This month we caught up with Erin Findlay, Senior Manager - Community Services at City of Playford about her role, the 21st Annual Leadership Excellence Awards and what she enjoys doing outside of work. 

What is your role and what does it involve?  

My role is interesting and diverse. I oversee all Community Services at the City of Playford - so that’s everything from Home Assist and disability services to community development to creative cultural development. My role is really to focus on that next 2 to 3 year window in terms of strategic service delivery. It’s a fantastic, fast paced and rewarding role.

Earlier this year City of Playford won the Community Partnerships and Collaboration Award at the 21^st Annual Leadership Excellence Awards for the Playford Wellbeing Hub – can you share an overview of the project?  

In late 2020, the City of Playford collaborated with Wellbeing SA as the lead agency of the South Australian Government’s Statewide Wellbeing Strategy on a project to support physical, social, mental and community wellbeing in response to COVID-19.

The Playford Wellbeing Hub launched in December 2020 and within 12 months saw 3168 attendances at 46 different initiatives designed to create opportunities to be active, support wellbeing through food, strengthen social connections and encourage community capacity building and connection to the Hub.

The project’s success has been founded on strong partnerships with 56 organsiations, including State Government agencies, local community groups, sporting clubs, schools, businesses and volunteers.

The goals of the hub are to:

• Creating opportunities to be active
• Supporting wellbeing through food
• Strengthening social connectedness to foster wellbeing
• Encouraging community capacity building and connection to the Hub.

What does this award mean to the Council, staff, and the community?  

Its an important award as it recognises the value of partnerships. It acknowledges that when different levels of government truly work together in partnership there are so many benefits and better outcomes to be had.

For the dedicated staff who have worked hard on the project, it’s a great recognition of their effort and commitment.

For our community, this award is quite special. Our community have been closely involved in the design, delivery and evaluation of the project. This has been really successful and has meant that the community have taken real ownership in the project. It shows that when we involve the community as a partner, the sky is the limit!

What is the most satisfying thing about working in Local Government?   

For me, it’s the ability to impact people’s lives in a positive way. Working so close to the community allows us interact on a meaningful basis and make a real difference.

Finally – what do you enjoy outside of work? How do you spend your leisure time?   

Outside of work I enjoy time with my family friends. I’m a big sports fan and I love to watch a range of sports. I also enjoy hiking and I can’t wait to take my new puppy out on the trails. Finally I’m working towards one of my lifetime goals, competing in a half ironman. It’s a slow process but I’m just aiming to finish!

This month we caught up with Matthew Sexton, Workgroup Leader, Cityscapes Horticulture at City of Adelaide about his role and being named emerging leader of the year. 

What is your role and what does it entail? 

I have the best role in local government! My day-to-day tasks vary significantly, I work with the Greenwaste & Nursery, Squares, Streetscapes and Biodiversity teams to manage our horticultural spaces in and around the city.

Some tasks include scheduling works, allocating resources, monitoring, planning and prioritising our staff’s health, safety and wellbeing. I strive to develop staff through training and development opportunities, closely working with the city operations leadership team.

We love to promote our horticulture work and engage with residents and visitors to the city. The Community Gardening Program has given our teams a chance to share their knowledge and experiences in sessions at our libraries and community centres.

We also have lots of fun working with the marketing team in showcasing city operations teams efforts and achievements on social media!

What is your career background? 

After finishing up at Adelaide High School (the best school around) I continued my study at the University of Adelaide completing a Bachelor of Economics. After many exams and late night shifts working in the Advertiser’s printing department, I was keen to pursue a new opportunity working outdoors!

I started my Horticulture apprenticeship through Maxima and spent time at City of Salisbury and City of Burnside learning about reserve maintenance, irrigation, parks and gardens and arboriculture before finding my way to the City of Adelaide to finish my third year at the Nursery.

In 2018 I became a Horticultural Tradesperson with the City of Adelaide and in 2021 I was given the chance to act in the Workgroup Leader role for 6 months. I was successful in applying for my current position last June - how time flies!

Nothing beats working in the CBD and North Adelaide, there's always a great feeling in the city and we are surrounded by the magnificent parklands!

