20 October 2017
The States of Jersey Chief Executive, John Richardson, has announced that he is stepping down a few weeks earlier than previously planned, bringing forward the transfer of control of the public sector to his successor.
Mr Richardson, who has led the States of Jersey administration since 2011, asked the Chief Minister to agree to an earlier departure date, to avoid any confusion over accountabilities and authority by overlapping with the incoming Chief Executive, Charlie Parker.
Chief Minister, Senator Ian Gorst, said “John Richardson has served the island of Jersey with distinction over 35 years, and on behalf of the government and the people of Jersey, I want to thank him for his dedication to public service and wish him the very best in his well-deserved retirement.”
Mr Richardson said “I am immensely proud of what we have achieved over the past six years and I know the organisation is much stronger now and has adapted to the many challenges we have all faced together. The modernisation programme is well established and provides the base from which the new team will be able to develop the public sector further, to ensure it continues to provide high-quality and efficient public services.”
Mr Parker, who has been holding informal meetings in Jersey since his appointment was announced in July, will begin to take up the reins on a phased basis from November. He will be supported by the Treasurer of the States, Richard Bell, who will have operational responsibility until Mr Parker is permanently in post in January.
In the meantime, Mr Parker is assembling a specialist transition team, comprising some internal experts from within the States of Jersey and some external experts, who have extensive experience of organisational and service transformation in the public and private sectors.
Four external appointments have so far been made, in line with public appointments procedures and approved by the Jersey Appointments Commission. They are:
- Anna Daroy – Chief Operating Officer
- Stephen Hardwick – Director of Communications
- Jacquie McGeachie – Organisational Transformation Consultant
- Camilla Black – Strategic Finance Review Consultant.
The appointments are initially for six months and will all report to Mr Parker as part of the senior leadership. Ms Daroy and Mr Hardwick took up their posts on 18 October, and Ms McGeachie and Ms Black will start shortly, once they are free from prior commitments.
gov.je