Manager | Water Operations
Job No:
PEAK384
Location:
Innisfail
Manager | Water Operations
- 4 Year Contract | Leadership Role
- Career Accelerating Opportunity for Engineer
- Up to $155K + Super + Relocation Assistance
About the Region
Running from Cairns to Cardwell, the Cassowary Coast is one of the undiscovered gems of Queensland - a quiet stretch of coastline bordered by the Wet Tropics Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. Mission Beach (one of four separate towns spread along a 14km stretch of palm-fringed beach) is at its heart. While most of the coastal lowlands has been cleared, there are still plenty of natural places to explore - from isolated tropical beaches to Queensland's two highest mountains, the mist-shrouded Bartle Frere and Bellenden Ker.
The Cassowary Coast is named after the distinctive and endangered flightless bird which inhabits the region, and it covers an area of approximately 4,700 square kilometres. Mission Beach is one of the most important remaining homes of the endangered cassowary.
The region is a mix of town, rural and coastal communities boasting beautiful beaches, lush hinterland and scenic mountains. There are over 3,500 businesses operating in the area, with potential for new business growth and development in all the towns and communities. The most recognisable industries linked to the region are tourism and primary industries. The Cassowary Coast is Australia's premier banana-growing region and a well-known cane-growing region.
Essential services are readily accessible. The estimated resident population is 30,000.
The Cassowary Coast is well connected to other parts of the nation via the Bruce Highway which passes through many of the region's townships. The Palmerston Highway provides connectivity with the Tablelands region and is its major goods transport route. The region can also be accessed by sea through the commercial port at Mourilyan Harbour, by air through one of three aerodromes, and by rail.
Cassowary Coast Regional Council
With 30,000 residents across the major townships of Innisfail, Tully, Cardwell and Mission Beach, Cassowary Coast Regional Council employs approximately 360 people and has recently released its 2021-2025 Corporate plan. In developing this Plan, they have reviewed and renewed their corporate goals in line with Council’s new direction and organisational culture. The overarching vision for the Cassowary Coast region is ‘to provide great experiences, deliver value and create a sustainable future for their community.’ By 2025 the goal is regional infrastructure that delivers appropriate levels of service supported by the community and are financially sustainable.
The strategic priorities for 2021-2025 are:
- Community: Our People
- Economy: Our Future
- Infrastructure: Our Built Environment
- Region: Our Natural Environment
- Organisation: Our Team
Strategic Initiatives relevant to this role identified in this year’s Operational Plan include:
- Continue to improve customer satisfaction with all Council services
- Develop the Cassowary Coast Water Loss Strategy
- Continue development and execution of Asset Management Plans
- Delivery of Capital Works Program
- Implementation of the Culture Development Plan
- Develop and imbed Council’s Project Management Framework
- Embed a safety management system to create a safe, secure and well-managed workplace
- Identification of talented employees for development and succession planning to identify critical organisational knowledge and capability requirements for the future
- Develop and implement an organisational Recognition Program
- Provide visibility of opportunities for emerging and established contractors/suppliers within the Cassowary Coast region
The Corporate Plan for 2021-2025 is a key strategic document that provides a framework and guides Council in decision making and setting policy to prioritise and deliver services, programs and facilities to its community. You can access the full document HERE
Underpinning their philosophy and the exciting opportunities ahead, Cassowary Regional Council is proud to provide its employees with excellent employment conditions and benefits that encourage employees to manage a healthy family/work life balance.
These benefits include:
- Generous leave with up to 17.5% annual leave loading
- Up to 5 weeks annual leave
- Long Service Leave which may be available pro rata after seven years of service
- Parental Leave
- Generous Superannuation Plan through LGIA or options to exercise choice impact
- Personal Leave (Sick/Carers) 5 days above the Fair Work standard - 15 days per year
- Learning and Development opportunities
- Reimbursement of some professional registration fees for selected roles
- Employee Assistance Program also available for family members
- Generous Salary Sacrifice opportunities
- Flexible working schedules (determined by operational requirements)
Council's website can be accessed HERE for further details.
The Role
This is a pivotal role in ensuring high quality, reliable and sustainable services are provided to meet the needs of this growing regional area in North Queensland. As a strong leader, you are passionate about providing quality services to your community, and ensuring sustainability is at the heart of the water operations team. Driving constructive improvements to the management of water and wastewater infrastructure will be your overriding objective whilst delivering a suite of capital projects.
Reporting to the Director Infrastructure Services you will have responsibility for leading and galvanising the team leaders and team members. With WHS as a priority you will ensure complete alignment across Council’s water systems and assets to achieve optimum productivity and performance. Your team, and resources within Council provide significant technical skills in the areas of water systems planning, capital budget development, design and contract management so this will allow you to get in and ensure maximum productivity out of your sizeable team.
You can access the Organsational Chart HERE
For a copy of the PD please click HERE
About You
As a motivated and proactive Senior Manager/Water Engineer, you will have the right combination of talent and energy underpinned by a commitment to operational excellence. The position will suit an effective and decisive leader with proven commercial acumen, highly developed stakeholder engagement skills and a strong focus on the benefit this role will bring to the community.
Applications are encouraged from candidates with either Local Government, Water Authorities or perhaps you are an Engineer looking to leverage your strong leadership expertise, budgetary experience, and knowledge of work schedules into the Water arena. Regardless, this is your chance to secure a permanent 4-year contract and to live and work in a beautiful coastal area in North Queensland.
Why this Role?
If you are interested in driving change and making a difference in an organisation and enjoy seeing your leadership result in enabling people to embrace operational efficiencies this is an outstanding opportunity. With 4 water and 2 sewerage schemes there are countless opportunities for improvements. There is a solid asset management plan and strategy in place – the role essentially requires someone to come in and lead the team and implement these.
This could undoubtedly be a career ‘steppingstone’. The skills you will gain are highly desirable in many Councils so you will be well placed to realise any future ambitions. For candidates without Water experience be assured you will be well supported by strong technical resources.
Within this ever-changing world there could not be a better time to secure a role in Local Government and make that ‘sea change’ happen in a move to the Cassowary Coast in FNQ. Council will support you every step of the way to make this a reality so if you have any questions please do not hesitate to call.
As a guide, a salary of up to $155K + Super and relocation assistance will be paid to the successful applicant dependent upon experience and qualifications. You will be based in Innisfail however with team members and infrastructure distributed across the region, 1-2 days could be spent in the Tully Office for those wanting to base themselves in Mission Beach.
PEAK Services is working in conjunction with Cassowary Coast Regional Council, exclusively on this position. We offer local government expertise across a wide range of professional fields, providing tailored solutions for councils and other similar organisations. We work with our clients to deliver meaningful outcomes in the recruitment and contracting services.
How to Apply
Before you apply for these positions, please read the information above carefully to assess your eligibility and suitability for the position. You will be required to answer a few questions that relate to the criteria on the online application below. Please note that you cannot submit your application without attaching your resume. A cover letter is not mandatory but may be added if so desired. When uploading your Resume or documents please ensure file names should only include 'A-z', '0-9', '.' and '-' characters.
PLEASE NOTE: Once you have commenced your application you cannot save and continue at a later stage.
Application will close at 10pm on Monday 2nd August 2021
For a confidential conversation, please call Rona Horsfall, Principal Consultant Recruitment, Peak Services on 0438 943 854.