Meet Hayley Barnett, our Head of Corporate Support
We recently welcomed Hayley Barnett, our new Head of Corporate Support, to the council.
Hayley, who was born and brought up locally, has spent most of her career working in local government. After graduating from Edinburgh University, she joined The City of Edinburgh Council before moving into roles with Midlothian Council, COSLA and the Scottish Government (on secondment) before returning to The City of Edinburgh Council as Corporate Governance Manager. In 2022, she became Associate Director of Governance and Board Services with National Services Scotland (NSS).
As Hayley settles into her new role, we took the opportunity to find out a bit more about her – as well as her hopes for the future.
Have you enjoyed your first few weeks?
“Yes, it’s been great to start meeting people and getting to know my new colleagues. I’d like to thank everyone who has welcomed me – it really has been such a positive experience! I’m very much looking forward to getting to know more colleagues, as well as elected members, in the weeks and months ahead.”
Can you tell us a bit about your career background?
“Other than the past two years, I’ve always worked in local government. Firstly, I worked within operational Trading Standards and Anti-social behaviour teams before moving into Corporate Policy. I then spent nine years at COSLA covering a range of portfolios - Community Safety, Police and Fire Reform, Sports, Arts and Culture, and Children and Young People (Care) and within the Employers’ Team. I undertook a one-year secondment working with councils and community safety partnerships within the Scottish Government. In the last five years, my roles at The City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) and NHS NSS have had a governance focus.
“One highlight at CEC was the first time I clerked the City of Edinburgh Council which made me the first female clerk since records began 900 years ago! That’s something, of course, that should have happened hundreds of years ago.”
What appealed to you about this role and working for East Lothian Council?
“I was keen to return to local government and felt I could bring all my experience to this post. I was born and raised in Tranent and, although I lost the ‘debate’ with my husband about where we live, East Lothian will always be my home. All my family live in East Lothian and my dad keeps joking that he and the dog are going to join us in the chamber for Council meetings, as he is delighted I’m working for East Lothian Council!”
As Head of Corporate Support, what are your areas of responsibility?
“The services in Corporate Support are People and Council Support (including HR), IT, Governance (including Legal), Communications and Policy. A key part of the job is working with elected members, while I also hold a statutory role as Monitoring Officer – which involves ensuring the council complies with legal requirements and statutory codes of practice which are relevant to how we carry out our duties and deliver services. I’m also Deputy Returning Officer for elections.”
What do you see as the main challenges and opportunities in this role and what are your hopes for the future?
“There is no avoiding the budgetary challenges that we all face – that’s going to continue and something we will all have to deal with. But there is a real opportunity to do things differently and the teams within Corporate Support are fundamental to supporting services right across East Lothian Council to adapt, deliver differently and enable our communities to thrive.
“I hope to bring my knowledge and experience in working with the Trade Unions into this role and look forward to working closely with them.”
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
“I live in Peebles with my husband and two boys – Gregor, nine, and Cameron, who is six. I spend most of my time just now as a taxi driver for the kids or helping out at kids’ clubs – this week I’ve been a Cubs and Beavers leader, football coach and tennis ball girl! I also enjoy visiting East Lothian to spend time with my family.”