Delivering a recurring saving of £28,000 per annum, the new structure is designed to ensure that the council has the leadership capacity to deliver on local priorities and develop increasingly efficient and effective high-quality services.

The council said the change will achieve a flatter, more efficient and agile structure with clearly defined responsibilities for strategic and operational-decision making. The overall number of council management team (CMT) posts will stay the same.

The following appointments have been made to the executive team, which has overall responsibility for strategic decision making:

• Executive director for education and children’s services – Lesley Brown
• Executive director for council resources – Jim Lamond
• Executive director for place – Douglas Proudfoot

Each Executive Director will report to chief executive Monica Patterson. 

Alison Macdonald, director of the East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership, will continue as the other member of the executive team.

The wider council management team will consist of the executive directors and the heads of service who will have lead operational responsibility for groups of services.

The heads of service roles will be:

Heads of service reporting to Lesley Brown

• Head of children’s services – Judith Tait
• Head of education - TBC

Heads of Service reporting to Jim Lamond

• Head of corporate - TBC
• Head of finance – Sarah Fortune

Heads of Service reporting to Douglas Proudfoot

• Head of communities – Sharon Saunders
• Head of development – TBC
• Head of infrastructure – Tom Reid
• Head of housing - TBC

Iain Gorman, head of operations with the East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership, will continue reporting to Alison Macdonald.

Chief executive Monica Patterson said: “Although the COVID-19 pandemic continues to present very real day-to-day difficulties, it’s essential that we plan for the future and build for recovery.

“The new structure provides us with the senior leadership to drive our important work to create opportunities for young people, developing skills and employability, alongside tackling the challenges of poverty, inequality and climate change. This is vitally important given that East Lothian is one of Scotland’s fastest growing areas.

“Pursuing our digital agenda, and doing things differently has the potential to make it easier and more efficient to deliver services whilst benefitting our customers and communities.

“In making these changes we will achieve a recurring annual saving, as well as implementing a flatter, more efficient structure. We are filling a number of existing vacancies but in doing so taking out a layer of existing senior management roles. 

“I would like to congratulate colleagues on their appointments to these roles and we will shortly commence an external recruitment process to fill the remaining positions.

“I look forward to working with the re-structured executive and council management teams, and all of our hard-working and committed staff, to deliver on the council’s priorities to serve the people of East Lothian.”

Depute council leader Norman Hampshire said: “In building and supporting our existing and growing communities, it is essential that we keep a relentless focus on operating as effectively and efficiently as possible.

“The re-structured executive and council management team gives us a strong platform to take forward the council’s priorities, whilst addressing the increasingly challenging financial environment for local government, which has been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There are many exciting opportunities for East Lothian – including the City Region Deal, development of the former Cockenzie Power Station site and at Blindwells.

“We must grasp these to tackle priorities such as sustainable economic growth, creating new jobs while tackling priorities such as poverty and inequality.

“I would like to congratulate those who have been appointed to these executive and council management team roles and look forward to working together to maintain increasingly high-quality public services for East Lothian’s communities.”