About East Lothian Council

We serve one of Scotland’s most beautiful areas – with thriving towns and villages, stunning coast and countryside, enterprising businesses and award-winning attractions. The county is renowned for the richness of its local communities and their proud history.

East Lothian is one of Scotland’s fastest growing council areas with an estimated 113,740 people currently living here, and many more choosing to make their home here. New developments such as the plans for 6,000 new homes and supporting infrastructure at the Blindwells Development Area will ensure that the county adapts to accommodate this growth.

The council is engaged in a number of activities linked to economic growth and job creation. This includes the Edinburgh Innovation Hub, a joint venture between East Lothian Council and Queen Margaret University (QMU). The council also purchased the former Cockenzie Power Station site with a view to developing it into a catalyst for employment investment and jobs to the area, as well as enhancing the public areas along the waterfront.

East Lothian is well known for its golden beaches, stunning coastline and rolling countryside, so it’s no surprise that we are a destination of choice for large numbers of visitors every year.

It is a county rich in history, covering 270 square miles. It shares borders with Midlothian and Edinburgh in the west, Scottish Borders in the south and is bounded to the north and east by the sea.  Its largest towns are Musselburgh, Tranent, Haddington Prestonpans, North Berwick and Dunbar, and the new settlement at Blindwells is currently in development.

About East Lothian Council

Employing around 5,000 people and with 22 elected councillors, we provide a wide range of public services to local residents. Our main offices are in Haddington, supported by services delivered flexibly and from a number of other locations including schools. 

Our Chief Executive works closely with a small team of Executive Directors and a wider Corporate Management Team comprising Heads of Service, who each lead multiple services delivering a range of functions and teams. Our Heads of Service have responsibility for Finance, Corporate Support, Education, Children’s Services, Communities, Housing, Infrastructure and Development.

The current political structure of the council is as follows:

  • Labour  10
  • SNP 6
  • Conservative 4
  • Green  1
  • Independent  1

We work with partner organisations and local communities to deliver on our vision, set out in the 2022 - 27 East Lothian Council Plan, of:

“an even more prosperous, safe and sustainable East Lothian, with a dynamic and thriving economy that enables our people and communities to flourish.”

The plan has a number of thematic objectives which outline how we will grow our Economy, our People, our Communities, and our Capacity.

The plan retains two overarching objectives:

  • Reduce poverty and inequality – supporting our communities to deal with the growing levels of poverty and inequality
  • Respond to the Climate Emergency – meeting our net zero climate change targets

As a result of financial and other pressures which have intensified since 2022, the council is currently focusing on delivering a smaller number of short-term priorities. These include:

  • Ensure the financial sustainability of the council through the delivery of approved savings and transforming the way we deliver services  
  • Target resources on statutory services and focus on the highest risks and those most in need  
  • Deliver key infrastructure, economic development and environmentally sustainable projects within available council resources and maximising external funding 

City Region Deal

East Lothian is one of six local authorities partnering with the UK and Scottish Governments to deliver the City Region Deal – a £1.3bn investment that aims to accelerate economic growth and create opportunities for citizens across the entire south east of Scotland.

These roles require exceptional leadership

Our Heads of Service are critical in supporting and identifying opportunities to transform services whilst supporting change across the council. In doing so our Heads of Service should identify opportunities to work collaboratively across services with partners, community representatives, and external organisations.

Our Executive Directors and our Heads of Service are tasked with providing the strategic vision to support colleagues in delivering the council’s corporate plans, priorities and objectives – with the needs of our communities and those who rely on our services at their heart.

Apply for the Head of Communities and Partnerships role on myjobscotland

Apply for the Head of Development role on myjobscotland

Find out more about working for East Lothian Council

Find out more about what East Lothian has to offer at visiteastlothian

Copyright and photo credit: Visit East Lothian