This month, we profile Tracey Johnstone from the City of Campbelltown.

Tracey - thanks for talking with us.

What is your current role?

I am Manager Customer & Community Services at the City of Campbelltown

How did you get into that role?

I have worked in community services for over 10 years in a number of roles including community development, volunteer management, community engagement, training, research and social policy.  This was my first appointment in a Manager role within community services and I was excited to return to local government after an 18 month break. 

What do you like best about your current job?

I really enjoy the local government environment and the diversity of projects we get to be involved in and the partnerships we form to work with the community.  Customer Service has been one of the biggest challenges, but I have thoroughly enjoyed learning this whole new area of a Council.

What advice would you give someone looking to get into a similar role?

The advice I would give is to get out and try a range of different areas and experiences in community services, it is such a diverse sector that you need to find something you are passionate about (or as someone once told me 'find something that blows your skirt up!').  Once you have found your passion - keep reading, learning and talking to other people. 

What’s next for you?

I hope to stay at Campbelltown for a minimum of five years, perhaps more as community services is always changing and developing and after working in State, Private and Not for profit environments I can easily say that local government inspires me the most. 

Why did you join LGMA?

I joined the LGMA (SA) as a professional development networking opportunity.  As a new manager I saw the level of experience of the people involved and saw it as a great way to keep learning and build my own knowledge and skills.

Describe a typical day for us…

A typical day is that there will be an underlying chaos that the team thrives in.  There is the typical work we do: phones, projects, meetings, responding to queries, but then there is the atypical part which is why we all choose to work in customer and community services in the first place - the day that challenges us, delights us and amuses us all at the same time means we have had a very good day.