Hamilton City Council chief shakes up management structure ahead of local government reform

Hamilton City Council's new structure will be in place by early July, in time for the new financial year. Photo / Hamilton City Council

Current executive staff at Hamilton City Council have been invited to apply for five new roles in the management team as chief executive Lance Vervoort implements a major restructure of the organisation in advance of local government reform.

“Three Waters reform, along with RMA reform and change within local government itself, will have a major impact on our organisation,” Vervoort said.

“Change is coming and we must prepare for it. We can’t respond to a new world with an old structure. We have a responsibility to our community to build an organisation which is nimble, fit-for-purpose and ready for change.”

The city boss has reduced his number of direct reports from 12 to eight, and so far has appointed just three of those roles from within the existing senior team. Current executive staff have been invited to apply for the remaining roles, plus two specialised fixed-term positions focused on critical infrastructure.

Hamilton City Council chief executive Lance Vervoort.

A new general manager role driving partnerships, communication and delivering on Te Tiriti has also been created.

Vervoort has also reduced the number of groups within the council and has created a stand-alone People, Performance and Culture group to focus on building a high-performance culture.

Vervoort, who has headed the organisation since 2021, said in a statement he will have his new structure in place by early July in time for the new financial year. He would not rule out further changes across the rest of the organisation once all general managers were in place.

He acknowledges significant financial pressures facing the council, but said this was not about “cutting staff to cut costs”.

“This structure is not about cutting costs in the short term, it’s about setting us up in the right way to deliver long-term financial sustainability. How we’re structured is one of the things we need to look at, but there are other things too - such as how we plan our programmes of work, and what systems, processes and technology we need in place to work more efficiently and effectively.”

“We need to look at the organisation as a whole, not roll out simplistic changes in isolation from the bigger picture.”

The last time Hamilton City Council looked at the structure was in 2015, under the leadership of Richard Briggs.

“Since then our organisation, community and the sector we work in has changed dramatically. It’s time to re-look at what we’re doing and how we’re doing it so we can keep delivering for Hamilton, " Vervoort said.