Decreasing the number of staff vacancies will be one of the first jobs Dubbo Regional Council’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Michael McMahon plans to tackle.
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Mr McMahon was appointed to the position on Monday after a 10 month stint as interim CEO after an Extraordinary Council meeting saw councillors resolve to offer the position to the preferred candidate.
“It’s an important role for the community. I’ve been honored to have been given the opportunity to become a permanent leader and work with the councillors and the mayor in ensuring the policies and our systems comply with the local government act, and also with the process of going forward and improving the overall experience for the community when they are dealing with the council.”
Mr McMahon was appointed as the interim general managed at the end of 2017 following the removal of former CEO Mark Riley.
“It’s certainly an honour for me to have been chosen through the recruitment process by the council, and certainly I am very happy with continuing with the opportunity.”
The CEO role is the sixth general manager or CEO role Mr McMahon has held and continues his 36 year career within local government.
He said already they were making a dint in the number of vacancies within council, and they had changed the recruiting process to allow external applications to be accepted rather than opening positions internally first.
“There was a lot more churn in the organisation, making it a very slow process.
“With the fact that I am now a permanent employee there is more opportunity for people, people tend to apply for jobs outside the local area when they know there is a strong leader in that role, and I’ve been in an acting role for 10 months, so I am assuming that there will be an increase in the number of people wanting to apply for jobs in Dubbo Regional Council,” he said.
Mr McMahon was appointed via an external recruitment process that involved a local recruitment panel including mayor Ben Shields, deputy mayor Anne Jones and chairpersons councillor Greg Moore and Stephen Lawrence. Councillor John Ryan also took on the role when Cr Lawrence was unavailable.
In a release to the media Cr Ben Shields congratulated Mr McMahon on his appointment following the ‘open, competitive recruitment process’.
“The role of the CEO is to manage the day-to-day functions of Dubbo Regional Council which is a multi-million dollar business and Mr McMahon brings extensive local government experience from large regional cities as well as metropolitan councils,” Cr Shields said.
“Michael has lengthy experience as general manager of a number of major NSW Councils and the council has full confidence he will serve Dubbo Regional Council well.”
The mayor said the appointment of Michael McMahon will provide added certainty for the community and staff to lead the council through an exciting period of growth.
In a release to the media Mr McMahon said he is looking forward to working with the councillors, directors and all council staff to deliver the strategies, initiatives and projects which will benefit the whole Dubbo Regional community.
“I am looking forward to continue living in Dubbo and delivering on the many great initiatives Dubbo Regional Council has underway,” he said.
The contract of the CEO is the Office of Local Government Standard Contract for the Employment of General Managers for a period of five years. The documents and considerations in relation to this matter remain confidential to Council.