Four new senior staff positions are being created from four currently vacant unit manager roles at Central Coast Council – a year after four director’s positions were cut.
The four new senior staff positions will become performance based fixed term contracts, after a decision was made at the latest Council meeting to upgrade the four vacant unit manager roles.
They are the current unit manager positions of Governance, Risk and Legal; Facilities and Asset Management; Environmental Compliance Systems; and Group Financial Controller.
In February 2021, the interim administrator Dick Persson cut the directorates of Governance; Innovation and Futures; People and Culture; and Information Management and Technology, reducing the number of senior staff from nine to five.
At the time, three of the positions were vacant.
The business areas that fell under those directorates were moved elsewhere within the organisation.
Current Administrator Rik Hart agreed to the latest changes at the March 22 meeting.
Council said the change “allows a mechanism to refresh the organisational leadership in line with naturally occurring end dates to ensure that the best outcome for the organisation is always prioritised.”
In other words, the four staff would become contract employees rather than award employees.
“In reviewing the current vacant unit manager roles and giving consideration to size and scope of the roles, it is more appropriate that these four positions are designated as “Senior Staff” positions for the purposes of s.332 of the Local Government Act 1993,” Council said.
“In reviewing the descriptors outlined in the Local Government (State) Award 2020 which act as a guide in determining Senior Staff positions, it is considered that the positions appropriately align to these descriptors … the positions also meet the required remuneration threshold.”
Council said there were currently industry conversations regarding the use of senior staff contracts.
“It is unclear as to where this conversation may lead, however should legislative change occur, these contracts will transition to the appropriate arrangements in line with that change,” Council said.
Merilyn Vale