Tauranga City Council has approved a six-figure budget to find a new chief executive, who councillors say will need to lead significant organisational change.
By Ayla Yeoman of Local Democracy Reporting
Marty Grenfell resigned suddenly on September 29 after eight years in the role. He left three days later.
The council appointed Gareth Green, who managed the mayor’s office, as acting chief executive.
Today, it confirmed he would continue as interim chief executive from Tuesday.
The appointment was made at Wednesday’s council meeting, at which the council also set a budget of up to $100,000 (excluding GST) to recruit a permanent replacement.
It could be used for executive search fees, advertising, assessment, due diligence, candidate travel, legal and independent remuneration advice and other recruitment and appointment costs.
A subcommittee will oversee the recruitment process, made up of Mayor Mahé Drysdale, Deputy Mayor Jen Scoular, Tauriko councillor Martin Rozeboom and Pāpāmoa councillor Steve Morris.
This committee would recommend a shortlist of candidates for interview. The full council will make the final appointment.
Drysdale told the meeting that finding a new chief executive needed to be treated as a priority and was expected to run until March.
He said Tauranga was grappling with growth, a difficult financial situation and significant reform, while the council also needed to drive change from the Davison review.
The review into January’s Mount Maunganui landslide tragedy criticised how the organisation managed risk.
“It’s about finding someone that has the ability to implement change within the organisation,” Drysdale said.
The council needed a leader who could take staff through that change, improve organisational culture, manage risk and strengthen the council’s service to the community.
Local government experience was not vital, but would help, given the complexity of the sector.
Appointing a new chief executive was “probably the most important role that we will do through our term”.
Scoular said the council needed an experienced, independent person involved in the recruitment process.
She said transformational leadership would be critical, pointing to major infrastructure delivery, cultural change and what she described as a period of instability and continuing change.
Rozeboom said the successful candidate would need to quickly assess whether the organisation had the expertise and capacity to meet the demands of Tauranga’s growth.
Arataki councillor Rick Curach said understanding public service and the relationship between the chief executive and elected members would be critical.
Welcome Bay councillor Hautapu Baker said he did not want “another CEO that’s just rewrapped, but the same archetype”.
“I want a revolutionary, I want a disruptor, but I also want someone who can weave people, weave opportunities, weave outcomes together.”
Matua Ōtūmoetai councillor Glen Crowther said the council needed to find a “sweet spot” between experience, an understanding of local government and innovative thinking.
Te Papa councillor Rod Taylor said he was looking for someone who could “bring the organisation back together” after years of change.
Te Awanui councillor Hemi Rolleston said the council also needed to consider what would attract strong candidates, given the organisation’s highly public challenges.
“It’s become an extraordinarily big job and extraordinarily big challenge.”
The council needed someone courageous enough to challenge elected members.
“We don’t want somebody that’s just coming in to execute what this council wants. We want a healthy tension at the table.”
The permanent chief executive may be appointed for a term of up to five years.
A report presented to the meeting identified desired capabilities including organisational transformation, risk leadership, major infrastructure delivery, financial management, political acumen, relationship-building with iwi and hapū, and the ability to provide elected members with “free, frank and high-quality advice”.
Tauranga City Council's chief executive Marty Grenfell told Breakfast he knew the organisation "better than anybody" and maintained he was "best placed" to address the issues uncovered in the review. (Source: Breakfast)
The council plans to appoint an independent executive search partner after a selective closed-tender process. Proposals were received on October 14.
Under the indicative timetable, the position description, candidate brief and selection criteria would be finalised next month before advertising and the executive search begin.
The report indicated the recruitment process was expected to run until about March.
Grenfell resigned amid fallout from the Davison report.
Former judge Paul Davison’s report criticised the council’s risk management over four decades before January’s deadly Mauao landslide, which killed six holidaymakers at a council-owned holiday park.
He recommended ways the council could improve, which it has committed to completing.
Tauranga mayor Mahe Drysdale said he has apologised to the families for the "failings" of his council. (Source: 1News)
In a statement today announcing Green’s interim appointment, Drysdale said he had the council’s “full support and a clear mandate to lead the organisation with the authority of the chief executive”.
This included making whatever changes Green considered necessary to “strengthen the organisation and its performance”.
– Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
SHARE ME