Chief Executive Officer

The Central Coast is one of Australia’s ten largest urban areas: a region of more than 350,000 people, 1,680 square kilometres and 80 kilometres of coastline between Sydney and Newcastle, projected to grow to some 415,000 residents by 2046. Central Coast Council is the organisation that serves it. With an operating budget of $850 million a year, a four year capital works program of more than $1.35 billion, a multibillion dollar asset base and responsibility for the region’s water supply and sewerage services, it is one of the largest and most consequential councils in the country, and the scale of its operations is matched by very few outside the capital cities.

Following the retirement of a long serving and highly regarded Chief Executive Officer, the elected Council is seeking a leader of genuine stature for one of the most significant and high-profile local government appointments in Australia. The financial recovery is complete, the organisation is stable and well governed, and the Council is now looking for a Chief Executive Officer who will build on that platform with ambition: lifting performance, sharpening delivery and deepening Council’s connection with the community it serves.

The Role

Reporting to the governing body of the Council as general manager under the Local Government Act 1993, the Chief Executive Officer holds full accountability for the leadership, performance and culture of the organisation. You will lead an Executive Leadership Team of five Directors spanning Community and Recreation Services, Corporate Services, Environment and Planning, Infrastructure Services, and Water and Sewer, and you will be the principal source of strategic, impartial and evidence-based advice to the Mayor and Councillors. The agenda is substantial. Council expects its next Chief Executive Officer to protect and extend its financial sustainability; to provide confident oversight of a regulated water and sewer utility; to pursue economic development and well planned growth actively; and to lead a culture in which people are empowered, accountable and encouraged to challenge the status quo.

About You

You are an accomplished chief executive or senior executive with a record of leading large, complex and multi‑disciplinary organisations, most likely within local government or a comparable public sector or regulated environment. You bring highly developed financial acumen, deep fluency in governance and risk, and demonstrated success in leading cultural change and building high performing executive teams. Tertiary qualifications in a relevant discipline are essential; postgraduate study and experience with water and sewer or another regulated utility are desirable.

Just as important is how you lead. The Council is seeking a leader who builds trusted and productive relationships with every Councillor and provides consistent, professional advice that the whole elected body can rely on; who is candid and constructive, and comfortable offering a considered view on difficult questions; who is conciliatory, collaborative and innovative in equal measure; and who is a visible and trusted presence in the community that they serve.

Why This Role

There are few appointments in Australian local government that combine this scale, this complexity and this visibility. The Central Coast is a region of national significance with a growth trajectory to match, and its Council operates at a scale, and across a breadth of functions, that most councils never approach. For a chief executive who wants to lead an organisation of true consequence, shape the future of a major Australian region and be judged on outcomes that matter to hundreds of thousands of people, this is a defining career appointment.

An executive remuneration package commensurate with the scale and significance of the role will be negotiated with the successful candidate under the Office of Local Government Standard Contract of Employment.

Recruitment Timeline

Closing Date: Midnight, Sunday 18 October 2026.

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