Purpose

This report recommends changes to the senior
management structure in response to the imminent departure of the
Strategic Director of People & Transformation. The proposals
are designed to deliver financial savings, streamline corporate
services, and provide flexibility to support the Local Government
Reorganisation (LGR) transition.

Decision

1. Delete the post of Strategic Director of
People & Transformation, generating an estimated net saving of
£120k for the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).
2. Transfer Human Resources, Communications, Transformation, and
Digital services to the Corporate and Commercial Directorate.
3. Rename the Corporate and Commercial Directorate to the
Corporate, Commercial and Transformation Directorate.
4. Transfer Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE) responsibilities
to the Neighbourhood Operations Directorate and rename it the
Environment Directorate.
5. Rename the Place Directorate the Place, Communities and
Enterprise Directorate.
6. Extend interim arrangements for the renamed post of Strategic
Director (Place, Communities and Enterprise) to March 2028, or
until LGR is complete, in line with other interim
arrangements.

Alternative options considered

Replacing the Strategic Director of People
& Transformation post on a like-for-like basis would not have
yielded any financial savings for the Medium-Term Financial
Strategy (MTFS). Moreover, given the impending Local Government
Reorganisation (LGR), the likelihood of successfully recruiting a
candidate with the requisite strategic capability and long-term
commitment would have been significantly constrained.