You were awarded Emerging Leader of the Year at the 21^st Annual Leadership Excellence Awards earlier this year – what advice would you give to someone thinking of nominating for a leadership excellence award? 

Recognise and celebrate success! Local Government is full of people who display so much pride and passion delivering day in and day out, driving improvement with innovations and providing a great customer experience! Nominating for a Leadership Excellence Award is about sharing your work with colleagues to continue inspiring fellow LG Professionals.

LG Professionals SA sure know how to put on a great night out.. the leg muscles were sore from the dance floor for many days after.. so stay well hydrated!  

Can you share with us any exciting projects you’re currently working on? 

We are currently renewing streetscapes in partnership with our asset management and design teams. When driving around the city streets you will notice garden beds in our median strips and verges being replenished.

This year we worked with our regulatory services team to increase and support outdoor dining areas for businesses in the city as part of the City of Adelaide’s Reignite Program. We provided planter boxes to enhance the dining experience, with our team seeing the spaces they created enjoyed by all and the positive feedback received showed the impact it had.

You’ve previously participated in the Management Challenge and more recently our Ignite Leadership Program – why do you think it is important to expand your networks and invest in professional development?

I expressed my interest to do the challenge after a colleague mentioned the fun he had trying something completely different to the norm and embracing being uncomfortable. 

The Management Challenge helped me understand the big picture of local government. I learnt about our critical functions within the City of Adelaide in a great team environment, establishing connections that I now get to collaborate with and learn from every day in the workplace.

Ignite is a stern test of what I have learnt so far and how I can continue developing my leadership style, amongst a diverse group of talented local government professionals all willing to share their knowledge. We love to support each other so we can help our colleagues at work and those in the community enjoy everything local government has to offer!

Choosing to utilise these fantastic programs on offer from LG Professionals SA is something every person who is motivated by achieving great outcomes within the community should take up and you will see your network expand.

Finally, what do you like to do in your leisure time? 

Lawn Bowls! I started playing 5 years ago at the marvellous Adelaide Bowling Club, located at Rymill Park. Such a great sport where you meet people from all walks of life and build great friendships whilst having the competitive outlet... and the odd beer.

There is an underdog lawn bowls story I have from last year, we put a team together involving a few friends I had made through bowls for a tournament including; a division 7 bowler, a 13 year old and a retiree. We ended up winning the South Australian State 4’s title - it was quite surreal and still hard to believe - it was almost bradbury-esque!

And yes, I watch Crackerjack often!

This month we caught up with Jason Norman, Operations Manager - Infrastructure & Environment at Light Regional Council about his role, and what he enjoys most about working in local government. 

What is your role and what does it involve? 

Operations Manager - Infrastructure & Environment, Light Regional Council

I’m fortunate to be part of a 30-person team that delivers both civil and horticulture programs within Council, ranging from large capital projects to maintenance tasks including mowing of lawns, maintenance of garden beds and open space areas.

Light Regional Council were finalists in the Excellence in Infrastructure Delivery Award category in this year’s Leadership Excellence Awards for the Gerald Roberts Road Culvert Project – can you share an overview of the project? 

Gerald Roberts Road runs through the western ridge of the Barossa and provides a strategic transport link from the Adelaide Hills through to the heart of the Barossa and the iconic Seppeltsfield Road. When Council was faced with the renewal of a floodway through the Greenock Creek, it was clear that much more than a floodway was needed to cope with the increasing traffic being drawn to this area.  A cost effective solution that provided year-round access was needed.

In December 2020, Light Regional Council was successful in receiving a $250,000 grant from the Australian Government through the Bridge Renewal Program to assist constructing the bridge.

Design works and community consultation commenced immediately after the announcement and a plan was developed to construct a large opening box culvert that improved safety for the road user whilst limiting the impact on the surrounding viticulture and tourism industries that had been heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The culvert construction methodology minimised the road closure to total of 8 Weeks and the project team delivered a 3.8m high bridge spanning 17m within the $500,000 budget.

Why did you enter the Leadership Excellence Awards? 

It’s important to continually recognise high performing teams and the LG Professionals SA Awards are a great way to acknowledge new initiatives that can be shared with other Councils. The Roads and Construction Team that constructed the bridge are a small team of six and the outcome that they achieved was worthy of recognition external to our Council. They demonstrated that complex projects can be delivered by staff within the Local Government sector.

