London council names lawyer as Operational Director of Assurance and Monitoring Officer on permanent basis

The local authority said this followed a thorough external recruitment process, including approval by Full Council on 19 January 2023.

Sandhu began her career in law, in private practice within the City of London, before moving to the public sector. She joined Redbridge as a Civil Litigation Lawyer in 2004 and moved to the role of Deputy Head of Litigation and Principal Lawyer in November 2017. She has acted up into the role of Operational Director of Assurance and Monitoring Officer since May 2021.

During her time acting up in this position, Sandhu has had the oversight and responsibility for Legal Services, the Leader’s Offices, Elections, Democratic Services, and Scrutiny and Mayoralty.

She said: “I am delighted that I have been selected as the permanent Operational Director of Assurance and Monitoring Officer. I look forward to working closely with Claire [Symonds, chief executive], the Members, and the entire Corporate Leadership Team, and am convinced that we can together make a real difference in the lives of our residents during very challenging times.

“Having been raised in Redbridge and with continued links through family and friends in the borough together with my experience of working in Redbridge since 2004, I feel I have a deep understanding of people, place, and politics, and this will put me in good stead to support the organisation and residents.”