Back office hero

Gillian Randall

Antrim and Newtownabbey BC

Gillian is living embodiment of High Performing Public Sector Manager who puts people first through her strong value based leadership and innovative practice derived from critical analysis of problems to deliver impactive and effective solutions. Her work on digital transformation of the Community Facilities booking service to increase revenue by 50%, reduce phone enquiries by 200%, recover £70,000+ debt and protect against further debt by ensuring 75%+ customers subscribed to Stripe payments. Always going above and beyond with her "How can I Help?" approach saw Gillian annually support 7 Community Christmas Events, International Women's Day and Armed Forces Day

Rubie Charalmabous

Brent LBC

Senior Economic Growth Manager's Role in Promoting Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
•Oversees Mayor's Creative Enterprise Zone (CEZ) project to empower marginalized communities.
• Collaborates with community leaders and organizations to build trust and develop culturally sensitive outreach methods.
• Provides business support, education, job opportunities, and affordable workspace
• Partnerships with local businesses and educational institutions offer entrepreneurship courses, job training programs, and low-cost co-working spaces.
• Achieved significant results, including a 40% increase in community participation in local governance, 30% improvement in access to social services, and establishment of new small businesses.
• Recognized as a best practice by other communities facing similar challenges.

Michelle Batstone

Gravesham BC

Every local authority needs a Michelle. Our Michelle is Corporate Change Manager, a role encompassing projects of dizzying variety and complexity, needing astute project management, clear thinking, attention to detail, cooperative working, and the ability to manage members and senior colleagues with tact and discretion.Gravesham has been navigating through a period of change and challenges. Michelle has been the driving force behind every project that has been part of that, ensuring we stay on track and on schedule. Indeed, it is no small miracle that this entry has been submitted before deadline without her guiding hand on the tiller.

Helen Richardson

Hull City Council

Helen Richardson, Early Help Business Support Manager. Helen’s role is as Business Support for Early Help in Hull. Helen manages a business administration team and supports them to ensure they are also working effectively as a team. She is the ‘go to’ person her colleagues depend upon, go to for support and she answers for many things. She never misses a deadline and never shies away from a task, rather she throws herself in and completes everything she does to an outstanding standard. Helen is an advocate for her team, the families in Hull and the services provided by Early Help. She is passionate about doing the very best she can to ensure families receive the best support.

Maddi Popoola

Nottingham City Council

The impact of Maddi’s leadership is profound. Her team not only achieves its goals but also thrives in a positive, supportive, and dynamic work environment. Maddi’s leadership style cultivates loyalty, fosters a sense of belonging, and drives collective success. Her legacy is reflected in the accomplishments of her team and the enduring positive changes within her organisation. The team has now grown from 20 practitioners to a staff force of 50. Under Maddi's leadership, the service has also grown to cover an 82% reach of education provisions which has earnt the service the trailblazing reputation and title.

Kalbinder Benning

Redbridge LBC

Kalbinder is dedicated to providing better outcomes for our residents, and has a rarely-matched drive to step beyond the obvious end point of a project, making them even better for the community they serve. She opened and launched engagement hubs in the borough, and then continued with the project to create a tranquil garden beside it. Now service users and partners can meet privately and calmly, away from the busy London street.Kal continually looks at new ways of doing things. Her triaging AI chatbot seamlessly directs people to services, resulting in better experiences for customers and for staff.

Ste Sharples

St Helens MBC

Ste Sharples has spearheaded the Councils digital transformation, cloud adoption, agile working and pioneering data strategy to position the Council as one of the most digitally enabled authorities in the country. Ste has demonstrated immense dedication to the organisation and personal resilience when dealing with complex situations, qualities which were tested and proven when the council was the subject of a cyber attack in August 2023. Ste exemplifies the role of a workforce innovator. His passion and commitment is evident in every aspect of his work to build the digitally enabled Council of the future and he is someone that should be recognised as an inspiration for our workforce of the future

Katie Kirton

Stroud DC

Despite only joining the team less than two years ago with limited experience in local government, Katie has innovated Member support and ensured ongoing development opportunities for councillors. Her achievements include creating a Member Champion Framework, coordinating the Member Development Group, developing the Members Hub platform and creating a Councillor Toolkit which has been integral to our councillors induction. Katie's proactive approach significantly enhanced the member development support provided, culminating in Charter status for Member Development in January 2024. She also led complex Local and General Election preparations, demonstrating exceptional organizational skills and maintaining team morale under immense pressure.

Samantha Hodson

West Berkshire Council

As Talent Acquisition Manager, Sam Hodson has worked exceptionally hard to bring stability to our workforce and decrease spend in support of our financial position. Her innovative and collaborative approach over the past 18 months have seen significant results and have helped to improve outcomes for our community. They have also significantly reduced spend on agency workers by over £2 million in this time period, which has been a vital part of our response to an overspending position. This role is Sam‘s first role in local government and she has undertaken it with kindness, creativity and abundant natural ability.

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