Tower Hamlets Council is seeking to fill several key director positions across various departments, aiming to establish stability after a period of interim leadership.
The Appointments Sub-Committee convened on Monday, 18 August 2025, to progress the recruitment process for Director roles in Human Resources & Organisational Development (HR & OD), Regeneration and Development, Public Protection and Integrated Enforcement, Corporate Property and Estates, and IT.
For each position, recruitment consultants Penna presented a shortlist report to the committee, recommending candidates to be invited for final interviews. The positions were advertised in June 2025 on the council's website, the Penna Exec Search website, the Municipal Journal, and various other platforms, including social media. Penna also undertook a targeted executive search for each role.
The need for permanent appointments was underscored in the meeting documents. The Public Reports Pack for the Director of HR & OD role stated that interim arrangements are currently in place pending recruitment to the position,
and that not recruiting to the post would not create the necessary stability.
Similar statements were made in the reports for the other director roles, with the Public Reports Pack for the Director of Regeneration and Development noting that continuing with interim arrangements would not create the necessary stability that is required by filling a Director role on a permanent basis.
The Public Reports Pack for the Director of Public Protection and Integrated Enforcement, and the Public Reports Pack for the Director of IT made similar statements.
The Public Reports Pack for the Director of Corporate Property and Estates also noted that not recruiting to the post and continuing with the interim arrangement would not create the necessary stability that is required by filling a Director role on a permanent basis.
The meetings on August 18, 2025 were to agree on a shortlist of candidates to be invited for final interviews. The next meeting date for the Appointment Sub-Committee for the Director of IT position is TBC.
Each Appointments Sub-Committee was chaired by Councillor Maium Talukdar.
To ensure fairness and transparency, the council is adhering to the Equality Act 2010 throughout the recruitment process. The council must not discriminate on the grounds of any protected characteristics identified in the Act and reasonable adjustments are made where appropriate.
The committees were also expected to confirm the minutes of the previous meeting and to exclude the press and public from the majority of the meeting due to the confidential nature of the topics to be discussed.
The agendas, agendas, agendas, agendas and agendas also included a note from the Interim Monitoring Officer, reminding members to declare any interests, including Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPIs) as defined in Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
