40.
Westminster City Council had been employing an interim head of HR while a permanent replacement for previous incumbent Jonathan Evans was being sought.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
The job commands a salary of up to £117,000, and involves helping to deliver the council’s ‘One City’ vision – a five-year programme to improve the quality of life in the city of Westminster.
Surrey County Council has now begun its search for a replacement for the £100,000-a-year job, based in Kingston. The role holds responsibility for 27,000 staff and is one of the biggest in local government.