The role will see her take the lead for Barony and Loretto Care services in Edinburgh, Falkirk and Grangemouth, Stirling, Fife and West Lothian.

Ms McDonald, who lives in the south side of Glasgow, has more than 20 years of experience working within the social care sector. Most recently, she worked as director of services for Enable Scotland before joining Wheatley.

She said: “I am really excited to join Wheatley Group. The values and ethos of the organisation are truly sector leading and I look forward to working with both Loretto Care and Barony staff to deliver world-class, personalised care and support to the people we work for.”

Olga Clayton, Wheatley Group director of housing and care, added: “Pauline brings a wealth of care experience to the role and to Wheatley and we look forward to working with her on the next stage of our journey to deliver excellence across our care services.”

Ms McDonald will work closely with Wheatley’s managing director of care, Laura Pluck and head of care for the west, Louise Dunlop.