Working here
We think East Sussex County Council is a great place to work. One of the most important things about working here is the knowledge that you’re working to help others and the real sense of achievement and purpose that brings.
While almost every role at the Council is different, there are some core principles we all work to in terms of both what we do and how we do it. These are summarised in what we call the ‘East Sussex Way’:
- We are customer driven and work with our customers to find the best solutions
- We have clear objectives and deliver great service
- We take responsibility and do what we say we will
- We work together as one council
- We innovate and find better ways of doing things
We think it’s important to trust and empower our staff to use their judgement and we try not to put bureaucracy in their way.
A forward-thinking approach to new technologies
We embrace new technology and try to harness its capabilities to improve how we deliver services:
- we use Viva Engage across all of our corporate departments to enable staff to communicate and share information
- we use Microsoft Teams so we can keep in touch by instant messaging, video conference and desktop sharing
- our senior managers host web chats where staff can ask them whatever they want
- check us out on social media.
Join an agile organisation
Where possible we encourage our staff to work in an agile way. This can mean working at one of our sites with your team, or at home when needed, but always retaining a strong team identity. We will provide you with the technology and equipment, to do your job efficiently from wherever you are. For instance, you can take part in meetings with colleagues at the other end of the county via MS Teams' voice and video, and share your screen and work on documents together.
A culture of learning and development
We support a diverse range of learning and development opportunities for our workforce. We also promote a coaching culture to encourage and embed learning at work because we recognise that some of the most impactful learning happens on the job and by reflecting on it with others.
Find out more about some of the learning experiences we offer by visiting the East Sussex Learning Portal.
- Learn about East Sussex County Council's main career pathways
Planning for the future
Our People Strategy has been developed to help achieve the people changes needed over the next 3 to 5 years.
Senior management structure
The corporate management team including the Chief Executive and Directors lead each department in planning and delivering services across the County Council.
East Sussex County Council has 9,923 members of staff working 7246 full time equivalent (FTE)
- Corporate workforce: 5025 members of staff working 4315 full time equivalent (FTE)
- School workforce: 4898 members of staff working 2931 full time equivalent (FTE)
These numbers reflect workforce data at 31 March 2025.
Chief Executive: Becky Shaw
The Council's main advisor on overall policy and responsible for all the work we carry out.
Read more about the Chief Executive.
Adult Social Care and Health
Adult Social Care and Health has 1675 members of staff equating to 1474 full time equivalent (FTE).
Director of Adult Social Care and Health - Mark Stainton
- Public Health: Director of Public Health - Darrell Gale
- Planning Performance & Engagement: Interim Assistant Director, Planning Performance & Engagement - Frood Radford
- Operations: Assistant Director, Operations - Leigh Prudente
- Strategy, Commissioning & Supply Management: Assistant Director, Strategy & Commissioning - Samantha Williams
Read more about the Director of Adult Social Care and Health.
Children's Services
Children's Services has 2060 members of staff equating to 1768 full time equivalent (FTE).
Director of Children’s Services - Carolyn Fair
- Communication, Planning & Performance: Assistant Director, Communication, Planning & Performance - Louise Carter
- Early Help and Social Care: Assistant Director, Early Help and Social Care - Kathy Marriott
- Education and ISEND: Assistant Director, Education - Elizabeth Funge
Read more about the Director of Children's Services.
Business Services
Business Services has 590 members of staff equating to 559 full time equivalent (FTE).
Chief Operating Officer - Ros Parker
- Finance: Chief Finance Officer - Ian Gutsell
- Human Resources & Organisational Development: Assistant Director - Sarah Mainwaring
- Property: Assistant Director - Nigel Brown
- Procurement: Director of Procurement - Darron Cox (Employed by Surrey County Council)
- IT&D: Chief Digital Information Officer - Matthew Scott
Read more about the Chief Operating Officer.
Communities, Economy and Transport
Communities, Economy and Transport has 594 members of staff equating to 415 full time equivalent (FTE).
Director of Communities, Economy and Transport - Rupert Clubb
- Community Services: Assistant Director, Community Services - Nick Skelton
- Economy Division: Assistant Director, Economy - James Harris
- Operations and Contract Management Division: Assistant Director, Transport & Operations - Karl Taylor
Read more about the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport.
Governance Services
Governance Services has 106 members of staff equating to 100full time equivalent (FTE).
Chief Officer - Philip Baker
- Legal & Coroner Services: Legal & Coroner Services Manager - Rachel Doran
- Communication: Head of Communications - Warwick Smith
- Policy & Scrutiny: Head of Policy - Claire Lee
- Member Services: Member Services Manager - Stuart McKeown
- Performance, Research & Intelligence: Head of Performance, Research & Intelligence - Victoria Beard
Read more about the Deputy Chief Executive.