Meet the South West Councils’ Team
Bryony Houlden
Chief Executive
Profile
Bryony has been Chief Executive since the establishment of SW Councils and before that the first CEO of the Regional Assembly. She was previously a senior civil servant. She delivers across the range of SW Councils work.
Bryony’s full biography is here
Fay Edwards
Head of Learning & Development
Profile
Fay has worked in adult learning and professional development for 30 years. As SW Councils’ Head of Learning & Development she oversees the delivery of training, development and End-Point Assessment.
Fay’s full biography is here
Ian Morgan
Head of HR Services
Profile
Ian has over 20 years’ HR experience in Local Government. As SW Councils’ Head of HR Services he oversees the delivery of advice and support across the entire HR remit.
Ian’s full biography is here.
Karen Stone
Business Manager
Profile
Karen manages the Business Management Team with key responsibilities for performance management, governance, democratic services, health and safety, financial, information technology and administrative process and systems support. She also has management oversight of the delivery of the work of the South West Migration Partnership
Karen’s full biography is here
Rachel Grandfield
HR Adviser
Profile
Rachel joined South West Councils in 2010 and has over 20 years’ experience working in HR. She provides advice across all areas of HR as well as being the organisation’s lead advisor on Education HR and undertaking investigations for member organisations.
Rachel’s full biography is here.
Sarah Southcombe
HR Adviser
Profile
Stephanie Smith
HR Adviser
Profile
Steph started at South West Councils as a HR Advisor in July 2016. Prior to joining the team Steph worked in HR for over 10 years gaining experience in a variety of HR roles within the public sector. As well as -providing day the to day HR Advice she enjoys writing HR comms for the newsletters and policy development.
Stephanie’s full biography is here.
Michele Evans
HR Support Officer
Profile
Michele joined South West Councils in 2009 and has over 30 years’ experience in training and HR. Michele provides advice across a range of issues and is the first point of contact for services including online assessments and in-house training provision.
Michele’s full biography is here.
Sarah Papper
Learning & Development Officer
Profile
Sarah began working in the L&D Team in March 2021. She has worked in teaching, training and assessment for 20 years with a recent background in End-Point Assessment and quality and compliance.
Ed Keirle
Learning & Development Officer
Profile
Ed began working in the L&D team in March 2020. He brings assessment and training experience, supporting the delivery and development of our End-Point Assessment service.
Sue Crosland
Learning & Development Officer
Profile
Sue has worked in the L&D team for more than 11 years. She brings experience from both public and private sectors and supports delivery and development of the team’s End-Point Assessment service, open and in-house events, and manages the qualification programmes for the Association of Democratic Service Officers.
Kyran Devitt
Learning & Development Assistant
Profile
Kyran began working with the L&D team in November 2022. Having previously spent 5 years working in Education and brings teaching and delivery experience to the team
Kelly-Anne Phillips
Partnership Officer (SWSMP)
Profile
As Lead Officer of the South West Strategic Migration Partnership (SMP) Kelly-Anne is responsible for delivering the work of the SMP as outlined in the grant agreement from the Home Office. She oversees all migration matters within the region, with particular focus on asylum dispersal and unaccompanied asylum seeking children as well as managing the team. Her key role is to ensure a joined up approach across the region on migration by bringing all partners to work together, as well as acting at the conduit between the Home Office and Local Government. Previously Kelly-Anne started her career as an apprentice straight from school before going on to work within the banking world and then joining South West Councils in 2009.
Bronwyn Prosser
Policy Officer (SWSMP)
Profile
Bronwyn joined South West Councils in April 2017 after 27 years in Local Government. She is a Social Worker with experience and expertise at both operational and strategic Levels. She was a Corporate Social Inclusion Manager for 14 years leading on the council’s and city’s Equality, Diversity, Community Cohesion, Inclusion, Community and Voluntary Sector and Strategic Community Safety Partnership. As a Policy Officer in our Strategic Migration Partnership Team she leads on Refugee Resettlement and English Spoken as an Other Language. She also has in-depth knowledge and experience of Asylum Dispersal, Refugees and Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children.
