The woman hired to rebuild Aberdeen City Council is to leave after landing the top job in Scotland’s capital.
Sue Bruce is to become the new chief executive of Edinburgh City Council, less than two years after taking the helm in Aberdeen.
She said last night that her appointment to the £160,000-a-year post at Scotland’s second-biggest local authority would be the “pinnacle” of her career.
Mrs Bruce’s move south will be seen as a major blow by many at Aberdeen City Council, which now begins the search for a new top official to oversee £120million of spending cuts over the next five years.
In a statement last night, Mrs Bruce said: “I have enjoyed and valued my time in Aberdeen greatly. However, this would have to be regarded as the pinnacle of my career.
“Working with Aberdeen City Council has been a wonderful, challenging and interesting experience for me.
“I joined the authority during turbulent times and, by working closely with elected members and staff at all levels, together we have been able to get the council back on a steady footing. The opportunity to take on the role of chief executive of Edinburgh City Council was simply too good to pass up.
“Having the chance to apply for such a job at a time in my career when I was ready to take it on is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The 54-year-old added that she was delighted with the progress the Aberdeen council had made and it was well placed to tackle the challenges over the next few years.
Her appointment in Edinburgh still has to be approved by councillors but the process is expected to be a formality.
Mrs Bruce moved to Aberdeen from East Dunbartonshire Council in December 2008 to help repair the city council’s battered reputation after a financial crisis and a string of damning inspection reports led to the early retirement of her predecessor, Douglas Paterson.
She has overseen a radical overhaul of the council’s structure, the stabilisation of its finances and the assembly of a new management team.
Council leader John Stewart said: “I am delighted for Sue. I would be disappointed if the chief executive here did not have the ambition to take on the post in the capital.
“Sue joined us at a difficult time and she has had a lasting impact on the structure and the operation of the council.
“I am confident that she has laid the foundations upon which the council can build a successful future.
“The search for a new chief executive will begin immediately. Sue has set the template for the kind of ambition and drive we will be looking for in her successor.”
The council’s deputy leader, Kevin Stewart, said: “I have congratulated Sue Bruce on her appointment, but unfortunately Edinburgh’s gain is Aberdeen’s loss.
“Mrs Bruce has been an excellent chief executive. She has built up a great team around her and has worked in partnership with councillors through some difficult times to secure Aberdeen’s future.”
Mr Paterson quit the local authority on the first day of an Accounts Commission public inquiry into the running of the council in May 2008 after weeks of public unrest over massive spending cuts.
Troubleshooter Robert Coomber was brought in to run the council until Mrs Bruce was chosen to take charge. She arrived just weeks after the global financial crash threatened to send the council into a fresh crisis.
Her first job was to implement the Accounts Commission’s instruction to restructure the authority, which she did by bringing back distinct departments for education and social work, and scrapping the neighbourhood model that divided the city into north, south and central areas.
She went on to controversially recommend that councillors accept Sir Ian Wood’s £50million pledge towards a development at Union Terrace Gardens, as well as acting as returning officer in Aberdeen during this year’s UK general election.
In June, Mrs Bruce became the first public sector leader to receive the Prince’s Ambassador in Scotland Award.
In Edinburgh, she will immediately face major headaches such as the capital’s £600million tram project.
Alan Campbell, the former chief executive of Aberdeenshire Council, was recruited to help advise the local authority in Edinburgh in its search for a successor to outgoing boss Tom Aitchison.
Edinburgh City Council leader Jenny Dawe said: “It is essential that we have the right calibre of chief executive for what is a difficult but rewarding role at the best of times.”
Councillor Willie Young, spokesman for the opposition Labour group in Aberdeen, said: “Nobody can blame Sue Bruce for wanting to take on the job as chief executive of the capital city.
“Sue’s departure does, however, show that the Lib Dem-SNP administration in Aberdeen is in disarray and we will be looking for their third chief executive in as many years.”