RECRUITMENT OF A GENERAL MANAGER FOR BROKEN HILL … · Heritage Listed City we have much to offer. One of our key tasks is the recruitment of a General Manager to lead our Council

RECRUITMENT OF A GENERAL MANAGER FOR BROKEN HILL CITY COUNCIL

Position Information

Information Package – Position of General Manager – Broken Hill City Council 2

Contents

A message from the Mayor, Cr Wincen Cuy ......................................................................... 3

Background Information ....................................................................................................... 4

The Position and its Challenges ........................................................................................... 7

The Recruitment Process ..................................................................................................... 9

How to Apply for the Position ................................................................................................ 9

Further Information ............................................................................................................. 11

ATTACHMENT 1 – Advertisement ..................................................................................... 12

ATTACHMENT 2 – Position Description ............................................................................. 13


A message from the Mayor, Cr Wincen Cuy

Broken Hill is renowned for its community spirit and resilience. As Australia’s First Nationally

Heritage Listed City we have much to offer. One of our key tasks is the recruitment of a

General Manager to lead our Council.

We have a wonderful opening for an outstanding leader and manager to help consolidate

the many positive changes that have been made in recent years and to navigate and drive

the path ahead.

Local Government across the state is facing significant change. The challenges are exciting

and in many cases will define careers. As a Council we have a defining leadership role both

within the city and across the Far West region of NSW. We seek a General Manager who

can, together with Council, place the Hill in the best possible position to lead us into the

future. We are seeking a General Manager who can see and seek opportunities and has the

ability to make them become a reality.

I am a little biased but living in Broken Hill is a special experience. We have all the

amenities you would expect of a regional city. Importantly our Council is focused on

the best for Broken Hill, there will be many challenges, but with that comes great

opportunity.

This position is vital to the future of Broken Hill and I will do everything I can to

welcome you and work in partnership for the benefit of the City and region. The

Council is united in its desire to improve the lifestyle of this place we call home. I

invite you to come and make your own contribution to our exciting future.

Cr Wincen Cuy

MAYOR


Background Information

About Broken Hill City Council

The Council Vision and Aspirations are:

VISION

Broken Hill will be a safe, vibrant, prosperous and culturally rich City achieved through

community leadership and sustainable development.

ASPIRATIONS

In line with this Vision, the Council aims that Broken Hill will be a community that reflects:

a stable or increasing population;

a more balanced age structure, especially by retaining young people;

an expanding economy;

an increase in employment and education opportunities;

a safe environment in which to live; and

a range of services and infrastructure that is comparable with those enjoyed by

larger communities, including cultural, community and recreational services.

The Council has brought to life the aspirations through a number of initiatives:

On January 20, 2015 Broken Hill was honoured with the citation of Australia’s First

Heritage Listed City. Inclusion in the National Heritage List is the highest heritage

honour in Australia. It recognises and protects our most valued natural, Indigenous

and historic heritage sites and is a collection of 103 sites which have been deemed

to have “outstanding significance to the nation”.

The City has secured $5 million funding for the redevelopment of our Civic Centre to

capitalise on the conference and events market as well as supporting major

attractions and shows. The upgrade is designed to create a hub for Meetings,

Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE) activity in Outback Australia and

address infrastructure needs required to not only meet client standards and

expectations but to assist in achieving the NSW Government goal to double the

value of tourism by 2020.

The City has developed an exciting CBD renewal plan that will highlight our

wonderful post with a modern feel of light and sound. The Broken Hill Living

Museum + Perfect Light Project aims to restore Argent Street to its rightful place in

the social fabric of the nation – uniting residents with visitors in Australia’s first

National Heritage Listed City.

A fully integrated tourism campaign has been conducted over the past 12 months, in

an effort to increase exposure and brand awareness for the destination through the

use of paid and earned marketing channels.


Council embarked on a significant restructure of its workforce in 2014 and continues

to transition to this new structure.