What would be your advice for others thinking of nominating for a Leadership Excellence Award in the future? 

I would highly recommend others to nominate their Council for a Leadership Excellence Award. You might be surprised by the positive impact it will have on the culture of your wider team.

What is the most satisfying thing about working in Local Government?  

After working in the private sector for 15 years before moving to local government, I find that the variety in the daily tasks that I perform is quite satisfying. I can be involved in the laying of 800t of asphalt one day and planting 100 trees the next.  

I’m also fortunate to work with an amazing team at Light that empower its staff to make real changes for the community.

Finally – what do you enjoy outside of work? How do you spend your leisure time?  

Give me a day up the river with my family and friends, glassy water, good food, a fire at night and a couple of sneaky beers and I’ll be a happy man.

This month we caught up with Shani Wood, Environmental Officer at City of Holdfast Bay about her role, the Leadership Excellence Awards and what she enjoys most about working in local government. 

What is your role and what does it involve? 

Environmental Officer within the City Assets and Services Department for the City of Holdfast Bay.

My role has a strong focus on waste education and projects. In my 10 years as Environmental Officer I’ve been fortunate enough to lead the development and implementation of a number of innovative community waste projects including:  all stream kerbside bin inspections and tagging, a compostable bags in supermarkets trail and most recently our weekly green FOGO bin trial.  Another fun and less stressful part of my role is community and school waste talks where I often dress up as Shani Banani (me in a cheap banana costume) in order to encourage residents to place food scraps in their FOGO bin. My role also involves the facilitation of other environmental themed community engagement programs including our Green Living and Resilient South workshops and Green Living subsidies. 

City of Holdfast Bay are a finalist in the Excellence in Environmental Leadership and Sustainability Award category in this year’s Leadership Excellence Awards for the Driving Landfill Reduction Through Weekly FOGO Collection Trial – can you provide an overview of the project? 

Over 1,000 households within the City of Holdfast Bay have been piloting weekly kerbside green FOGO bin collections and fortnightly landfill collections since September 2020. Switching landfill and FOGO bin collections frequencies makes it easier for householders to place food scraps in the FOGO bin. The associated increased landfill diversion reduces landfill greenhouse gas emissions, assists in job growth within the circular economy and assists both council and the State Government in reaching carbon neutral, circular economy and landfill diversion targets.

Households participating in the default weekly FOGO service have achieved a landfill diversion rate of 76%, this being 6% higher than the 70% municipal landfill diversion target set by the state government and 26% higher than the average South Australian council’s landfill diversion rate.

Utilising “FOGO champions” to create a social norm around the pilot is seen as one of the key drivers in the success of the pilot along with a strong working relationship between all parties involved (Elected members, waste contractor, focus groups and key State Government departments).

Now that all has been revealed and City of Holdfast Bay were announced as the winner of the Excellence in Environmental Leadership and Sustainability Award last Friday, what does this award mean to the Council, staff and the community? 

The weekly FOGO pilot has been a long 3-and-a-half-year journey and means a lot to all who are involved.

The Holdfast Bay community have been leaders in sustainable waste management since the introduction of kitchen caddies in 2013. It is hoped that the weekly FOGO/fortnightly landfill model raises the bar for South Australia councils to increase landfill diversion, reduce greenhouse gases and create more jobs within the circular economy.

Why did you enter the Leadership Excellence Awards? 

I see the Leadership Excellence Awards as not only an opportunity to acknowledge innovative projects across Local Government but a good opportunity to share knowledge and ideas for adoption across the sector.

What would be your advice for others thinking of nominating for a Leadership Excellence Award in the future? 

Go for it!

Run your application past project team members for ideas and feedback (or in my case a spelling check!).

What is the most satisfying thing about working in Local Government?  

Working with and for the community. Helping residents and businesses make small behaviour changes for the benefit of both the environment and society.

Working with likeminded and passionate colleagues also makes the job even more enjoyable.

Finally – what do you enjoy outside of work? How do you spend your leisure time?  

My partner Ben and I have four girls under 11 between us - that keeps us busy!

