Ms McGuire is currently East Lothian Council’s service manager for housing strategy and development.

She has worked for East Lothian Council for over 20 years at both strategic and operational level. In her current role, she has responsibility for delivering the council’s affordable housing programme, local housing and climate change strategies. She previously worked in property management and undertook a secondment at Communities Scotland.

Nicola McDowell, currently schools group manager with Midlothian Council, is also the preferred candidate for the role of head of education. She has held her current role for seven years and previously spent ten years as a Head Teacher at Mauricewood and Bonnyrigg Primary Schools in Midlothian.

Chief executive Monica Patterson said: “I would like to congratulate Nicola and Wendy on being named as preferred candidates for these key roles in our Council Management Team.

“This follows a very rigorous recruitment and selection process through which elected members comprising the cross-party subcommittee were pleased to receive and consider a number of applications from high-calibre candidates. They were impressed by the experience, expertise and commitment to public service shown by those who applied for the vacancies.

“Nicola and Wendy will be taking up their posts at an important time for East Lothian. While we are continuing to respond to the day-to-day challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s essential that we plan for the future and build for recovery.”

She added: “With East Lothian being one of Scotland’s fastest growing areas, we need to maintain the pace of change to continue delivering high-quality services for communities while growing the local economy and increasing prosperity.

“Working with all our employees, our new Heads of Service will play a vital role in the council’s drive to create opportunities for young people, developing skills, employability, delivering our growth agenda, whilst contributing to tackling the challenges of poverty, inequality and climate change.

“We look forward to welcoming Nicola and Wendy to their posts.”

The appointments are subject to the usual pre-employment checks. Start dates will be confirmed in due course.