Richard Buxton has been appointed interim Operations Director at the Refugee Council with effect from 11 January 2010.

Richard joins the Refugee Council, the leading independent human rights charity working with refugees in the UK, with a wealth of experience from a variety of senior voluntary and public sector roles. His most recent project was completing the formation of Local Partnerships, a joint venture between the Local Government Association and Partnerships UK.

Previously, Richard led the merger of Age Concern and Help the Aged as Programme Director. Before that, his roles include Chief Executive of the National Lottery Charities Board, Director of Operations at the Legal Services Commission, and Director of Capita Management Consultancy.

Richard Buxton says: “I’m delighted to be joining the Refugee Council, and greatly look forward to leading and directing operations to ensure our frontline services best meet the needs of the refugees and asylum seekers in the UK who are in need of our help and support.”

Donna Covey, Chief Executive of the Refugee Council, says: “We are thrilled that Richard has joined the Refugee Council and I look forward to working with him. His vast experience will be an asset to the Refugee Council, and his specialist expertise in performance improvement will ensure we can continue to develop our operations, and further improve the quality of our services for the thousands of refugees who need our assistance across the country.”

Richard Buxton replaces Alistair Griggs, who has recently been appointed as Director of Modern Governance at Sheffield City Council. Alistair leaves the Refugee Council after seven years, during which he oversaw the successful introduction of the RIES service and the growth of the Gateway programme.