Women lead the way as council appoints new female directors

Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council (LCCC) has recently appointed Louise Moore as Director of Leisure and Community Wellbeing and Cara McCrory as Director of Finance and Corporate Services.
Cara McCrory, Director of Finance and Corporate Services and Louise Moore, Director of Leisure and Community WellbeingCara McCrory, Director of Finance and Corporate Services and Louise Moore, Director of Leisure and Community Wellbeing
Cara McCrory, Director of Finance and Corporate Services and Louise Moore, Director of Leisure and Community Wellbeing

These appointments mean that three out of the four council departments are now headed up by women.

Since March 2020, the council has persisted in delivering quality services to its residents during one of the most challenging periods of its history. In planning for the future, both Cara and Louise will be tasked with helping the council pursue medium and longer term financial sustainability and delivering against its ambitious Community Plan – a challenge both women are extremely well-equipped to undertake.

Cara is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a fully qualified member of the Institute of Internal Auditors. She has worked in professional practice for over 23 years, working across a range of public and private sector organisations advising on risk and governance matters. She joined LCCC as Head of Audit, Risk & Performance in 2019 and took up the Interim Director of Finance & Corporate Services role in June 2020, in which she excelled.

Louise began her career in education before accumulating 14 years’ experience of working in local government. She became the Head of Communities for LCCC in January 2020 and led on the Community Response Framework for COVID-19 just three months into her post! Louise is excited to be working in such a progressive organisation and wants to make a real difference to people’s lives.

Alderman Paul Porter, Chair of the Corporate Services Committee, congratulated both women, saying: “I am delighted in both of these appointments and I wish Cara and Louise well in their new posts. Their experience and knowledge of their unique business areas will no doubt be of great value as we move towards a more positive and vibrant future for Lisburn Castlereagh.”

Alderman Michael Henderson MBE, Chair of the Leisure & Community Development Committee, commended Cara and Louise saying: “I want to offer my congratulations to the newly appointed directors. With COVID-19 having impacted every aspect of council life, having the right people in the right posts is of huge importance. I have every faith that Cara and Louise will help Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council deliver significant programmes across our the council area.”