After a successful career as a barrister, Teignbridge BC’s ~Nicola Bulbeck~ has reached the top of her second career as a local authority chief executive. Heather Jameson tracks her progress
If having a high-flying career may be lucky – what would two high-flying careers be? The sign of a talent and motivated professional?
Teignbridge BC’s ~Nicola Bulbeck~'s rise through the local government ranks to chief executive level could reasonably be described as ‘meteoric’. But local government is her second career – after shifting from her first career as a barrister.
As a child, Nicola wanted to be a vet, but she says it was ‘very competitive’. Instead she left school at 15 – ‘you could then’ – and went to work for East Hampshire DC as a clerk. It was her first taste of local government.
After a few different jobs, she turned to law and became a barrister. She did four years as a barrister before going on secondment to the Crown Prosecution service in 1986. She stayed for 13 years doing a variety of different jobs.
She says she had a ‘great job’ but she never worked where she lived, and felt she wanted to do something to improve her local community. ‘I asked around and people said I should do something in local government – as a councillor or as an officer.’
When the job of head of legal services came up at Boston BC, she jumped at it. She admits she was the ‘wild card candidate’ in the line-up for the job, but they ‘gave her a go’.
‘Local authorities are very open to transferable skill. If you have got the right attitude, they are willing to give you a go’.
She joined Boston in 2001 – and eighteen months later was promoted to chief executive. Four years later she felt she had ‘done everything’ she could at the council. The organisation was where she wanted it to be and the regeneration company was being launched.
When the job at Teignbridge came up earlier this year, it was a new challenge. ‘It had an excellent reputation in terms of politicians. It also has a really good and high performing workforce.’
Devon has, she says, ‘similar challenges’ to those she faced in Lincolnshire. But she describes Devon CC as a ‘high performing authority’. It is a marked difference from the challenge she faced under Lincolnshire, struggling with its reputation after legal action was brought against leader Jim Speechley for trying to influence a planning decision.
‘In Lincolnshire, we were trying to fight the public perceptions. Local democracy all gets tarred with the same brush.’
Things are far more positive at Teignbridge. ‘What we are about is being a low cost, high quality organisation,’ Nicola says. She describes the staff as ‘smiling ambassadors’ for the council and says how important it is to tell the staff how much you value them.
So far, Devon has shown no real interest in restructuring to single tier. After the communities and local government minister Ruth Kelly’s speech to the Local Government Association conference, Nicola is avoiding the issue.
‘We could have a south Devon partnership. Or we could work more closely with the county council. We have to have an improved two-tier system. It is just a question of how that is achieved.’
When pushed she adds: ‘As a lawyer, I’d look at all the options and weigh them up. I’m going to go for the one that offers the lowest cost and the highest quality.’
While she is just a few months into the job there is a lot going on. Although the council has no overall control, she says the political groups ‘rule collaboratively’ and they have set the agenda for Teignbridge. There are shared services being set up. Affordable rural housing is a big issue – and the council is the first district to work with its county and the carbon trust to measure its carbon footprint.
‘And recycling – its coming up the political agenda so fast, it’s like a Coldplay record.’
So are there any more career changes likely for the future?
‘I can’t see myself leaving local government. I can’t imagine a better job.’
