Sarah Norman

Chief Executive of Barnsley Council since 2019 and previously Chief Executive of Dudley Council between 2015 and 2019.

I am also the Chair of the Yorkshire and Humber Chief Executive’s Group, who support the Yorkshire Leaders Board to meet their priorities, explore policy issues and work collaboratively to address challenges faced by our councils and share good practice amongst our places. This includes working closely with our key partners and stakeholders, such as Yorkshire Universities.

Before that my background was in Adults and Children’s services and I was previously both the DASS and the DCS at the City of Wolverhampton.  I have also spent periods of time in central government agencies and the voluntary sector and did two terms as an elected member in Liverpool in the 1990s.

Passionate about making a difference in our places I was delighted to see Barnsley receive the “double” win and crowned Council of the Year at both the LGC and MJ Awards in 2023 to reflect in particular our success at transforming our town centre to make Barnsley the Place of Possibilities.