Fiona Worrall

Strategic Director, Neighbourhoods Directorate

Hi, I’m Fiona, the Strategic Director for Neighbourhoods here at Manchester City Council. I think this is a great place to work; I should do, I’ve been here for over 30 years!

I’m really privileged to be responsible for the Council’s most diverse directorate of 20 vital service areas. They all work together to create and maintain clean and vibrant neighbourhoods. They do the things that Mancunians have told us to prioritise to make them proud of where they live.

We have around 1,700 people in our team – a variety of full-time, part-time and job shares – fitting work around their home lives and not the other way round!

With opportunities from volunteering, work experience, graduate programmes, apprenticeships, entry-level roles through to senior leadership, I’m confident there’s something for everyone!

The Highways Service is getting our roads into better shape, and keeping them that way. Yes, this means potholes! But also drainage, grid cleaning and a whole host of things no-one really notices unless they start going wrong.

Our neighbourhood teams work in every community and are often the first call for residents who need help and support in a variety of matters.

The Community Safety, Compliance and Enforcement Service works with the police and others in a partnership to keep our residents safe from crime and antisocial behaviour. Among many other things, the team is responsible for animal welfare, infectious disease control, noise complaints and trading standards.

Age Friendly Benches, Whalley Range

Our residents want to keep Manchester tidy. Our waste, recycling and street cleaning team oversee our contractors’ work. They also work closely with community groups and Manchester’s residents to boost recycling and explore new routes to a cleaner city.

Shudehill Cleanup

Manchester boasts 160 parks and open spaces, 42 allotments and three river valleys. They are all managed by our Parks service and our Grounds maintenance staff.

More than 20 libraries are based in the heart of our communities. All now offer a range of services to our residents besides the traditional plentiful supply of books!

Our city is a hotbed of cultural activity which we promote in partnership with a number of local cultural organisations. We also manage Manchester Art Gallery.

Manchester plays host to an exciting range of high profile cultural, sporting and international events managed by our Events Team. These include Manchester Day, The Great Manchester Run, Parklife Festival, Pride Weekend and The National Squash Championships.

Overseeing the contract management of £33 million each year is Commissioning and Delivery. They oversee all our contracts to make sure they provide maximum benefit and best value to our residents.

And finally, Directorate Support are a small team but are the engine-room of our directorate. They provide a range of support services to ensure the smooth running of the rest of our teams.

There are loads of opportunities for career progression in our directorate. We really try to nurture our talented staff and provide programmes of training and support to broaden their experience and develop new skills.

Our vision for the directorate is quite simple, it’s about making Manchester a great place to be. No matter who you are, where you are from or what you have done before, if you are positive and passionate then there’s a place for you in Manchester. We have a really exciting journey ahead of us and if you want to be a part of this, we’d love to hear from you.

Take a look at our current job vacancies