News / Dual role for Hazel Sutherland
ONE OF Shetland Islands Council’s most senior directors has been given the additional task of heading the authority’s finances on an interim basis.
The SIC’s executive director of education and social care Hazel Sutherland will take on responsibility for the finance department when its current chief Graham Johnston takes early retirement at the end of this month.
The 44 year old is the council’s most senior qualified accountant having trained in the profession at the SIC and worked her way up through a variety of posts, including general manager of Shetland Charitable Trust.
The announcement comes as SIC chief executive Alistair Buchan heads up a complete overhaul of the council’s senior management team following last year’s highly critical report into the authority by local government watchdog The Accounts Commission.
Last week councillors agreed to a new committee structure and appointed vice convener Josie Simpson as their political leader in the first wave of structural changes being promoted by Mr Buchan as part of the SIC improvement plan.
On Monday Mr Buchan said Ms Sutherland would retain her new dual role at finance as well as education and social care until a new management structure is in place, which he would like to have completed by this summer.
Her appointment comes at a time when the council is implementing a series of budget cuts to control its runaway spending, with further cuts on the cards as local government funding tightens.
Welcoming the appointment, she hinted that a period of public consultation over how the council should save money was imminent.
“I hope that my combined experience of finance and front line service delivery will mean that I can help the council to find ways to become more efficient,” she said.
“I think it’s really important that the public understands the council’s finances and the choices which it has on how and where to spend money. I’m looking forward to having that discussion with the local community.”
Mr Buchan said that Ms Sutherland would be splitting her time between the two departments, and she would be receiving a great deal of support from senior managers in education and social care.
The chief executive himself and finance consultant Brian Lawrie, former director of corporate services with Fife Council, will be helping her with the SIC’s financial strategy to save money.
Mr Buchan said he was almost ready to share proposals for restructuring with the senior management team, after which there would have to be a period of consultation which would dictate the speed at which the changes can be implemented.
Ms Sutherland joined the SIC as secretary to the housing director in 1985, training as an accountant with the authority from 1987 to 1991 before working her way up to become head of corporate policy in 2001.
She joined Shetland Charitable Trust as general manager in 2004 before returning to the SIC as executive director of education and social care in 2007 following the departure of Jacqui Watt to the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations.
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