All CEO candidates unsuitable for NZF

Football

New Zealand Football’s search for a new chief executive received a setback before Christmas, while the list of vacancies at the organisation is growing.

Sportspeople Recruitment was tasked with conducting the search and said in its employment outline that final interviews would be scheduled for mid-December, with an appointment before Christmas anticipated when it was posted at the end of October.

It is understood the governing body’s executive committee [ExCo] was presented with candidates for the role, but decided none were suitable, so the recruitment process has effectively begun again.

NZ Football has been without a chief executive since June last year, when Andy Martin resigned after four years in charge, as concerns mounted that the organisation had failed to act swiftly to address issues with player welfare.

Andrew Pragnell has filled the role on an interim basis since the start of August and will continue until a suitable candidate is found.

In a statement, ExCo president Phil Barry said only that the recruitment process was ongoing.

‘‘[We] believe we need to take the necessary time to find the best person to lead NZ Football going forward over the coming years. Accordingly the search process is ongoing.

‘‘We are fortunate that Andrew Pragnell is willing to continue as interim CEO until an appointment has been made.’’

While the search for a new chief executive continues, the search for a new technical director to replace Andreas Heraf, who resigned in August and was later found to have breached NZ Football’s code of conduct, remains on hold. Former All White Andy Boyens has filled the role on an interim basis since September.

NZ Football will soon also need a new chief operating officer, coach development manager, and high performance manager, with Dave Payne, Steve Dillon, and Dwayne Woolliams all moving on.

Ideally a new chief executive and technical director would be in place to oversee the hiring process for those roles.

The failure to find a suitable chief executive from the original wave of applicants highlights the challenges NZ Football is facing as an organisation.

It was taken to task by employment lawyer Phillipa Muir last October, when she released the findings of her independent review into its conduct and culture, which was instigated following complaints from Football Ferns players about Heraf that she found to be substantiated.

Muir found there needs to be ‘‘a greater focus on staff wellbeing and developing the people at NZF’’.

Andrew Voerman