The New South Wales Local Government Excellence Awards were held on

Thursday, April 23, 2015 with over 300 attendees present to celebrate a night of

professional recognition. Council won the Excellence in Leadership and

Management at these Awards in recognition of Creating a Sustainable Change for

Broken Hill. The support of the staff and a commitment to ensuring Council’s long-

term financial sustainability resulted in Council being recognised as a recipient of

this award.

For more information about the City go to www.brokenhill.nsw.gov.au

The Council Organisation

The Council is a proud recipient of the Silver Award in the recent national Gender Equity Awards. The Council represents a vibrant community and is committed to a strategic and long term approach to meeting its vision for Broken Hill as a safe, vibrant, prosperous and culturally rich City achieved through community leadership and sustainable management.

The popularly elected Mayor and nine (9) Councillors represent the City and were elected

September 2012 for a four (4) year term. The Councillors establish the policy and direction

of the organisation and council meetings are held in the Council Chambers on the fourth

Wednesday of every month at 6.30 pm.

The Broken Hill City Council organisation is managed by its General Manager and the directors of three divisions:

Services

Corporate and Human Services

Finance

There are 210 staff providing more than 200 services and managing assets within an annual operating budget of $37,030 million.

www.brokenhill.nsw.gov.au


The organisation structure is shown below:


About LGNSW Management Solutions

Broken Hill City Council has engaged LGNSW Management Solutions (LGMS) to conduct

the recruitment process for the position of General Manager. LGMS is a management

consulting company specialising in local government. We have an expertise in assisting

council management teams and team members to improve their potential, both collectively

and individually.

LGMS has extensive experience in recruitment – see the LGMS website for further

information on at:

lgnsw.org.au/member-services/management-solutions

The Position and its Challenges

Generally

The General Manager is the head of the staff organisation and works closely and co-

operatively with the Mayor and Council to plan, deliver and review a broad range of services

to the Broken Hill community. The General Manager encourages, inspires and leads

strategic thinking, innovation and creativity in the organisation to address diverse and

complex issues. The General Manager plays a major role in policy development and advice,

meeting procedure, and representing the public image of the Council.

The Total Remuneration Package (TRP) for the position is offered within the range of

$210,000 per annum to $240,000 per annum, and is negotiable within that range based

on the experience, skill set and attributes of the successful candidate. The TRP comprises

salary, Council superannuation contribution and private use contribution to a motor vehicle.

The Council, under Clause 8.3 of the contract can reward high levels of performance based

on meeting achievable and numerically quantifiable goals each year.

The Person

The Council identified the following desired skills and personal attributes for the new

General Manager:

Community minded – is visible in the community, develops associations with the

community, has a commitment to the Council and community, represents the

Council organisation with distinction and supports the Mayor in the Mayor’s

community leadership role.

Entrepreneurial – can seize opportunities; can identify revenue generation

opportunities; has the necessary business skills to sustain the organisation; and can

draw upon experience with the private sector.

Passionate – about their job and their community.

Rural and urban – can cut across and be supportive of both sets of interests.

http://lgnsw.org.au/member-services/management-solutions


Regional focus – can actively collaborate with regional councils and organisations,

can actively seek out resource sharing and shared services opportunities, and can

lobby and advocate with government a better deal for the region.

Relationships building – can build a strong rapport with the Mayor, Councillors,

staff community and other stakeholders.

Minimum ego but maximum confidence – is self-assured, can confidently address

difficult issues, but also has a sense of humility.

Can take directions as well as direct.

A Leader – is values based, and can deal with entrenched attitudes within the

organisation and community, can build a new culture of service, can follow through

on past programmes commenced, and can lead in the face of change.

Impartial – can deal with hot topics with a sense of fairness to achieve good

community outcomes.

Visionary – has a strong strategic focus, can see the way forward and provide

sound strategic advice to the Council.

Strength of character – and a resilience and maturity to handle the different

pressures.

Customer focussed – to improve the Council reputation in the community.

Outcomes focussed – has “can-do” attitude and a keen eye for key performance

indicators, delivers on performance and is intuitive and perceptive.

You will have appropriate tertiary qualifications or equivalent and appropriate leadership

and business management experience – with an emphasis on working with the

Council as the governing body. You will achieve the balance – of managing the business

and being out in the community representing the Council with the Mayor and Councillors.

