Brent Council has approved the extension of fixed-term contracts for two senior roles as part of ongoing recruitment efforts, citing a challenging recruitment market
and a high volume of senior hiring.
The contract for the Director of Resident Services has been extended until March 31, 2027, to facilitate permanent recruitment to the position. The interim appointment for the Director of Public Health and Leisure has been extended until January 31, 2027, or until a permanent postholder is appointed.
These extensions were confirmed at a General Purposes Committee meeting held on Monday, July 27, 2026. Councillor Charlie Clinton had previously sought assurances regarding the timeline for the Director of Resident Services recruitment. The committee was informed that the recruitment process was intended to commence in September 2026 and conclude by March 2027.
The recruitment challenges for these senior roles are attributed to the challenging recruitment market
and the quantity of senior recruitment that are currently underway and capacity within the HR department.
It was acknowledged that a lot of recruitment is taking place at the moment
and there's a lot of interviews taking place.
The Director of Public Health and Leisure is a statutory chief officer role with responsibility for the Council's public health functions and for providing independent professional advice on public health matters to the Council, elected members and partners.
The interim appointment was made to give us a chance to review the service and think about what we wanted it to look like going forward
and to ensure that the members of the new council would appoint to the permanent role.
It was acknowledged that potential delays could arise due to the significant volume of senior recruitment currently in progress.