• Anita
• Barbara
• Bonnie
• Denise
• Nicky
• James
• Kiera
• Sonia

Meet our people

Barbara is responsible for the children who are directly looked after by the council, i.e. the council is their statutory parent. She talks about her commitment to making children's lives as good as they can be and believes the knock-on effect of that effort will benefit people across Essex.

There are many rewards to her work, ranging from children doing well at school to them simply getting more out of life. Barbara also points out the range of training and development opportunities on offer, including gaining internationally recognised qualifications and progressing into management. Progression has been a key theme for her. Since joining as a team manager, she worked her way up to assistant county manager and is now head of service.

Even as a senior manager she continues to develop and has been invited to join the council's leadership programme to champion managerial skills across the service. Barbara thinks Essex, as one of the larger authorities, is uniquely positioned to offer a variety of social work opportunities. Whether people want to work in an urban or rural environment, or specialise in children’s homes or family centres, she believes Essex is the perfect place to develop a career.