Key Opportunities and Challenges

The position presents both challenges and opportunities. The Council identified the

following specific projects and challenges were listed as requiring the General Manager’s

attention:

Far West Initiative

Local Government Elections 2016

Economic diversification

Ongoing organisational transformation

Community engagement


The Recruitment Process

Advertising

The position of General Manager is being advertised in the following newspapers and

websites in December 2016.

NSW

Sydney Morning Herald 3 day buy commencing Saturday 5 December

National

Local Government Jobs Directory x 3 weeks

Websites

www.careerone.com.au

www.counciljobs.com.au

http://lgnsw.org.au/lgms

The closing date for receipt of applications is 5:00pm Monday 25 January 2016.

Candidates should lodge their application in accordance with the directions outlined in How

to Apply for the Position below.

Shortlisting and Interviews

LGMS will review all applications received and do an initial cull to establish a long-list of

applications for the council’s selection committee to review. From that list a short-list of

applicants will be invited to attend a first interview. First round Interviews will be conducted

week commencing 8 February at the Council’s offices in Broken Hill. If required, final

interviews will be conducted the week commencing 15 February in Broken Hill.

How to Apply for the Position

To discuss your suitability for the position, contact Mark Anderson on

0418 864 866 or email [email protected].

We strongly urge all those interested in the position to contact Mark first for an informal

discussion. Inquiries will be dealt with in the strictest confidence.

After gathering sufficient information we invite you to lodge a formal application by 5:00pm

Monday 25 January 2016 comprising three documents:

a CV; and

an application form/cover letter in Word format (including a head-shot photo) –

attached; and

a response to the Key Selection Criteria outlined below.

http://www.careerone.com.au/

http://www.counciljobs.com.au/

http://lgnsw.org.au/lgms

mailto:[email protected]


We also require you to be very specific in your CV and application form regarding

academic tertiary qualifications – you need to nominate the precise award, where

obtained and what date. If appointed we will need to sight the original certificates or

certified academic transcripts prior to commencement.

Please address the key selection criteria below by illustrating your responses with

examples of how you meet the criteria – it is not sufficient to just indicate what you have

done – we are more interested in the “how”. As a guide we need no more than one

page on each criterion.

Key Selection Criteria

Essential

Tertiary Qualifications in Business, Management or other relevant field.

Demonstrated experience working at senior/executive level in the social, political

and legal framework of local government.

Significant demonstrated ability to utilise a visionary approach and effective forward

planning strategies to capitalise on economic and social development opportunities

for the community.

Proven ability to lead and shape organisational culture to focus on outcomes,

continuous improvement and customer service.

A record of achievement at a senior level in achieving efficiency gains through

reform and innovation.

Extensive experience of leading organisational development and change in a multi-

disciplinary environment.

Strong financial and commercial skills; including exceptional analytical skills and

application of modern business planning principles and management of complex

budgets.

Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to

negotiate and resolve conflict with a wide range of stakeholders.

A record of consistently communicating in a manner sensitive to the interests of all

levels of the community, business and government.

Highly developed political acumen and ability to use professional and organisational

networks and relationships effectively in a political environment.

Demonstrated ethical credibility and integrity.

The ability to work with and within legislation including the Local Government Act as

well as any relevant industrial relations, equal employment opportunity, workplace

health and safety or other related legislation.

NSW Drivers Licence.


Desirable

Post-graduate qualifications in Management, Local Government Management or

Business Administration.

Understanding of the Australian Business Excellence philosophy and commitment to

continuous improvement.

After preparing the response please direct your application (Cover letter, CV, and SC

response) to:

Mark Anderson Email: [email protected]

The closing date for receipt of applications is 5:00pm Monday 25 January 2016.

Further Information

For further information on Broken Hill City Council please access the Council website:

www.brokenhill.nsw.gov.au/

For any further information regarding the position please contact Mark Anderson, on

0418 864 866.

Prospective candidates must not contact Broken Hill City Council to seek information

unless that is readily available to members of the public. If additional information is required

relating to the role or process please enquire with Mark Anderson in the first instance.

