Rochdale Borough Council

2017 winners

Congratulations to all the winners who were presented with their awards at the ceremony on Thursday, 30 November 2017.

Young Employee of the Year - Ruhena Begum

Ruhena Begum, one of the borough's brightest new talents described as a ‘superb ambassador for the council’ won Young Employee of the Year. The Talk English Officer joined the council when she was just 18. As well as delivering English classes, Ruhena supports and manages volunteers, who play a key part in the project’s success.

Award sponsored by Keepmoat Homes.

Volunteer of the Year - Helen Leach

Volunteer of the Year was presented to Helen Leach in recognition of her tireless work to help the borough's less privileged. Helen, who leads on much of council's charity work in her own time has helped raise tens of thousands of pounds for good causes, including organising the annual charity abseil down the town hall clock tower.

Sponsored by BT.

Innovation Award - Emily Nickson

Young Peoples Support Officer Emily Nickson won the Innovation Award for her work delivering the councils ‘Early Help’ programme which supports separated parents to improve their relationships, reducing the impact on the wellbeing of their children. Emily’s work was described as ‘inspiring, forward-thinking and visionary’.

Sponsored by Rochdale Development Agency.

Team of the Year - Young Adult Team

The Young Adult Team, scooped Team of the Year. The team was established to support adult victims of child sexual exploitation who have experienced trauma and abuse. Comprising social workers, support planners and employment and skills staff, they support young people to get their lives back on track, developing innovative practices whilst gaining the trust of the young women.

Sponsored by Countryside.

Employee of the Year - David Genesis

Employee of the Year was awarded to gardener David Genesis. As well as keeping Rochdale's gardens and town centre to a high standard, he was responsible for installing the large carpet-bed display next to John Bright's statue in Broadfield Park. He takes great pride in ensuring the memorial gardens are kept to a very high standard and following the tragic events at the Manchester Arena was involved in producing 'The Manchester Bee' floral display.

Sponsored by Cooney Civil Engineering.

Pride of the Borough Award - Kim Moore

The Pride of the Borough Award, solely nominated by local people went to Social Care Assistant Kim Moore for going ‘above and beyond providing support and help around the clock to vulnerable residents’, described as an ‘angel on earth.’ She also helped to save the life of one of her clients.

Sponsored by Link4Life.

ACE Outstanding Contribution (posthumously) - Yasin Khan

The Outstanding Contribution Award was won by youth worker Yasin Khan who tragically passed away in October 2017 after a short illness. Chief Executive Steve Rumbelow paid a moving tribute to Yasin, describing him as a great role model and perfect advocate for the borough:

“This award is thoroughly deserved for Yasin’s truly outstanding contribution to the council, the borough of rochdale and our communities. He performed exceptionally well and we received weekly compliments about his work. Whenever he was told about this positive feedback his response was always to say thank you for being given the opportunity to do the work that he did, which I think says everything about the man he was. Yasin worked with great passion and enthusiasm in everything he did. He has left a great legacy, he trained over 5,000 young people in safeguarding and his materials will continue to be used across the borough to help more young people.

Sponsored by Agilisys.

​Celebrating commitment and excellence

Nominations for the ACE Staff Awards has now closed. The awards evening took place on Thursday, 30 November 2017.

The ACE Staff Awards are annual awards to celebrate and recognise the achievements of staff across the council. The awards are open to all staff across the council. They are an opportunity to recognise and celebrate individuals and teams who have gone the extra mile in providing outstanding service and truly living the council's values: The Rochdale Way.

The awards ceremony and prizes

Date: evening of Thursday, 30 November 2017
Location: Rochdale Town Hall

Nominators and shortlisted individuals and teams, as well as key stakeholders and other staff, will be invited to attend the ceremony. All shortlisted nominees will be invited to the event and presented with a certificate.

Our judging panel will consider the nominations. The winners will be announced and presented with a trophy and certificate at the ACE Staff Awards in November.

Shortlisting and judging

Shortlisting: announced in October 2017

Shortlisted candidates have been contacted directly. A list of the finalists are available on this page.

