Senior officers

Organisational chart showing the senior leadership structure of the council as of June 2026. The Chief Executive sits at the top, with five direct reports responsible for Resources, Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services, Communities and Adult Social Care, Children’s Services, and Communications and Marketing. Beneath these are directors and interim leaders responsible for functions including finance, legal services, digital and technology, culture, property, public health, education, housing, commissioning, transformation and safeguarding. The chart uses colour coding to indicate permanent, interim and vacant posts.

Head of Paid Service

Jackie Yates – Chief Executive

Overall management to staff and for advising councillors on how the authority should discharge the council’s functions and the number, organisation and grading of employees required to achieve this.

Grade: Chief Executive

Salary:  £188,228

Reporting to the Chief Executive

Emma Gee – Executive Director of Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services (DEGNS)

Lead for all services within the directorate which include:

  • Culture
  • Planning, transport and public protection
  • Infrastructure, economy and growth
  • Climate strategy
  • Environmental and commercial services
  • Property and assets

Grade: CDIR + MS

Salary:  £130,633 – £158,819

Melissa Wise – Executive Director Communities and Adult Social Care (DCASC)

Lead for all services within the directorate which include:

  • Adult care services
  • Safeguarding, quality and performance
  • Wellbeing and public health for Reading

Grade: CDIR + MS

Salary:  £130,633 – £158,819

Louise Duffield – Executive Director Resources (DoR)

Lead for all services within the directorate which include:

  • HR and OD
  • Finance
  • Legal and democratic services
  • Policy, change and customer services
  • ICT and digital

Grade: CDIR + MS

Salary:  £130,633 – £158,819

Lara Patel – Executive Director Children’s Services (DOCS)

Lead for all services within the directorate which include:

  • Childrens commissioning, resource and performance services
  • Education services
  • Family help and safeguarding services
  • Transformation, improvement and quality assurance services

Salary:  £130,633 – £158,819

Louisa Dean – Head of Communications and Marketing

  • External and, internal communications
  • Digital design
  • Events and civic engagements
  • Berkshire Lieutenancy Office
  • Marketing

Grade: RSMB

Salary: £85,744 – £100,089

Reporting to Louise Duffield – Executive Director Resources

Kathryn Cook – Director of HR and Organisational Development

  • H&S for staff & public
  • Payroll and pensions
  • Resourcing/recruitment
  • HR advice and support
  • OD and workforce development
  • Staff nursery
  • Emergency planning and risk management

Grade: RSMA

Salary: £96,900 – £112,827

Darren Carter – Section 151 Officer and Director of Finance

(Section 151 Officer)

  • Accountancy – analysts
  • Accountancy – systems
  • Accountancy – technical accounts payable
  • Accounts receivable
  • Business partnering
  • Revenues and benefits
  • Internal audit
  • Fraud and investigation
  • Procurement and contracts

Grade: RSMA + MS

Salary:  £120,900 – £136,827

Jayne La Grua – Monitoring Officer and Director of Legal and Democratic Services

(Monitoring Officer)

  • Legal services
  • Joint legal team
  • Democratic services
  • Electoral services
  • Information governance
  • Customer relations

Grade: RSMA

Salary: £96,900 – £112,827

Gavin Handford – Director of Policy, Change and Customer Service

  • Customer fulfilment centre
  • Change delivery
  • Policy and performance
  • Voluntary sector
  • Registration and bereavement

Grade: RSMA

Salary: £96,900 – £112,827

Anrul Ullah – Director of Digital and IT

  • ICT operations
  • Business partnerships and applications
  • ICT programme
  • Client management
  • Website
  • Digitalisation programme

Grade: RSMA

Salary: £96,900 – £112,827

Reporting to Emma Gee – Executive Director of Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services

Steve Iles – Interim Director of Environmental and Commercial Services

  • Street care services
  • Neighbourhood services
  • Business development
  • Refuse collection
  • Parks and open spaces
  • Highways
  • RE3 waste services

Grade: RSMA

Salary: £96,900 – £112,827

Matt Golledge – Interim Director of Planning, Transport and Regulatory Services

  • Planning
  • Regulatory services
  • Transport

Grade: RSMA

Salary: £96,900 – £112,827

Charan Dhillon – Director of Property and Asset Management

  • Assets
  • Property development
  • Sustainability
  • Corporate property services
  • Education assets

Grade: RSMA

Salary: £96,900 – £112,827

Donna Pentelow – Director of Culture

  • Library services
  • Cultural services
  • Leisure and recreation
  • New Directions

Grade: RSMA

Salary: £96,900 – £112,827

Sam Rackham – Interim Director of Infrastructure, Economy and Capital Projects

  • Place shaping and regeneration
  • Capital programme delivery
  • Major projects and programmes delivery

Grade: RSMA

Salary: £96,900 – £112,827

Reporting to Melissa Wise – Executive Director of Adult Care and Health Services

Vacant- Director of Adult Social Care

Adult Social Care Operational Services

Grade: RSMA + MS

Salary: £105,508 – £121,435

Natalie Waters – Director of Housing Landlord Services Communities

  • Housing operations
  • Community safety and enablement
  • Strategic housing and development
  • Homes for Reading
  • Housing property services

Grade: RSMA + MS

Salary: £105,508 – £121,435

Bryony Hall – Interim Director of Strategic Housing, Housing Needs and Communities

  • Community partnerships
  • Property development
  • Housing needs
  • Strategic housing

Grade: RSMA

Salary: £96,900 – £112,827

Lara Fromings – Director of Transformation, Commissioning and Performance

  • BCF project manager (jointly with HoS)
  • ASC transformation PMO
  • Matrix management oversight across the directorate

Grade: RSMA + MS

Salary: £105,508 – £121,435

Jo Purser – Deputy Director of Safeguarding, Quality and Practice

  • Strategic and operational safeguarding
  • Data performance
  • Quality
  • Approved Mental Health Practitioner’s (AMHP)
  • Forensic services
  • Deputies
  • Principal social worker

Grade: RSMA + MS

Salary: £109,900 – £125,827

Dr Matthew Pearce – Director for Public Health

(A joint appointment for Reading Borough Council and West Berkshire Council)

  • Public health lead for Reading and West Berkshire
  • Deliver improvements in the health and wellbeing of residents
  • Reduce inequalities in health outcomes
  • Protect local communities from threats to their health through infectious diseases, environmental and other public health hazards.

Grade: CDIR

Salary: £117,923 – £146,109

Reporting Lara Patel – Executive Director Children’s Services

Kelly Hallett – Director of Children’s Commissioning Resource & Performance

  • Business support
  • Commissioning
  • Performance and data

Grade: RSMA

Salary: £96,900 – £112,827

Brian Grady – Director of Education

  • Emotional health and wellbeing service
  • School effectiveness service
  • Early years and childcare
  • Education access and support service
  • Virtual School for looked after children
  • SEND service

Grade: SM6

Salary: £112,827 – £129,243

George Shipman – Director of Transformation, Improvement and Quality Assurance

  • Reviewing, conferencing, LADO and participation
  • Quality assurance
  • Transformation and improvement

Grade: RSMA

Salary: £96,900 – £112,827

Nabeel Chaudhry – Service Director of Children and Families

  • Family help and early intervention services
  • Children’s social care and safeguarding services
  • Children in care and leaving care services
  • Services for children with disabilities
  • Youth justice and corporate parenting services

Grade: RSMA

Salary: £96,900 – £112,827

Contact details

Tel: Contact Centre 0118 937 3787

Address: Civic Centre, Bridge Street, Reading, RG1 2LU

Last updated on 07/07/2026