By Mildura Rural City Council

The rural region of Mildura is on the cusp of change, with sustainability and long-term goals at the heart of Mildura Rural City Council’s new executive leadership recruitment drive.

Located on the Murray River in northwest Victoria, Mildura is a critical regional hub servicing an expanded population of approximately 100,000 people, and is currently in a period of recovery and revitalisation following extensive flooding.

When Martin Hawson was appointed interim CEO at Mildura Rural City Council (MRCC) in August 2021, he had already been part of the largest rural Council in Victoria for over 20 years. So, when formally appointed CEO eight months later, he had a deep understanding of the organisation and vested interest in the local region.

Mr Hawson was also highly motivated to ensure MRCC was well-placed for long term sustainability. “From the inside looking out, I knew we needed a refresh in terms of how we do business and to support our community to thrive,” Mr Hawson said.

“Already being entrenched in the organisation I thought it was important to have an independent eye to look at our current situation, the trends in local government, and where we could make improvements to meet our community’s changing needs.

“In 2022 we engaged an independent consulting firm to run an Organisational Sustainability Review and look at our current operations to assist us to define the future state of our structure and operating model.”

The review included comprehensive employee surveys, one-on-one interviews, detailed benchmarking and analysed the local government sector more broadly. The findings revealed that MRCC faced five main challenges – a lack of responsiveness to changes in the external environment, an elongated structure with inconsistent and cumbersome reporting lines, siloed operations, unsustainable workload pressures in the management team and the decentralisation of some functions; such as project management and strategy development.

“Interestingly, these challenges are not unique to us in Mildura,” Mr Hawson said. “They’re what many local government organisations are facing across the country, as we strive to enhance the social, environmental and economic wellbeing of our residents.” MRCC’s very high staff-to manager ratio was also exasperating the desire for staff to implement change.

“Everything pointed to a need to first refresh our structure and from there, review our operating models across the organisation,” Mr Hawson said. “Investing in this new structure and in our staff, while not increasing the rates burden on our community, has been front of mind in the development of this plan.

“We’ve carefully considered a number of factors to ensure this new direction will see added value and support overall savings for our community.” The recommendations included six key changes to better support an effective, efficient and sustainable organisation, ready to respond to challenges and opportunities now and into the future:

• An increase from three to four departments, with the fourth department to support long-term economic growth in the region
• A flatter structure to better balance teams and streamline decision-making
• Realignment of specific teams and functions who share a common purpose, direction, customers and goals
• Elevating the management team strategic functions which support long-term sustainability and Council’s ability to respond quickly to its external environment
• The introduction of a project management office to achieve greater consistency across project management and delivery
• A renewed customer-centric focus to ensure internal and external customers are at the centre of decision-making

Now, six months after starting the review, MRCC is ready to implement the new structure and is set for the biggest executive leadership recruitment drive in its history. “We have had three acting general managers filling the roles in the old structure and are now looking to permanently appoint to the four redesigned positions,” Mr Hawson said.

“This is a rare opportunity to be part of a complete renewal of our executive leadership team.” Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, the executive leadership team will set the tone for the whole organisation moving forward and will contribute to the strategic direction of the city.

Mr Hawson said the new general managers will provide specialist direction to their department, supporting all staff to deliver the Community Vision and implement the Council Plan. “We have a strong vision and a broad Council Plan that was informed through consultation with our community,” Mr Hawson said.

MRCC Mayor, Liam Wood, said the new organisational structure would enable Council to move the community forward. “Like many regional and border cities, we have faced many challenges over recent years, including the pandemic, changes to the aged care system and the devastating floods,” Mayor Wood said.

“We’re entering a critical chapter for our vibrant regional city and the four new general managers will help shape it.” MRCC has a healthy $154.36 million operating budget and $49.73 million Capital Works budget in 2022-23, and a pipeline of exciting infrastructure and strategic projects underway and on the horizon.

The multi-million-dollar Mildura Sporting Precinct project, revitalisation of the riverfront Powerhouse Precinct and ongoing advocacy for a fairer rating system and government funding are among the big-ticket items. “The changing face of our community needs strong leadership to work alongside councillors and help us to propel the region forward,” Mayor Wood said.

With more days of sunshine each year than the Gold Coast, the Mildura region presents an ideal lifestyle, where metropolitan convenience and connections are balanced with a relaxed regional pace. “Many people move to our part of the world planning to stay for just a couple of years, but they end up living here for life,” Mayor Wood said.

Only a short flight from three capital cities, Mildura boasts quality services, exciting attractions, diverse industries and a strong community spirit, and there are fantastic professional, cultural, social, sporting and educational opportunities on offer. Mildura Rural City Council is now accepting Expressions of Interest for its four new General Manager positions, with interested candidates encouraged to submit a resume and cover letter as soon as possible.