Proposals to share services between three councils in East Kent have taken a major step forward, with the appointment of a Shared Services Director.
Donna Reed, currently the Director of Customer Services and Business Transformation at Thanet District Council, was chosen for the role unanimously by the Leaders and Chief Executives of Canterbury, Dover and Thanet councils. The decision followed a rigorous and intensive interview process.
Donna has worked at Thanet for seven years, initially as Head of the newly formed Customer Service department and more recently as Director of Customer Services and Business Transformation. Previously, Donna has also had senior roles at CIPFA and Kent County Council, where she was their Head of Sales and Marketing in the Commercial Services Directorate.
Chief Executive Richard Samuel said: "The selection process was extremely tough, as you would expect for such an important role, and all three Leaders and Chief Executives were unanimous in their choice. We have no doubt Donna will do a superb job in taking forward shared services across East Kent and, on behalf of the three councils, we all wish Donna every success in her new role."
Donna said: "I'm delighted to be heading up this ground breaking project. It's a really exciting challenge, bringing together the services of three councils and ensuring that we deliver both value for money and the best possible service to residents. I'm looking forward to working with both old and new faces over the coming months and making shared services in East Kent a real success."
The shared services project, which is set to generate savings of up £3.5 million for the three councils over the next four years, will see a number of different areas being merged. The first services expected to be shared are revenues and benefits, IT, building control and customer services.
Before any service enters the project, a business case will need to be prepared and agreed that shows at least a 10% saving in the first two years and the level of service that customers would get. The decision on which services progress forward will be made by each council.
Donna is expected to start her new role in July and will be based in Canterbury.
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