A view from the top

摘要

Jan Parkinson, the next president of SOCPO, whose conference is this week, once studied linguistics and worked in Paris, before moving into the public sector. She talks to Michael Burton about HR, her career in the North East - and why she still loves France. In another life, Jan Parkinson might have been lecturer in linguistics or a manager in Paris. Nowadays however, the view from her office is not of the Eiffel Tower, but of the booming skyline of Gateshead where she is HR director "or the council. Ms Parkinson is an unusual local govemment manager. Apart from a training in languages, she has worked in Paris, studied for an MBA, and spent many years in the health sector. She retains a fondness for all things French, is into fitness, and las completed the Great North Run. She is also a non-executive director of a housing association and this year, becomes president of the Society of Personnel Officers, whose annual conference is in Brighton this week.