City starts search to fill two key positions after shake-up

THE City of Greater Geelong has moved to replace a resigning director and departed executive manager, as it continues to rebuild in the wake of a leadership shake-up.

Earlier this month the council issued job advertisements to fill the positions of director of community life and executive manager of people and organisation development.

The director of community life position was vacated following the unexplained resignation of the former director Linda Quinn, as revealed by the Geelong Advertiser last month.

Ms Quinn was the last council director left standing from the period detailed in a damning Commission of Inquiry report.

Geelong chief executive Martin Cutter confirmed Ms Quinn’s resignation last month in a brief statement.

“The City will commence recruiting for the role of director community life in the first quarter of 2019.

“We respect the privacy of our employees and do not provide detailed commentary re- lating to information.”

The advertisement for the director of community life position describes the role as “pivotal in supporting the 30-year vision for a clever and creative city”.

The council has also advertised to replace the executive manager of people and organisation development, following a move to WorkSafe by former personal manager Andrew Keen late last year.

The council’s job hunt comes following a clean-out of directors since the 2016 council sacking, along with the resignation of former chief executive Kelvin Spiller in 2017. The City of Greater Geelong’s leadership changes are just the latest in the region following an executive level exodus from prominent organisations in recent months and years.

Barwon Health this month launched the search for its new chief executive, while other organisations looking to fill key positions include the Geelong Chamber of Commerce and Kardinia Park Stadium Trust.

Deakin University and the Committee for Geelong have both recently replaced their top positions.