News Release

Issued 14.7.10              For immediate use

New Diocesan Secretary announced for the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds

The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Rt Revd John Packer, has announced the appointment of  Professor  Dr. Sue Proctor as the next Diocesan Secretary of the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds. 

She will succeed Philip Arundel who retires at the end of the year after 13 years in the role.

Sue Proctor is currently the Director of Patient Care & Partnerships at NHS Yorkshire and the Humber.  As part of this role, she has led on clinical engagement and improving the quality and safety of clinical services across the region and has held responsibility for a number of specific service areas, including children and young people, maternity services, mental health and learning disabilities, continuing care and offender health. She is also a member of the University of Leeds Council and Court, an honorary research fellow at the School of Health Studies, Bradford University, and a visiting professor at Leeds Metropolitan University.

As Diocesan Secretary, Dr. Proctor will be responsible for ensuring a quality service to parishes and local communities in the Diocese, and for managing its business in an effective and efficient way.  These services are provided from the Diocesan Office in St Mary’s Street Leeds. The Diocesan Secretary is company secretary to the Diocesan Board of Finance, responsible for an annual turnover of over £7m, an investment portfolio currently valued at £20m and for maintaining assets (mostly land and property) with a net worth of £73.3m. The role is strategic and involves care and supervision of colleagues, strong financial management, forward thinking and the management of change as the diocese responds to new challenges and opportunities.

Dr. Sue Proctor was educated at Kersal High School and Eccles Sixth Form College, Salford and gained an MSc in Nursing and a PhD in Health Services Research at the University of Bradford. She has worked in the NHS for 26 years, having first trained as a nurse in Manchester and a midwife in Leeds. Since then she had a variety of clinical roles before moving into research. In 1999 Dr. Proctor moved into a clinical leadership role in Bradford and has taken on increasingly complex leadership roles across Yorkshire since. She has taken on a number of short-term secondments including as Deputy Chief Nurse at the Department of Health, and more recently at NHS North Yorkshire and York as Director of Strategy & Engagement.

Married and living in North Yorkshire, Dr. Proctor is a member of St Mary’s Church in Masham, a patron of Ripon Cathedral, and a Trustee of the national children’s charity, Whizzkidz. Commenting on her appointment, she said, “After 26 years in the NHS, there will be many new people, systems and ways of working to take in. Hopefully, my different perspective on things will bring some new ideas and new discussions and I look forward to engaging with colleagues very soon. Like the NHS, the Church has a presence in every community and a key challenge is for it to be relevant, authentic and understanding about what that local community requires and how we can work together with Christians and those of other or no faiths to make our communities stronger.” 

She added, “For me, good management and stewardship is the Diocesan Secretary’s contribution to the mission of the church in the Diocese, and this needs to be taken forward in a transparent and professional manner that engages stakeholders fully. There is much great work to build on from the work of Philip and his team, and I really look forward to meeting them and working with them.”

The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Rt. Revd John Packer, said, “Sue brings to this senior post a vast amount of experience, a lifelong involvement in the church, a wide knowledge of Ripon and Leeds and its people, and tremendous managerial and organizational experience.  I am delighted to announce her appointment and look forward to working with her.”