Public sector organizations consist of complex systems and its people the lifeblood and links which chain together organizational performance. The Delphi research methodology bases a South African local government organization, the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (CTMM), as its context, yet also highlights factors typical to many public sector organizations. Career management success factors of civil engineers, technologists and technicians are explored from employee and organizational perspectives. The demographic results describe the 42 Delphi participants at primarily senior managerial level, with 24 years average work experience and with post-graduate qualifications. The three rounds of qualitative and quantitative questionnaires focused on the desired, current and feasible states of career management with results revealing significant gaps in factors of public service motivation (PSM), technical skills, organizational structure and organizational policy. The Likert-based data was statistically analyzed via Spearman's rho coefficients, means and medians. The results revealed the respondents' positive attitude regarding the feasibility of closing gaps to reach career management goals. The recommendations describe the importance of converting on paper career management policies into tangible outcomes. Therefore, the buy-in of CTMM leadership into the importance of career management to the municipality as a whole is crucial for its continual success.