New leader finding her feet at TDC

New Tasman District Council chief executive Janine Dowding is on a steep learning curve.

After three weeks on the job, the former Ministry of Social Development regional commissioner admits she still has a lot to get her head around.

‘‘When I get to the point where I have got through the day and not been really challenged around an issue that I don’t have the knowledge and experience on, that will be a good day,’’ she said, adding that it was stimulating to face those challenges.

‘‘Everything you pick up is interesting and you want to know more about it, so that’s a real change for me, having come from an area that I was so experienced in.’’

Dowding, pictured, spent 33 years with the ministry, becoming regional commissioner in 2003.

‘‘So I come from a role that I knew inside out to a role where I have so much to learn,’’ she said. ‘‘Fortunately for me, I’ve got a great experienced and competent senior management team and staff, so that has allowed me to come in with some confidence that I have the space to learn, and really good support.’’

Her family was also key, she said, including husband Peter and two grown sons, along with her siblings and parents. ‘‘I feel very fortunate to have come through my career with that level of support.’’

The move to local government met a desire to broaden her experience and remain in the NelsonTasman region, an area she has called home for the past 22 years.

‘‘I had depth covered but I didn’t have breadth, and I needed to get out there and experience more. Over the years . . . I’ve had a lot of positive pressure to advance my career and move to Wellington, but my heart is here.’’

Many of the skills she developed at MSD were transferable to her job at TDC, she said.

‘‘You’ve got your strategy, your governance, HR, finance, public management. The biggest learning curve is in the . . . technical knowledge and subject matter, which is massive.’’

The Golden Bay grandstand was one subject Dowding had to quickly acquaint herself with when, just a few days before she started, a majority of councillors voted for its removal. She attended the long-running meeting where the vote was held, a decision that sparked protests and an occupation of the grandstand by people who want the more than 100-year-old structure to stay.

‘‘It’s been an interesting time, to come in the following Monday after a decision of such significance was made,’’ she said. ‘‘I’ve been urged to review that decision, to change it, to revoke it, to rescind it, and my duty is to consider objectively all of the fact, and I’m satisfied that I’ve had no basis to do that – to put that to council.’’

Dowding is also turning her mind to the proposed Waimea dam. ‘‘It is enormously complex,’’ she said.

She looked into the project as she researched for the role of chief executive. ‘‘I’ve come in with a level of objectivity that I intend to hold on to. I will be dealing with a dam scenario or a no-dam scenario, so I need to be prepared for both, and my role is to make sure that the council does its job under either of those scenarios.’’