While the driving force of a partnership arrangement may lie with the mayor or the chief executive officer (CEO), the process of making it happen will normally rest with the administrative leader and the senior management of the municipality. The capacity of the CEO (town clerk or secretary) to work towards the defined municipal objectives, and instigate and manage the strategic planning, consultation, transaction and ongoing monitoring processes, will determine the sustainability of the partnership arrangement and the benefit it brings to the urban poor.
Forms and styles of municipal management vary considerably throughout the world. At one extreme is the innovative manager, highly trained and flexible, able to manage coherent teams, coordinate effectively with the elected members, and understand the municipality as a tapestry of interwoven functions. This manager is often thwarted by rigid procedures, limited finances, the poor skills base of the municipality and externalities impacting on effective management. At the other extreme is the inflexible manager, unable to manage personnel effectively, maintaining authority through a strict departmental division of functions, diametrically opposed to the notion of delegating to the private sector or involving communities as active participants in municipal affairs. Yet in many municipalities, this person is the primary means of implementation and can strongly affect the efforts of innovative political leaders.
In some cases the development of skilled managers has been addressed through a process of professionalisation of local government. In The Philippines, for instance, in the wake of an era when local government acted as a pool for unqualified local personnel, the Local Government Code now details specific requirements in terms of qualification and experience for a range of senior positions. This approach does seem to have had some success in the appointment of skilled professionals, but local government staffing is typically constrained by the low salaries offered to administrative and technical staff, and such staff may still face procedural constraints and obstacles that inhibit the process of change.