Randa Najjar
Policy Officer (SWSMP)
Profile
Randa joined South West Councils in Autumn 2021. She holds a BA (Hons) Degree in Sociology and Childhood Youth and Community Studies, an MA in Philosophy of Education and a PhD in Education and Refugee Studies. Before joining South West Councils, Randa worked as a freelance Account Manager and also published articles throughout her PhD around refugee experience, culture, and dialogue. As a Policy Officer in our Strategic Migration Partnership Team, Randa leads on Afghan Resettlement work, and has in depth knowledge of refugee experiences.
Jacky Lai
Policy Officer (SWSMP)
Profile
Jacky joined South West Councils in September 2021 after 5 years in District Council in Hong Kong. He is a BN(O) visa holder with experiences and expertise at community engagement and social equality. He was an Elected District Council Member for 5 years leading on the council’s social facilities development and channelling citizens’ opinions to related departments. As a Policy Officer in our Strategic Migration Partnership Team, he leads on Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Welcome Programme and welcome hub. He also has in-depth knowledges and experiences of communicating with different stakeholders in the community.
Jill Bowditch
Principal Finance Officer
Profile
Jill has undertaken the financial management of the organisation since 1988, originally as part of her role in Somerset County Council, later as part of the SW Regional Assembly and latterly as a member of the Business Management Team of South West Councils. Her responsibilities also include facilities management.
Jessica Willis
Assistant Business Manager
Profile
Jess has worked in the Team since January 2020. She brings experience from both public and not for profit sectors, having worked within HR specialising in resourcing for 3 years and previous to that in FE within training & apprenticeships. She supports a number of internal and external stakeholders with their meeting and training needs and works closely with the Business Manager to support activity across the organisation and within the Business Management Team
Jane Shipton
Administrative Assistant
Profile
Jane has worked in the team since 2016 after working for an educational charity for over 20 years. Jane provides administrative support to colleagues across the organisation which involves ensuring the delivery of a busy schedule of Member and Officer Meetings, including managing and taking the minutes/notes. Jane also provides administrative support to Learning and Development events/conferences to ensure their efficient delivery.
Jane Trunks
Finance Assistant
Profile
Jane joined the team in March 2020, after working for a manufacturing business for over 30 years, in all aspects of financial accounting. Her current role is providing finance and administrative support to the team.
Olivia Morris
Policy and Administrative Assistant
Profile
Olivia started working at South West Councils in October 2021, after finishing her degree in Sociology and Politics in the Summer. Her main duties as a Policy and Administrative Assistant are to support and write notes for meetings, as well as any other administrative tasks that the rest of the organisation needs help with. Additionally, Olivia is involved with the new Hong Kong BN(O) Welcome Hub, which should prove to be an exciting new opportunity.
Jemima Hendy
Policy and Administrative Assistant
Profile
Jemima’s main duties as a Policy and Administrative Assistant are to support and write notes for meetings, as well as any other administrative tasks that the rest of the organisation needs help with. Additionally, Jemima is involved with the new UK and Afghan Resettlement schemes and provides support to HR networks such as EPOG and the Reward Group.
Kate Littlejohns
Administrative Assistant
Profile
Kate’s main duties as an Administrative Assistant are to support and write notes for meetings, to co-ordinate and administer learning and deveopment events, as well as any other administrative tasks that the rest of the organisation needs help with.
Jess Mancer
Administrative Assistant
Profile
Jess provides support and takes notes of meetings, co-ordinates and administers events, as well as any other administrative tasks that the rest of the organisation needs help with.
Alina Duta
Administrative Assistant
Profile
Alina provides administrative support including maintaining the customer relationship managment system and supporting the planning, organisation and administrtion of meeetings.
Nick Forster
Administrative Assistant (Temp)
Profile
Nick worked in the team for two years between 2020 and 2022 and has had a break whilst he has persued other career opportunities. Nick will be working temporarily with us at the beginning of 2023 to help provide policy and admin support.