(SEE ATTACHMENTS OVER PAGE)

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.brokenhill.nsw.gov.au/


ATTACHMENT 1 – Advertisement


ATTACHMENT 2 – Position Description

Broken Hill City Council Position Description

“An organisation committed to Respect, Integrity, Teamwork, EEO, Excellence and Safety”

Position Details

Position Title:

General Manager

Classification:

Senior Staff Position

Position Number:

GM-SNR-02

Group/Area:

Broken Hill City Council

Reports to:

Council

Hours per week:

As required

Position Purpose:

As the key officer within Council, the General Manager provides overall management

responsibility for Council's operations, through strong leadership, prudent financial

management, promotion of the organisation and its success, as well as maintaining an

effective link between Council and the broader organisation.

Special Requirements:

Travel and out of hours work are required, including attendance at Council meetings.

This position is required to work under a senior management performance contract.

Key Stakeholders:

Mayor

Councillors

Management Staff

Employees

Government and non-government organisations

Ratepayers and other service users

Community Groups and Individuals

State and federal governments and agencies

Associations

Reporting Lines:

This position reports to the Council

The position manages senior managers within the organisation as defined within the

Organisation Structure.


Accountabilities

You will use your professional skills and experience to fulfil the following key responsibilities:

Advise Council and the Mayor on policy matters

Review, update and recommend policy.

Provide oral and written advice to Council and review reports and information provided

to Council form staff.

Provide all necessary support to the Mayor in carrying out his/her duties.

Assist in the administrative management of Council meetings.

Provide a link between employees and Council including making information reports,

policies, resolutions and requests available to staff from Council.

Ensure Council are aware of the medium to long-term commercial options available to

it.

You will lead an effective organisation by:

Leading an organisation which is competitive, customer focused and committed to

best practice.

Lead Council’s Integrated Planning and Reporting processes to reflect Council’s

priorities and objectives ensuring continual review and reporting of Council’s

Community Strategic Plan, Delivery Program and Resourcing plans.

Monitoring the external environment to identify potential risks, threats and opportunities

(i.e. financial, legal, political, economic, technological, ecological and social factors),

and ensuring they are incorporated into Council decision-making.

Adopting a ‘whole of organisation’ approach and contributing strongly to Council’s

overall strategic direction.

Setting and communicating standards of performance and service excellence leading

to achievement of organisational outcomes for the organisation.

Ensuring appropriate organisation arrangements exist to facilitate the achievement of

objectives, including systems, procedures and standards, appropriate assignment of

duties, use of project management techniques, allocation of resources, and clear

management accountability.

Ensuring organisation arrangements enable well-considered, succinct and timely

responses to Council and community requests.

Manage and control the organisation in a cost effective and operationally efficient

manner in accordance with the Councils’ policies/resolutions, and approved annual

operation plan and budget.

Taking calculated risks and ensuring that the organisation adopts modern risk

management protocols and philosophy.

Manage the organisation by providing constructive leadership and people management

Role modelling and promoting the values of the organisation with clarity and credibility

for all staff, regardless of reporting lines.

Communicating and promoting organisational strategy in terms of a vision that inspires

and motivates staff.


Developing and implementing strategies to assist employees to become more goal

oriented, innovative and able to use initiative to solve problems.

Utilising effective communication and delegation such that employees have

appropriate autonomy and accountability ensure decision-making processes are

appropriate for achieving expected outcomes.

Committing to self-awareness and improving your leadership effectiveness.

Building effective and trusting relationships to support collaboration within your division.

Ensuring Council has an effective performance management system, where reviews of

staff performance are conducted regularly and appropriate action is taken to improve

staff performance.

Provide staff development programs and monitor the effectiveness of such.

Promote and provide an equitable workplace.

Providing an internal procedure for managing disputes and grievances in a transparent

way.

Actively pursuing your continued professional development.

You will enhance Council’s relationship with the community by ensuring you and your staff:

Act as the spokesperson for Council in its dealings with the community and the media in

consultation with the Mayor.