The judging panel was made up of representatives from staff across the council. The panel assessed the nominations against the criteria listed in each award category. The final selection was undertaken by the council's leadership team.

Awards categories and finalists

Awards will be presented in 7 categories. These are:

• Young Employee of the Year. An ACE award to recognise the work done by those aged 25 and under - do you know a young member of council staff whose work deserves recognition? Does your team have a star of the future?
• Winner: Ruhena Begum.
• Finalists: Talk English Officer, Personal Assistant to Sheila Downey and Sally McIvor, Temporary Assistant CAD Technician. 

• Volunteer of the Year. This award recognises the work of those who volunteer within our communities. Many of the council’s staff devote time to organisations in the borough but the importance of their work often goes unrecognised. Let’s show them that we care.
• Winner: Helen Leach.
• Finalists: Legal Officer, Assistant Building Attendant, Early Help Service Manager.

• Innovation Award. We’re looking for ACE employees whose ideas, passion or drive have made a change for the better. Is there someone out there whose innovation and ideas - no matter how small - have made a difference?
• Winner: Emily Nickson.
• Finalists: Youth Workers, Place Integration Lead, Assessment and Support Planning Officer, Young People's support Lead Officer.
• Team of the Year. The ACE Team of the Year award recognises outstanding achievement by any council team. If you know an amazing team that has gone the extra mile for the council, the borough and its residents - let us know.
• Winner: Young Adult Team.
• Finalists: Young Adult Team, Debt Support Team Adult Care, Counter Fraud Team, Adult Care Senior Management Team, Cleaning Team at Number One Riverside. 
• Employee of the Year. The ACE Employee of the Year award is for the member of council staff who has done something special and deserves recognition. If you know a member of staff who is the best of the best, let us know about them.
• Winner: David Genesis.
• Finalists: Professional Youth Worker, Social Worker, Service Manager (Communities), Monitoring and Advice Officer, Senior Children's Centre Practitioner, Rochdale Streets Operative.
• Pride of the Borough Award. (Nominations from residents only.) The winner of the Pride of the Borough Award will be chosen by our residents. They will have to demonstrate exceptional customer service or have gone beyond the call of duty. The council will ask residents to nominate their favourite employee and tell us why they deserve to win.
• Winner: Kim Moore.
• Finalists: Events Manager, Social Care Assistant, Advanced Practitioner - Post Adoption Support.
• ACE Outstanding Contribution. (To be selected by the Chief Executive in conjunction with the Mayor of Rochdale.) We are looking for the Rochdale Borough Council employee who has made an Outstanding Contribution to the organisation. The winner will have demonstrated more than any other the values of the Rochdale Way. The winner to be announced at the ACE Staff Awards celebration evening on Thursday, 30 November 2017

• Winner: (posthumously) Yasin Khan.

The council's values: The Rochdale Way

• Focusing on customers - we treat people fairly, keep them informed, manage their expectations and deliver the services they need.
• Valuing our people - we respect the views of others and encourage initiative.
• Acting with integrity - we're open and honest and admit mistakes.
• Using time and money wisely - we work hard to make sure that our resources are used correctly.
• Working together - we create the right conditions to achieve the best outcomes for our customers.
• Always learning and improving – we will always improve services and we support learning and development.

Thank you to our sponsors

Our awards ceremony is supported and sponsored by our partners and local businesses. If you'd like to sponsor the 2017 event or get more information on the packages available, please email aceawards@rochdale.gov.uk

Award sponsors:

• Young Employee of the Year - sponsored by Keepmoat Homes.
• Volunteer of the Year - sponsored by BT.
• Innovation Award - sponsored by Rochdale Development Agency.
• Team of the Year -sponsored by Countryside.
• Employee of the Year - sponsored by Cooney Civil Engineering.
• Pride of the Borough Award. - sponsored by Link4Life.  
• ACE Outstanding Contribution - sponsored by Agilisys.

Table sponsors:

• Balfour Beatty
• Capita
• Faun-Zoeller
• FW Sherratt
• Great Places
• Lovell
• Mosscare St Vincent's
• Regenda Homes
• Softcat 
• Taylor Wimpey
• Weightmans
• Zen