Local government reorganisation (LGR) is no longer a distant policy discussion. Devolution, new strategic authorities and simpler council structures are reshaping councils across England. The ambition is clearer accountability, stronger place leadership and better alignment between services, growth, housing, transport and skills.
But structural change will not deliver improvement on its own. New boundaries and governance models can support better decisions, but people will determine whether the promise becomes reality. Councils must design future organisations while running today's services, balancing financial pressure, political complexity and workforce uncertainty.
At Osborne Thomas, through senior permanent recruitment, interim management and HR consultancy, we see this challenge in real time. LGR has made leadership capacity one of the sector's most urgent risks. The question is not whether councils can fill vacancies, but whether they have the right blend of leadership, interim expertise and organisational development support.
The first shift is to treat senior permanent recruitment as part of LGR planning, not as a transactional response. In areas moving towards new unitary arrangements, the brief is no longer confined to an existing job description. It may involve integrating services, redesigning functions, managing redeployment risk and maintaining staff and member confidence.
That is why we advise clients to start with the problem, rather than the post. Often, the answer will be a permanent leader who can provide stability, accountability and confident leadership through change. These are not simply ‘step-up' appointments. Councils need candidates who can lead through complexity, bring clarity, build trust, work with members and hold teams together while new structures and priorities are shaped.
The market can tell when a brief is unresolved. Senior candidates ask what the organisation will look like after LGR, where accountability will sit, how legacy councils will be brought together and how much freedom the role will have. They are not deterred by complexity. What deters them is ambiguity presented as certainty.
The second shift is to recognise that interim and permanent recruitment are no longer separate conversations. An interim director may stabilise a service, lead a transition workstream, prepare governance or create space for a stronger permanent appointment. A permanent search may then identify leaders who can operate at scale, across political and organisational boundaries, and build confidence during change.
HR consultancy can sit alongside both, ensuring appointments form part of a wider people strategy. This may include capability mapping, structure testing, assessment, coaching, change management support and inclusive selection advice. In this environment, recruitment is only one part of the leadership solution.
The third shift is to invest as much effort in retention as attraction. LGR creates opportunity, but also anxiety. Talented leaders will decide whether to stay, compete, move elsewhere or step away. A strong campaign can bring candidates to the table, but retention is shaped by clarity of purpose, credible governance, honest communication, a functioning team and the authority to deliver.
This is where organisational development support becomes central. Onboarding, coaching, team development, succession planning, consultation and organisational design all determine whether talent translates into impact. For councils under financial pressure, this may feel like a luxury. In practice, it is risk management: the cost of a failed appointment or unsupported transition is far greater.
The sector also needs to tell its LGR story with confidence. Local government offers some of the most complex and purposeful leadership roles in the country, influencing housing, infrastructure, economic development, adult social care, climate resilience, skills and service improvement in one place-based system. But purpose alone is not enough. Candidates need credible pathways, modern cultures, inclusive leadership and honest engagement about inherited pressures.
There is no single solution to the leadership challenge created by LGR. Pay, politics, workload, geography, governance and market competition all play a part. But councils can act now: plan leadership requirements alongside milestones, define outcomes before job titles, use interims deliberately, identify permanent candidates who can lead through uncertainty, assess internal talent with rigour and align recruitment, HR consultancy and organisational design around future capability.
For Osborne Thomas, the responsibility of a partner is clear. We must be market advisers. That means bringing evidence, challenge and candour, understanding council delivery; supporting inclusive processes and helping clients decide whether the answer is a permanent appointment, interim capacity, consultancy support or a combination of all three.
Local government's future will not be secured by redrawing boundaries alone. It will be secured by leadership systems resilient enough to cope with LGR and attract the next generation. The map may be changing, but leadership, workforce planning and organisational support will determine whether reorganisation delivers.
Julie Osborne is Managing Director of OsborneThomas
