About the HR Recruiters' Forum committee

The committee is formed of key HR and resourcing directors from all areas of the public sector.

The role of the committee

Chosen for their experience in recruiting and retaining talent, they are in the perfect position to run the Forum and be the voice of its members.

Committee members meet on a regular basis to agree on the membership criteria, topics for the events and additional resources of use.

Nominations

We are always looking for additional directors of HR or resourcing to join the committee and run the Forum. We would ideally like to have a representation from all areas of the public sector, so would particularly welcome volunteers from an ALMO, central government, NHS and not for profit. If you are interested, please email Honor Simmonds who can provide you with more information.

The committee

Sally Jacobson

HR Board level consultant

Sally is an non-executive director for a number of organisations both in the Housing and Health sectors. Sally is also a consultant in HR working both independently and with Savills, specialising in governance, change management and employee engagement. This follows an extensive and highly successful career at London & Quadrant Housing Group. As Group HR Director Sally was responsible for 1,200 staff and her remit included HR, training, facilities management, TUPE transfers and customer care. Under Sally's management London & Quadrant received the following prestigious awards: Investors in People, Charter Mark and Age Positive Champion. The Group was placed in the in the prestigious Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies to Work for, 6 years running. Tower Homes, part of the L&Q Group was placed at Number 1 in the list in 2006, and won a special award for work life balance. London & Quadrant is also listed in the Financial Times 50 Best Workplaces in the UK 2008 and have appeared on the list for the last 3 years.

Gill Sharpe

Independent HR Consultant - Modini Ltd

Gill Sharpe's HR career began in the Army, with sole responsibility for a platoon of 35 servicewomen drivers and a fleet of Land Rovers. Life since then has been a little less colourful. For almost four years she was a senior manager in Corporate Personnel at the Natural Environment Research Council, a Public Sector Research Establishment (PSRE). Responsibilities were wide ranging, with a complex ER caseload and a remit for organisational redevelopment. For the previous seven years Gill was the HR Manager for an SME which organised the 'greatest military air show in the world' with responsibility for 65 permanent staff and 4000 volunteers. She was then Interim HR Consultant for the GreenSquare Group, a partnership between Westlea Housing and the Oxford Citizens Housing Association. Originally the role was as Head of Corporate Services, but with the merger the role changed to Health and Safety and Projects Consultant, with responsibility, amongst other things for embedding Profile Investors in People into the new organisation.

Gill is currently working as Head of Human Resources Group, which provides the HR function for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Council and the Economic and Social Research Council. All the Government Research Councils are transitioning to a Shared Service Centre environment, which will be based in Swindon, but will provide services nationally. As well as managing the migration piece, the role is also responsible for delivering business as usual throughout the transition, so she is maintaining a swan-like progress across a sea of change!

Vicki Fruish

HR Trustee of the Hospice of St Francis

Vicki has over 20 years experience in HR gained with a variety of employers in different sectors including Deloitte Haskins & Sells, PricewaterhouseCoopers (and its predecessor firm Coopers & Lybrand Deloitte) and Boosey & Hawkes. She currently heads HR and employee development at the Royal Institute of British Architects, the UK body for architecture and the architectural profession. The RIBA employs some 230 staff and provides support for c. 40,500 members worldwide in the form of training, technical services, publications and events. It also sets standards for the education of architects both in the UK and overseas. Current major projects lead by, or centrally involving HR include rationalizing business planning processes, re-engineering key operational processes such as programme and project management, working toward IIP re-accreditation, reducing employee turnover, developing model manager criteria, linking performance with remuneration and promoting wellbeing at work.

Simon Hart

Director of HR & OD, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Simon has worked for the NHS for the last 15 years after an accidental conversation with a GP about the Dead Sea Scrolls! After an early career in clinical audit he has worked in a range of generalist and specialist operational HR roles in the acute, community and mental health settings.

Prior to joining Oxleas Simon worked at Guy's & St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust for seven years, initially as an HR manager and then as Head of Operational HR.

As well as the HR department Simon is also responsible for the Organisational Development and Communications teams at Oxleas. His current focus is on the development and effective use of HR systems and information to support workforce planning and performance management.

Brian Benneyworth

Group Director of HR and Performance Management at LHA-ASRA Group

Brian started his career at Tesco in retail management spending 19 years in various store and project management roles. He then changed his career becoming a HR Manager with Safeway PLC and spent 9 years developing both his academic and professional experience. Brian has worked in the specialist fields of employee relations, organisational and management development, and resourcing.

Brian moved from Safeway to take his first HR Director role in 2003 working for Inchcape Automotive where he developed a successful HR team and infrastructure. In 2006 Brian spent a year working internationally for the Inchcape Group specifically working on a global competency and leadership framework for the business. Brian joined the LHA-ASRA Group in 2007, his first venture in to the not for profit sector. Brian has been working on aligning HR strategy with corporate objectives and developing capability within the Group, including resourcing a new executive team. During this time the LHA-ASRA Group has received a number of both local and national awards.