I love playing mixed netball, walking our three dogs, watching Port Adelaide play and obsessing over my many pot plants.

This month we caught up with Sheree Schenk, General Manager Governance and Executive (CEO) Office at Adelaide Plains Council about her role, her recent experience with the Executive Leaders Program and what she enjoys most about working in local government. 

What is your role and what does it entail? 

General Manager of Governance and the Executive (CEO) Office. I am responsible for Governance and Legislative Compliance, Work, Health and Safety, Risk Management, Human Resources, Records Management, Property, Marketing and Communications, Media/PR, Customer Service and Administration. My role is quite broad and entails managing Council’s corporate services, ensuring legislative compliance and best practice across the organisation.

What do you enjoy most about working in Local Government? 

I love the diversity of Local Government, particularly being at a ‘smaller’ Council. In my 6.5 years at APC, I have been exposed to every aspect of our organisation. I have been fortunate enough to have had several opportunities and experiences and this has allowed me to grow and develop in a relatively short period of time. I also really enjoy the teamwork and networking opportunities that come with working in LG.

You participated in the 2022 Executive Leaders Program. How did you find the program? Any highlights you’d like to share? 

I thoroughly enjoyed the Executive Leaders Program. It was a unique learning experience that I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of. Having the cohort travel intrastate and stay together for a couple of days created a solid and safe foundation for the group to flourish. I enjoyed how challenging the course was and how much it has made me re-think my approach to leadership. Getting to meet and build relationships with like-minded people was definitely a highlight for me!

Why do you think it is important to step outside your comfort zone and take on new challenges?

It is very easy to become complacent, in both your professional and personal life. This is why it is important to regularly step outside of your comfort zone and take on new challenges. Being out of your comfort zone allows you to mature and grow from new experiences. For me, taking on new and regular challenges contributes to my overall happiness and allows me to live life to the fullest.

Finally, what do you like to do in your leisure time? 

I enjoy sport, fitness and the outdoors. I have a partner and young daughter and we are an adventurous family who love the beach and going camping most weekends!

This month we caught up with Domenic Perre, Road Construction and Capital Projects Coordinator at District Council of Loxton Waikerie about his career, leadership journey and the Rural Management Challenge.

What is your role and what does it entail?

My role encompasses a mix of coordination of two road construction crews and four maintenance patrol graders, over a network of 10 towns and 3,000km of roads, as well as assisting the Director of Infrastructure with grants, council reports and dealing with public requests.

What do you enjoy most about working in Local Government?

I enjoy being part of a team that focusses on making our area a great place to live and having pride in our accomplishments. I also enjoy the networking with other similar rural councils to find solutions to issues that are too challenging to fix on your own, and the friends I have met along the way.

You are currently participating in the 2022 Ignite Program. How are you finding the program so far? Any highlights you’d like to share?

The Ignite program is aptly named as I find this program to be a spark to make me think about how effectively I can do my work. I have done leadership programs in the past, but it is great to have new ideas and practices that cater for today’s environment. There are a lot of people that can benefit from the Ignite Program, and I can only hope to spread the message it sends, which is to be a better leader.

You were Mentor of the 2021 winning Rural Management Challenge team from District Council of Loxton Waikerie - congratulations!  What advice would you give to others thinking of taking part in the future?

The honour of being part of this amazing Challenge was one to be remembered for decades. The main advice I would give is for the team to put everything about themselves on the table early in the training time, whether it is good or bad. That way the team can sort through, select their strengths and weaknesses, and get on with producing quality work, in quality time.

Finally, what do you like to do in your leisure time?

I have a family with two kids which take up most of my leisure time! I do lots of gardening and like to help my family with cooking and catering for events. I am also a 2^nd Dan Black Belt and like to help teach Chidokan Karate at my local Dojo. I read a lot, watch lots of movies, and tinker with computers.

This month we caught up with Katrina Fromm, Deputy CEO at District Council of Karoonda East Murray about her career, leadership journey and what she enjoys most about working in local government.

What is your role? Describe a typical day.

I have been employed with the District Council of Karoonda East Murray for just over six years, I currently hold the position of Deputy CEO.

