Community based charity Barca-Leeds has announce two new additions to its senior management team.
The West Leeds organisation, which has offices off Wyther Lane and Upper Town Street in Bramley, has announced Laura Whitaker is joining them as new Operations Director for Children, Young People & Families.
Laura has been involved in a variety of roles with children, young people and families throughout her life, previously working in management roles in the statutory and charity sector, and will currently have responsibility for the Counselling Schools Clusters service, Emotional Wellbeing, FDAC, Reclaim, Targeted Family Support, YIP and Youth Work.
Bill Owen has taken up the role of Operations Director for Employability and Community Health.
Bill was previously a manager at Forward Leeds and started in that role in 2015 having previously managed an alcohol service within Leeds. Bill will have responsibility for our Activ-8 project, Better Together, Linking Leeds, Stronger Families and The West Leeds Men’s Network.
Laura and Bill will join Paula Gardner, Operations Director for Complex Needs, and Sue Dean, Director of Finance & HR.
Barca-Leeds has also confirmed that Helen Hart has been appointed to the newly created role of Managing Director.
Mark Law, CEO said:
“We are really excited by the additional skills and knowledge that these changes will bring to our senior management team.
“Throughout the past year, we have continued to deliver all of our services and provide additional support in response to the pandemic. Despite a significant increase in activity, our SMT was very limited in its capacity to develop our work further. Laura and Bill’s experience will add a great deal to our capacity to respond to community needs and I am confident that under Helen’s leadership our Senior Management Team will continue to develop the whole organisation and enable it to thrive.”