Conducting an Executive Search for a Manager, Recreation & Leisure Services to lead service excellence, community outcomes and transformation in metropolitan local government.
The Brief
Future Leadership™ was engaged by a metropolitan local government organisation in Melbourne to appoint a Manager, Recreation and Leisure Services within its Community Services portfolio. This senior role reports to the relevant Community Services executive and is a maximum‑term contract appointment (three years). The position is responsible for the planning, delivery and management of the organisation’s leisure and recreation services, ensuring positive stakeholder management, proactive planning and management of aquatic and recreation infrastructure and the coordination of projects, programs and services that meet evolving community needs.
As a pivotal member of the divisional leadership team, the Manager provides high‑level advice on the management and future directions of the portfolio, including resourcing requirements. The brief required an executive who could combine operational credibility across aquatic/leisure services with the strategic capability to deliver consultative planning outcomes, manage contracts and partnerships, and contribute to a broader organisational transformation agenda through continuous improvement, service excellence and change leadership
Stakeholder leadership was central to the brief: building and maintaining relationships with senior leaders and a wide range of community and sporting stakeholders was identified as a core component of success in the role.
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™ designed and delivered a search process aligned to a complex, community‑facing leadership portfolio spanning recreation services, aquatic/leisure facilities, strategic planning and infrastructure. The process combined a structured timeline with a broad market approach to maximise reach while ensuring candidates were assessed against role‑critical selection criteria.
Key steps included:
Step 1: Briefing and Strategy Development
A client briefing informed the role definition and supporting documentation, including finalisation of the position description and approval of advertising.
Step 2: Advertising and Market Reach
An advertising campaign was deployed across multiple channels, including the firm’s website and major digital platforms relevant to the sector. The campaign emphasised community impact through planning, policy and relationship management; leading an engaged team; and the community‑interfacing nature of the portfolio.
Step 3: Targeted Search and Candidate Engagement
In parallel with advertising, the search included proactive outreach approaches and the management of a candidate pipeline that included advertising respondents, research‑identified prospects, and internal consideration.
Step 4: Structured Screening and Interviewing
Candidates progressed through structured evaluation, including interviews undertaken by the search firm and the application of role‑aligned criteria (industry leadership, change leadership, strategic planning, complex capital works and stakeholder environments, workforce engagement, and advanced communication).
Step 5: Long/Shortlist and Client Decision Support
A long/shortlist was provided to the client, followed by a shortlist discussion to align on suitability, risks, and appointment priorities. Client interviews, preferred candidate steps, referencing and negotiation were then progressed in line with the agreed timeline.
This disciplined process ensured the recommended appointee could lead a multifaceted portfolio, operate effectively in a consultative and politically aware stakeholder environment, and contribute to transformation through continuous improvement and service excellence.
The Outcome
A highly experienced recreation and active‑living executive was appointed. The successful appointee brought deep leadership experience across recreation, leisure, open space and trails, including strategic planning, service delivery and capital works program oversight.
Key elements of the candidate’s background aligned strongly with the role’s portfolio breadth and the organisation’s transformation and service excellence expectations. The appointee had demonstrated experience recruiting and developing a high‑performing team (30 staff) and leading through distributed structures (including accountability for multiple coordinators). They had also led the development of strategies, policies, feasibility work, master planning and infrastructure projects, and overseen contract management of aquatic and leisure centres all directly relevant to the appointment’s core service remit.
Earlier career achievements showed capability to manage complex operations at scale, including oversight of multiple leisure facilities supporting multi‑million annual visits and significant revenue responsibility, alongside contracts, leases/licences, capital works and major community events.
This appointment positions the council to strengthen strategic stewardship of aquatic and recreation assets, lift service performance, and deliver community outcomes through high‑quality planning, stakeholder partnerships and change leadership.
