Newly released organisational charts suggests there are up to 700 mid-level managers across government departments.
The disclosures follow questions from Glenfaba & Peel MHK Kate Lord‑Brennan, who asked each minister to publish full organisation charts, including staff numbers, divisions, job titles and direct reports.
The calculation, based on roles such as managers, senior officers and programme leads, indicates that as many as one in five staff could sit within the middle management layer, particularly in policy and corporate functions where teams are smaller and more specialised.
Mid-Level Management
The Department for Enterprise (DfE) has emerged as a key example of this trend. With a total workforce of 241 staff, the department is made up of multiple distinct units, many of which appear to operate with their own management structures.
These include Central Registry (55 staff), Strategy and Policy (42), Visit Isle of Man (31), Ship Registry (29), and the Isle of Man CCA (22), alongside smaller teams such as Digital Isle of Man (18), TT and Motorsport (18), Finance Isle of Man (11) and Business Isle of Man (15).
Taken together, the figures show DfE is a department built around numerous relatively small teams, each often led by its own manager or senior lead.
Across Govt
Across government more widely, the pattern is most visible in departments focused on strategy, policy and economic development, where specialist roles are more common and organisational structures tend to be layered.
In contrast, departments with large frontline workforces, such as infrastructure, education and emergency services, typically operate with fewer managers relative to staff numbers.
While mid-level management is essential for coordination and oversight, the scale highlighted by the analysis is likely to prompt debate about whether current structures strike the right balance between leadership and delivery.
The organisational charts for each department can be found below:
