Karen Carlton is the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland. Her role draws on her background as an OCPAS Assessor and her human resource expertise. As the first separate Scottish Commissioner, Karen produced the Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies in Scotland and is currently developing an equality and diversity strategy for Scotland, to ensure that ministerial appointments are made in a manner which encourages equality of opportunity and attracts applications which are reflective of the people of Scotland’s social and cultural mix.

Karen’s role as Commissioner is part time and she combines it with non-executive directorships.

Prior to her appointment as Commissioner Karen worked as Managing Director of an organisation development consultancy and was the first director of Investors in People Scotland, where she established the IIP assessment and recognition procedures for Scotland. Her early career was spent in the service industries and in retailing in the UK and Australia.