A qualified environmental scientist, she began her career with an environmental consultancy conducting air and water quality testing at sites including the Bank of England, a women’s prison, schools and major retailers. Part of her training as an environmental scientist included four months of conservation work at St Ouens Bay in Jersey.

Pictured: The previous Chief Executive, Andrew Muter, left the role after disappearing from the island during the Covid pandemic, causing discontent among islanders.

Switching to local government in 1988, her new career began as an official witness at an exhumation on her first day at work. She has held multiple public sector roles including Health and Safety and Environmental Health enforcement, Performance Improvement, Human Resources, Information Technology, and Strategy and Policy.

While working full time, Ms Jones completed her MBA in 1995 majoring in strategic HR, attaining skills which were later used in both her senior management posts for the London Borough of Redbridge (1997-2005) and Improvement Manager at the Local Government Association (2005-2011). In these roles, she worked on improving team, departmental and corporate performance, ethical governance and leadership development.

While at the Local Government Association, Ms Jones worked with local and national politicians, central and local government officers, their partners and stakeholders across England to improve outcomes for communities. Her work on improving the interdepartmental relationship between central and local government, with a particular focus on health, was shortlisted for the Civil Service Awards for contribution to central government excellence in 2008.

Earlier work with the University of Nottingham on stress and wellbeing at work was internationally recognised as best practice and resulted in her being invited to speak at an international conference in Copenhagen, and subsequently headhunted to work for a government agency in Melbourne, Australia, as State Project Advisor.

She completed the Ashridge Business School Future Leaders Programme in 2010. Three years later she undertook a programme at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations which she reports as “the most challenging way of learning I’ve ever experienced”.

Pictured: President of the States of Alderney, William Tate, who was a member of the appointment board set up to find a new Chief Executive.

Ms Jones was appointed Senior Administrator to the Government of Sark in November 2013 and quickly felt part of the community through volunteering at sheep racing, getting involved with amateur dramatics and hosting musicians for the Sark Folk Festival. She’s a sailing beginner and has refused to be put off despite breaking an arm while on a friend’s yacht.

Ms Jones maintains a work/life balance by walking her rescue dog Dexter and enjoys a variety of hobbies and interests. These include gospel choir singing, theatre, films, art, travel, the natural environment and cooking for friends.