I work closely with our executive leadership team to help achieve the Council’s goals and objectives. I have a diverse portfolio covering Finance, IT, Customer Service, Child Care Centre, Community Services, WHS and Risk. Each day is different and there is always something that will challenge you.

What do you enjoy most about working in local government? 

I really enjoy working closely with our small community, together we have been able to deliver some great projects and services. Being part of a small team enables our staff to be more resilient and deal with anything that comes our way.

You been involved with LG Professionals SA for several years and have participated in various programs and events, for instance the Strategic Management Program, Network Forums and Conferences – can you share with us how these have had a positive impact on your leadership journey?

I recently completed the Strategic Management Program and a few years earlier participated in the Emerging Leaders Program. Both programs enabled me to make some great network connections, being able to interact with peers from across the LG sector. It has given me greater awareness into my working style and preference and how I can work with this and relate it back to my team.

You’ve recently joined the Women’s Network Committee – Is there anything you want to achieve? 

I would like to build on my networking opportunities and connect with other women in Local Government. It will give me the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and to build my network.

Do you have a favourite LG Professionals SA memory?

My favourite memory would be the last Women’s Network Conference at the Wine Centre, where Dorinda Hafner got everyone to stand up and write a word in the air with their bums. This would have to be one of the best conferences I have attended, and I was also able to bring five women from our council to share the experience.

What do you like doing in your leisure time?

Outside of work you will find me catching up with family and friends or relaxing at the river. I also like to travel throughout Australia and look forward to doing more of it now that the borders are opening up.

This month we caught up with Bec Lyons, Coordinator Community Experience at  City of Charles Sturt about her career, the leadership excellence awards and what she is looking forward to working on in the future.

What is your role and what does it entail?

I’m responsible for the strategic leadership of the Community Experience team across 5 Libraries in the City of Charles Sturt. A key part of my role is coordinating operations across community facilities and our frontline teams and driving business improvement projects to ensure our community has access to resources and opportunities to learn and connect. 

What is your career background?

I’m passionate about leading dynamic innovative teams, implementing change and creating spaces that reflect their specific place and people. I’ve been privileged to have spent the last 20 years working in a diverse range of roles across the arts, community development, disaster resilience and local government sectors. I have edited an arts & culture magazine, established not-for-profits, curated arts and literary festivals, launched youth radio shows and run community facilities including community centres, turtle conservation centres, community swimming pools and libraries.

One of the most rewarding challenges of my career, and what truly shaped me as a leader, was when I moved to Sri Lanka to work with AusAid. I spent over a decade leading disaster resilience and community cultural development projects following the Indian Ocean Tsunami.

You were awarded Emerging Leader of the Year at the 20^th Annual Leadership Excellence Awards earlier this year – what advice would you give to someone thinking of nominating for a leadership excellence award?

Believe in yourself! To say I was humbled by the experience is an understatement. Being recognised through the Leadership Excellence Awards gave me a huge boost of confidence and the opportunity to reflect on and celebrate my leadership journey.

Can you share with us any exciting projects you’re currently working on?

We are set to open our first integrated community facility, Ngutungka West Lakes, in early 2022. This is the first time we have brought together our Library and Community Development teams under one roof to provide a seamless community experience through the integration of our services, activities and programs.  It is an exciting time for our organisation and community and I’m so proud to be a part of it.

The beginning of a new year is fast approaching, do you have some future goals in the pipeline?

We have recently started engaging with stakeholders and the wider Henley community as we work towards our second community hub for Charles Sturt. I will be leading the second stage of this project for Community Connections and am so excited to be working with our community to create a place where people can come together to share knowledge, connect and be inspired.

Finally, what do you like to do in your leisure time?

I have a 9-year old; my leisure time these days typically involves Marvel movies and skate parks!

This month we caught up with Ritu Datta, Manager Organisational Development at City of Mount Gambier to find about her new role, career background and why she thinks professional development is important.

What is your role and what does it entail?

I recently commenced a 2 year contract with the City of Mount Gambier in the position of Manager People and Culture, Organisational Development. The position has a diverse portfolio. This role entails strategically partnering with the people leaders and workforce to have the right people in the right roles to enable the organisation to deliver outstanding customer experience. The key components of the position are leadership capability development, change management, executing succession and talent strategy and implementing the overall people strategy that is aligned with the organisational strategic community plan.

