Sokhjinder Kler previous/current experience
Principal Consultant for the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA)
- Leadership development and governance: supported and steered senior officers and members of a local authority through a significant change in leadership as a result of a change in the administration by developing the capacity of members through facilitated workshops, mentoring, coaching and by supporting the senior officers in developing fruitful working relationships with the new cabinet.
- Strategic thinking, governance and performance management: supported and steered senior officers, the cabinet and backbenchers of a local authority in reviewing their overview and scrutiny committees and processes. Worked with key stakeholders within the authority in making recommendations for more scrutiny arrangements and processes to meet current and future requirements. Also designed and delivered training to raise awareness and to address the skills and knowledge gap.
- Strategic review: led on a corporate peer review of a local authority carried out to a defined benchmark identifying what worked well and provided constructive challenge and support in identifying possible solutions in areas identified as in need of development.
- Assessing and promoting best practice and policy development: managed the assessment of two Beacon themes i) affordable housing and ii) improving housing services by involving tenants. Participated in the assessment process and supported the successful local authorities in sharing their best practice nationally and regionally. Worked with the local authorities and key stakeholders in identifying and debating future policy direction.
- Strategic review: supported a local authority in designing a means by which effectively to gather the views of its workforce on how they viewed the organisation and to determine how valued they felt, making recommendations to the management team on 'what next' in shaping their 'valuing staff' policy.
- Implementing legislation: designed and delivered national and regional seminars regarding the implications of the Housing Act 2004 for authorities in relation to private sector housing, designed and delivered a capacity building programme tailored to the needs of each Government Office region to assist local authorities in looking at solutions on a regional and sub-regional basis of a wider scope than the private sector alone.
The IDeA was set up by and for the local government community to support self-sustaining improvement from within the sector. The IDeA is independent of central government and regulatory bodies, being a company wholly owned by the Local Government Association.