Delivering an executive search to strengthen a Victorian council’s community development function and build a revitalised, community‑centred operating model.
The Brief
Future Leadership™ was engaged by a Victorian local government organisation to appoint a Manager Community Partnerships following a period of significant organisational change. The organisation had recently welcomed a new Chief Executive and a refreshed executive leadership cohort. As part of this transformation, the organisation sought to strengthen its community development function and build a revitalised, community‑centred operating model.
The appointed leader would oversee a diverse portfolio including community development, grants, volunteers, civic events, cultural heritage, inclusive communities, youth and First Nations engagement, and customer experience. A key challenge was the need to re‑energise a fatigued team that had been impacted by recent environmental events, including recurrent flooding.
The organisation required a values‑driven and influential people leader with deep expertise in community development, strong stakeholder capability, and the ability to modernise service delivery while building a strong community presence.
Candidate net Promote Score
Future Leadership combines truly personalised relationships with innovative technology solutions to ensure an approachable and efficient process for all our Net Promoter Score across clients, successful candidates and unsuccessful candidates is well above industry standard.
Candidates supported every year
We maintain genuine relationships with past candidates and continue to support them with leadership solutions long term, after they land their role.
Senior Women Appointed since 2002
Over half of the executive search assignments undertaken by our team have resulted in the appointment of outstanding female or LGBTQI+ leaders to high profile roles.
Candidate Retention Rate for 12 months since 2002
Our thorough briefing process and ability to engage passive candidates mean that we go to great lengths to find the right person for the role – long term!
The Process
Future Leadership™ undertook a comprehensive search process tailored to the organisation’s needs. The approach was designed to identify candidates with strong community development experience and the capability to lead cultural uplift across an evolving department.
Key steps included:
- Briefing and Strategy Development: Engaged with senior stakeholders to understand the organisation’s recent structural changes, community expectations, strategic priorities and the leadership attributes required for success.
- Targeted Candidate Search: Sourced candidates through targeted local research, national online advertising, proprietary databases, trusted referral networks, and individuals connected to recent relevant search assignments. Internal candidates were also invited to participate.
- Candidate Assessment:Assessed candidates against the required experience in community development, leadership capability, customer experience knowledge, stakeholder engagement, and ability to build community confidence and presence
- Shortlisting and Client Interviews:Shortlisted candidates were presented for consideration, with progress updates provided to align with the organisation’s structured timeline. The final recommended candidates were those demonstrating the strongest ability to build team capability, strengthen relationships, and modernise service models.
Emerging Capabilities
Stakeholder Relations
Ability to build trusted relationships across community groups, government partners, and internal teams.
Culture and Engagement
Capability to re‑energise a fatigued team and foster an inclusive, creative and collaborative workplace environment.
Organisational Capability
Skill in shaping new structures, modernising service models and building team capacity.
Communication and Influence
Strong presence in the community and adept at communicating vision, priorities and progress with clarity.
Adaptability and Resilience
Experienced in navigating environmental and organisational change, including natural disasters.
The Outcome
The search process resulted in the appointment of a community‑centred leader equipped to reinvigorate the Community Partnerships function and support the organisation’s broader cultural uplift. The successful candidate brought a strong background in community development, demonstrated inclusive leadership, and the ability to strengthen presence and engagement across diverse community groups.
Their appointment enabled the organisation to begin reshaping its community development structure, elevate First Nations and youth engagement, strengthen volunteer and grants programs, and build deeper relationships with local stakeholders.
