Eileen Milner to join the Education and Skills Funding Agency as the new Chief Executive

The Department for Education (DfE) has today (23 Aug) announced that Eileen Milner has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and will take up the post in November this year.

The ESFA is an executive agency of the DfE that is accountable for funding education and training for children, young people and adults.

Eileen will replace Peter Lauener, the current Chief Executive Officer of the ESFA, who has held the post since 1 April 2017 and in predecessor organisations since April 2010. He will step down at the end of November.

Eileen began her career in education and is a proven leader. She brings extensive skills and experience gained from working in a range of roles across government as well as the public and private sector. This includes considerable experience at a senior level at the Care Quality Commission, where she is currently the Executive Director of Customer and Corporate Services, as well as Northgate Information Solutions – a software and services business with a large presence in public services in the U.K.

DfE Permanent Secretary Jonathan Slater said:

I’m delighted that Eileen will be joining us to lead the Education and Skills Funding Agency, and look forward to working closely with her. I know that colleagues will join me in welcoming Eileen to the department.

The Chief Executive of the ESFA is a member of the DfE Board and attends the Performance, Management and Audit and Risk Committees.

They are responsible for the leadership and day-to-day management of the ESFA. The Chief Executive is also Accounting Officer for the ESFA’s budget and is accountable to the DfE’s Principal Accounting Officer, and to Parliament for the stewardship of these funds.