Situation vacant: chief of staff for newly installed executive running leading capital city. Experience vital, impeccable working-class credentials an advantage, sense of humour unnecessary.

The search is on for the most senior and important members of Boris Johnson’s new team. The new Mayor of London will mark his first proper day in office today with a handful of appointments but many posts are unfilled.

Mr Johnson is currently being supported by a “transition team” led by Nicholas Boles. However, the leading Tory moderniser has told friends that he expects to stay in City Hall for a couple of months only until a new chief of staff is appointed.

It is understood that Mr Johnson is also looking for a senior broadcaster to act as his press secretary.

Both positions are considered vital in maintaining his newfound reputation for discipline.

Lynton Crosby, the political strategist who helped to establish Mr Johnson as a serious alternative to Ken Livingstone, returns to Australia this month. A senior figure close to the mayor said: “He needs people who balance him out and can keep him disciplined.”

Mr Johnson will seek to stamp his authority on City Hall today at a mass meeting with 700 staff. He will outline his vision for the next four years and stress the importance of prioritising his manifesto. He is to mount an inquiry into bureaucratic waste at the Greater London Authority, which is expected to lead to 14 jobs being cut in the mayor’s 70-strong publicity and marketing team.

The Tory team has not ruled out further redundancies, and tensions are high at City Hall, given that a key promise in Mr Johnson’s campaign was to streamline the organisation. He has already signalled that he will not tolerate unsupportive officials. In his first speech as mayor on Saturday, Mr Johnson said: “If there are any dogs in the manger, then I will have those dogs humanely euthanased.”

Mr Johnson, who officially received the seals of office from his predecessor Ken Livingstone at midnight on Sunday, spent yesterday in City Hall working on his initial appointments. One of them was Ray Lewis, a former prison governor, as deputy mayor for young people. Mr Lewis founded the Eastside Young Leaders’ Academy to develop the leadership skills of young black men, prompted by his concern at the number of youths in the court system.

There is speculation that Steve Norris, the Tory mayoral candidate defeated by Mr Livingstone in 2000 and 2004, would take on an advisory role. Mr Johnson is reportedly considering taking on Bill Bratton, the US police chief, to advise on policies to cut crime rates in London, which would further strain relations with Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner. None of Mr Livingstone’s key advisers is expected to be retained.

The Conservatives are understood to be using London as a testing area for policies in their next election manifesto.

Mr Johnson has pledged a range of measures to reduce crime, including the installation of knife scanners at transport hubs and the use of crime mapping throughout the capital.

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