NEW ENVIRONMENT DIRECTOR TAKES UP HER POST

With more than 28 years’ local government experience, Ruth Mullen has taken up her post as Carmarthenshire’s Director of Environment.
Ruth joins the council from Worcester City Council, where she was Corporate Director with responsibility for Service Delivery.
Ruth began her career at Gwent County Council in the highways department and pursued her engineering career further at Monmouthshire Borough Council and Nottingham City Council. Experience of planning and development control was gained at Cheltenham Borough Council, before moving into the transportation field and a series of senior management roles at Gloucestershire County Council.
From there Ruth was appointed as Chief Officer Highways and Waste Management at Cardiff Council, before moving to Worcester City Council in May 2011.
Ruth has a BSc (Hons) Biological Sciences from Plymouth University and a HNC Civil Engineering from Newport College of Higher Education.
As Director of Environment, Ruth is responsible for services such as waste collections, street cleaning and lighting, transport, roads and highways maintenance, planning, enforcement, fly-tipping and dog fouling.
Ruth said she was pleased to be back in Wales.
“I had my first job in local government in Wales and I’ve always been back and for,” she said. “My family live here so I am very much at home.”
She said her main priority was to deliver a high-quality service to residents at a time when budgets were being reduced.
“My challenge is to make sure we are providing a quality customer service across the county against a backdrop of having to make efficiency savings; and to explore how we do that in partnership with other organisations whether that’s other local authorities, third sector organisations or the private sector.”
Ruth added that the workforce was at the heart of this.
“The staff have got to be suitably skilled, trained and resourced to give them the ability to deliver a high-quality service that we can all be proud of.”
Council Leader Cllr Emlyn Dole welcomed Ruth to the authority.
He said: “Ruth has a wealth of experience in local government and I am looking forward to working with her. We are facing difficult times ahead and I am sure Ruth will be able to help us rise to the challenge.”