The City of Hamilton has expanded its executive team with two new two hires, and has also moved to modernise the job titles of its executives and some senior managers.

Jessica Astwood has joined the organisation as director of marketing and communications, and Lindell Foster has joined as director of human resources.

The City said Ms Astwood is responsible for strategically developing short- and long-term plans to meet the City’s marketing, communications and public relations objectives and to promote City initiatives and services.

It added that the post holder also oversees and manages all aspects of events produced by the City “with the aim of positively impacting our community and fostering pride in our City”.

The City said Ms Foster will plan and direct all functions of the human resources department. The post holder is responsible for the formulation and implementation of all HR policies and procedures. They ensure that the City “continues to invest in its staff by engaging with employees, developing succession planning, and implementing leadership development”.

The City said job titles were modernised “to reflect the current standard in the business community and we are excited to highlight these committed and talented individuals who will ensure that the City continues to provide quality services and initiatives for the residents, business community and visitors to the City of Hamilton”.

Dwayne Caines, chief executive officer and secretary, said: “It was felt that some of the previous titles were dated and did not best reflect the work and roles of these individuals.”

He added that the move was “in keeping with our objective of being a progressive, adaptive, and future-focused organisation”.

Title changes for the all-Bermudian team formally came into effect this week, the City said.

At the executive team level, Mr Caines becomes chief executive officer and secretary to the City of Hamilton, responsible for implementing the goals, strategies and policies of the City as directed by resolution of its board members. The post holder is responsible to ensure that the day-to-day operations of the City are efficient and service-oriented and to be the driving force behind the City’s mission to provide positive experiences for City-users through the delivery of quality initiatives and services, it said.

Patrick Cooper becomes the chief operating officer/city engineer, responsible for the diverse business operations of the City. The City said the post holder works to create practical solutions to engineering challenges and oversees a team that is responsible for implementing those solutions within a specified budget and time frame. They also oversee all capital projects and contracts undertaken by the City and are responsible for the management and maintenance of all City properties and services as well as future City planning.

Tanya Iris becomes chief financial officer, responsible for all aspects of the City’s financial accounting and reporting, treasury and risk management functions. The City said the post holder works to prepare and manage short-term and long-term budgeting objectives, including cashflow forecast, financing options and any amendments to the budget throughout the year.

At the senior management level, the City said Siobhan Fubler becomes controller, and Duane Crockwell becomes operations manager.

Ms Fubler oversees the accounting and financial reporting procedures of the organisation. The City said the controller manages all accounting transactions and reports directly to the chief financial officer.

Working under the direction of the city engineer, the City said the operations manager oversees the day-to-day operations of the City inclusive of traffic management, sanitation and engineering.