Clare Elliott | Wakefield Council

Since February 2018, Clare has been Service Director for Economic Growth and Skills at Wakefield Council having started her career at Wakefield Council back in 2007 on the National Graduate Development Programme.

Between 2007 and 2018 she worked across multiple services and organisations such as Leeds City Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. Throughout this time her main focus was on strategic partnerships at a local, regional and national level including leading the Key Cities network and shaping the regional approach to devolution, skills and regeneration.

After starting in Economic Growth and Skills, Clare was quick to put a new Economic Strategy in place which focussed on successful people (skills and employment services), successful businesses (economic development and inward investment) and successful places (housing and master-plan led revitalisation of our city and town centres.) This has just been replaced with a new Economic Wellbeing Strategy for 2024-29 which has improving people’s lived experiences at its core through delivering a stronger economy, better jobs and a healthy planet.

Since coming back from maternity leave in January 2023, Clare has also led the markets service which has complemented the business support and town centre management teams which it sits alongside.