What is your career background?

I have worked almost two decades in the People and Culture function in varied roles within Australia and overseas in medium and large organisations within for profit commercial as well as not-for-profit settings. My ethos is that people are an organisation's biggest asset and by investing in people, the organisation reaps benefits and is able to deliver great customer outcomes. I am extremely passionate about mentoring and professional development. I am a certified AHRI HR practitioner and have recently been re-elected to the AHRI SA state council and have the privilege of managing the portfolio of Mentoring and Development for SA. I am heavily involved in LG Professionals SA Network Committees and am a nominated member on the LG Professionals SA People and Culture Network Committee as well as the LG Professionals SA Women's Network Committee. In 2019 I successfully completed the  LG Professionals SA Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) and earlier this year completed the  LG Professionals SA Strategic Management Program (SMP).

Why is local government a great place to work?

The sector provides a wide range of roles at all levels and great growth opportunities. The LG sector is inclusive, supportive and provides diverse roles for individuals. There are inter-council partnerships that enable secondment opportunities as well as working on projects with colleagues from other councils. Within a council there are opportunities that come up to work within different departments and functions that are offered to staff. There are passionate professionals who work in the LG sector and are committed to enhancing the services provided to their communities, residents and businesses. The sector is focussed on people and communities which makes it a great place to work.

What advice would you give to someone looking to undertake professional development?

Just do it. If you are interested in pursuing further development and study make the time to invest in yourself. I would highly recommend broadening your networks and connections and getting involved with the relevant networking committees. Having participated in the LG Professionals SA Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) and Strategic Management Program (SMP), if you aspire to climb up the leadership ladder I would highly recommend you look into these two programs along with other certified leadership courses. I am extremely passionate about mentoring therefore would recommend sourcing a mentor for yourself as well as looking at mentoring other professionals. From my own experience I can tell you that being involved in mentoring is extremely rewarding.

Finally, what do you like to do in your leisure time?

I love spending time with my family, travelling, gardening, cooking and going for walks. I love watching movies and various programs on the tele especially travel, cooking and home renovation shows.    

This month we caught up with Daniel Adams, Manager, Business and Innovation at City of Prospect to find out about his career, why it's important to continually innovate and some of his career highlights. 

What is your role and what does it entail?
Manager, Business Innovation. I head up the Economic Development and Communications team. We want to drive new investment, visitation, development and jobs across Prospect, and share the great news coming out of our community.

What is your career background?
I studied foreign trade and economics at uni, but like a lot of people my age I had to move to the east coast to get into my chosen industry. Before coming to Prospect I worked for Apple before pivoting into local government, working in Economic development for Surf Coast Shire on the Great Ocean Road.

What do you enjoy most about working in local government?I love being able to see new businesses develop and thrive. Where it’s a small homebased business someone is running on the side coming in to learn about social media marketing, or a major new development coming out of the ground. It’s great to help people seize new opportunities.

Why is it important to continually innovate or think outside the box?
The world is changing fast, so it’s vital for leaders in this industry to innovate and adapt otherwise we aren’t going to attract the talent we need or meet the expectations of our community. There are great business coming up with new ways of operating and helping their customers online and in person all the time. This sets new standards for all industries to keep up with, including ours.

What’s your biggest local government career achievement to date?
Before COVID-19 hit at Adelaide in 2020, watching industries overseas getting locked down, I came up with an idea to support our local hospitality sector in the event of a lockdown here. It was called ‘Prospect Delivers”. When the first lockdown was announced, we were quickly about to start issuing two $25 vouchers a week to the vulnerable and isolating members of our community. They were able to trade them in for a meal to be delivered to them by a local restaurant. We promised the businesses owners we would reimburse the business as soon as possible to help keep their business going, knowing cash flow is king. Over the course of two months we funded approximately 3,500 meals for our residents. I had businesses tell me we had ‘saved their business’ and we were inundated by thank you cards from our most vulnerable residents.

Finally, what do you like to do in your leisure time?
I have a two and half year old and a new house to renovate, leisure time is hard to come by.