Shazia Hussain will leaving her role as Brent’s Assistant Chief Executive to head east, taking up the Deputy Chief Executive post at Waltham Forest in northeast London later this summer.
Shazia joined Brent in December 2019 following nine successful years in a variety of senior management positions at Tower Hamlets.
Shazia played a key role in Brent’s COVID 19 response and helped drive the race equalities agenda to the fore during her time in Brent.
Carolyn Downs, Chief Executive of Brent Council, said: “Shazia joined Brent just a few months before COVID-19 engulfed local communities and played a pivotal role in the council’s response.
“With Shazia as Assistant Chief Executive we developed a deeper approach to community engagement, making sure we truly understood what local people needed. We became more responsive to the needs of local communities and renewed our focus on targeted, culturally competent communications.
“Shazia also played a key role in the equalities agenda as the council moves to address the serious inequalities that exist – particularly with health and race inequalities. I would like to thank Shazia for all her work here in Brent and wish her all the best in her new role in Waltham Forest.”
Shazia said: “I feel incredibly grateful to have worked with such a dedicated and strong corporate leadership team during my time at Brent, as well as with our brilliant councillors and Cabinet. Through some of the toughest of circumstances over these past few years, council keyworkers have been getting on with the job and doing amazing work on behalf of our residents.
“I’m really proud that during my time at Brent we’ve been able to bring the serious issues of racial inequality to the fore. Whether that is tackling health inequalities or creating opportunities for black residents, who have been historically marginalised, or making the climate agenda more accessible to diverse communities. Brent is doing everything it can to create a fairer and more equal borough and I am pleased to have been able to contribute to this important agenda.”