Lesley Atkinson's contract as director of community and organisational development, has been dissolved in a comprehensive consolidation of two of the organisation's four divisions.

General manager Craig Swift-McNair conducted a full organisational review in August after replacing sacked general manager Tony Hayward six months earlier.

Mr Swift-McNair said the new internal structure aims to make reporting lines more efficient and realign a greater focus on council's key priorities.

"As council continues to move towards being more focused on solutions and delivering outcomes, it was important to ensure that the organisation's structure assisted in this aim and wasn't seen as a barrier to our overall delivery," Mr Swift-McNair said.

He said Ms Atkinson's contract has been terminated as the newly-created division requires a different skill set than what has been historically required. He said all directors were involved in discussions about how the new divisions would best work.

"When you approach these things it is not about personalities, it is about what you are trying to achieve," Mr Swift-McNair said about Ms Atkinson's position. "You need to ask what does that look like and do we have people who have the skills to fill the role. I have led this process and I presented to the executive many options that we have worked through over a period of time."

Ms Atkinson moved to Port Macquarie in 2008, from Bathurst Regional Council, becoming council's only woman in a directorial position for the then community and cultural development division. She has been a strong advocate for women in local government and has played a significant role in enhancing council's engagement with the broader community.

Under the revised structure, council will retain four divisions, with significant changes to two.

Key internal services that support and enable the activities of all other divisions will be combined under the umbrella of corporate and organisational services encompassing IT, financial services, organisational development, governance, commercial business units and procurement.

The division, previously led by Ms Atkinson, will now be known as community and economic growth and encompass all of council's 'outward-facing, community activities' including community engagement and planning, economic development, community place and recreation and buildings, Mr Swift-McNair said.

Recruitment for two new director roles for these divisions will commence next week with successful candidates to be on the job early in the new year. The director of corporate and organisational services will fill the vacant role left by Mr Swift-McNair following his appointment as general manager.

Ms Atkinson will remain in her role until mid-December and is able to apply for the new director's role if she wishes, according to Mr Swift-McNair.

"Essentially while this restructure affects reporting lines for around one third of the staff, our commitment to delivering the services and activities in our operational plan remains the key priority," Mr Swift-McNair said about any concern over job losses.

"This was not a process about losing jobs or achieving a reduction in staff, it was a realignment of the organisation to recognise some of our key priority areas."