Conduct engaging and inspiring consultation with the community to gain an

understanding of its expectations, priorities, and willingness to fund Council services.

Ensure all appropriate mechanism are in place for effective public relations and

communication with the community.

Respond to requests for information in accordance with Council policy and procedures.

Establish performance indicators and ensure they are used to evaluate organisational

performance.

Build networks and professional relationships with community organisations, government

agencies, service providers, businesses and other local governments to leverage

opportunities.

Establish productive partnerships with federal and state government organisations to

promote appropriate consideration of the interests of the Broken Hill community in

government decision-making.

Develop and maintain media relationships to project a favourable image of Council.

Provide an effective public contact facility for ratepayers, residents and other client of

Council.

Lead and/or participate as a member of external committees on behalf of Council.

Manage the organisation through prudent financial management:

Ensure preparation of Council’s Operational Plan annually consistent with Council’s

Long Term Financial Plan and associated corporate plans.


Ensuring prudent financial strategies, including monitoring actual revenue and

expenditure against budgets, and taking corrective action where necessary.

Embracing innovative thinking and planning to optimise the use of Council’s funds.

Adopting a whole-of-Council approach to effective and efficient resource usage and

allocation ensuring proper care and use of Council assets.

Keep Council informed of its financial position.

Ensure seeking creative solutions increasing productivity from the use of technology.

Taking the necessary steps to implement improvements that increase organisational

effectiveness and improve Council outcomes.

Driving a focus on high performance and achievement throughout the organisation.

Identify opportunities for grants and other funding sources and acquire as appropriate.

Maintaining a ‘value for money’ attitude.

You will ensure a safe and equitable workplace environment by:

Acting in accordance with the NSW WHS Act 2011, WHS regulations and Council’s WHS

Framework.

Implementing, monitoring and complying with Councils WHS Framework, including, but

not limited to WHS Policies, Standard Operating Procedures, Risk Assessments/Work

Instructions and associated tools in the work area.

Adequately familiarising yourself with your WHS responsibilities and actively fulfilling

these.

Ensuring Council’s equal opportunity employment practices reflect the highest

standards of ethics, and EEO plans are developed and implemented accordingly.

Other duties

The responsibilities and tasks listed in this position description are indicative only; Broken Hill City

Council may direct the employee to carry out such duties that are within the limits of the

employee’s skill, competence and training.

Employees shall have reasonable and equitable access to education and training to enable

them to acquire the range of skills they required for positions.


Selection Criteria

Tertiary Qualifications in Business, Management or other relevant field.

Demonstrated experience working at senior/executive level in the social, political and legal

framework of local government.

Significant demonstrated ability to utilise a visionary approach and effective forward

planning strategies to capitalise on economic and social development opportunities for the

community.

Proven ability to lead and shape organisational culture to focus on outcomes, continuous

improvement and customer service.

A record of achievement at a senior level in achieving efficiency gains through reform and

innovation.

Extensive experience of leading organisational development and change in a multi-

disciplinary environment.

Strong financial and commercial skills; including exceptional analytical skills and application

of modern business planning principles and management of complex budgets.

Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to negotiate and

resolve conflict with a wide range of stakeholders.

A record of consistently communicating in a manner sensitive to the interests of all levels of

the community, business and government.

Highly developed political acumen and ability to use professional and organisational

networks and relationships effectively in a political environment.

Demonstrated ethical credibility and integrity.

The ability to work with and within legislation including the Local Government Act as well as

any relevant industrial relations, equal employment opportunity, workplace health and

safety or other related legislation.

NSW Drivers Licence.

Desirable

Post-graduate qualifications in Management, Local Government Management or Business

Administration.

Understanding of the Australian Business Excellence philosophy and commitment to

continuous improvement.

Acceptance of Position Description

Approved: Mayor Signature: Date:

I have read and understand the content of the Position Description and undertake to meet the

duties and responsibilities of this position.

Accepted:

Employee Name

Signature: Date:

Documents

RECRUITMENT OF A GENERAL MANAGER FOR BROKEN HILL … · Heritage Listed City we have much to offer. One of our key tasks is the recruitment of a General Manager to lead our Council