Committee appoints new council Chief Executive

The appointment was confirmed at a meeting of the Antrim and Newtownabbey Statutory Transition Committee on Tuesday, February 25.

Mrs Dixon BSc, MBA is a graduate of Queen’s University and the University of Ulster and has over 14 years local government experience, which includes having served over four years as Chief Executive of Newtownabbey Borough Council. Her new role comes with an annual salary of over £100,000.

The reform of local government in Northern Ireland will see the number of councils cut from 26 to 11. And when Antrim and Newtownabbey merge on April 1, 2015, it will create a new district with a population of approximately 138,000.

Alderman Mervyn Rea, Chair of the Statutory Transition Committee for Antrim and Newtownabbey, commented: “I am delighted that Jacqui Dixon has accepted the position of Chief Executive for the new Antrim and Newtownabbey District Council. The wealth of knowledge and experience that Jacqui has to bring to this key role will be invaluable to the new council.

“This is a very exciting time for local government. There is already a significant work programme under way to ensure that Antrim and Newtownabbey successfully integrates to become a new council in April 2015. I have no doubt that Jacqui will provide strong leadership during this extensive change programme.”

Mrs Dixon added: “I am very pleased to accept the role of Chief Executive and would like to thank the Statutory Transition Committee for this opportunity.

“I am proud of the work already achieved by both councils, as they prepare for a successful merger. Both have a reputation of being organisations that strive to provide quality facilities and services across their boroughs. Of course, the commitment of all the elected members, the corporate management teams and the staff make this happen on a daily basis.

“I look forward to working with the members and staff from both councils and the staff from the functions that will be transferring to the new council.”