Interim Assistant Director - Environment & Leisure

Interim Assistant Director (Environment & Leisure)

6 month initial contract Late August / Early September start
£700-£850 per day (DoE)
Inside IR35 (via umbrella)
Hybrid working (3 days per week on-site) Central London

About the role

Are you ready to step into a high impact leadership role where your decisions will shape frontline services from day one? As Interim Assistant Director (Environment & Leisure), you will report into a senior director and lead a broad, visible portfolio spanning waste, parks, leisure and critical community services. With a stable senior structure already in place, your focus will be on driving delivery across key transformation programmes and politically sensitive priorities-making this the ideal opportunity for a confident, collaborative leader who thrives in complex environments.

This Interim Assistant Director (Environment & Leisure) role offers an immediate start window to ensure a smooth handover, with a clear mandate to maintain momentum across essential services and strategic commitments.

Your role

• Lead multi service operations across waste, street cleansing, parks, leisure, fleet, parking and bereavement services
• Drive key transformation projects, including waste service changes, garden waste charging and food waste rollout
• Deliver against MTFs priorities, navigating politically sensitive areas such as libraries and community provision
• Provide strong leadership to Heads of Service, embedding a collaborative, people focused culture
• Work across partnerships, including outsourced leisure provision and contracted waste services

Your experience

• Proven AD level leadership within a local authority (minimum 2-3 years, ideally more)
• Strong waste and street cleansing expertise, with a deep understanding of operational delivery
• Track record of leading frontline services in complex, high pressure environments
• Collaborative leadership style-you bring people with you rather than disrupt unnecessarily
• Experience managing in house teams and external partnerships effectively

This Interim Assistant Director (Environment & Leisure) opportunity requires you to be on site three days per week, ensuring strong visibility and engagement with operational teams.

Our commitment

Our clients are committed to building diverse teams and making fair recruitment decisions based on skills and experience. Reasonable adjustments will be fully supported throughout the hiring process.