Unit Manager Open Space Maintenance

Leading planning and delivery of maintenance operations
- 1-year fixed term
- Senior Executive Officer
- Option for secondment from another Government Agency

**About Merri-bek City Council**

Merri-bek is a progressive council with 180,000 residents: one community, proudly diverse. Our city is vibrant and energetic, known for its active community, array of fabulous festivals, cool pools, eclectic shops and our community of artists and creative industries. As a Council, we’ve been supporting our community through difficult times, and our long term vision has ambitious goals for environmental sustainability, community wellbeing, and creating great places.

Merri-bek Council strives to be a contemporary, innovative and collaborative organisation with a deep commitment to engagement with, the Merri-bek community. With the Civic Centre located in Coburg, 8 kilometres north of Melbourne’s CBD, there are excellent public transport options and great food and cafés right at the doorstep. Merri-bek City Council is a great place to live, work and play.

We pride ourselves on being an inclusive and welcoming workplace. We offer flexible and hybrid work options and genuinely care about providing our staff work/life balance.

**Our organisation vision is: One team brave and diverse making a difference.**

**About the role**

Council is seeking a highly motivated individual to lead the dynamic Open Space Maintenance Unit. This is an excellent opportunity to work with a large team (50+ staff) to deliver significant strategies, policies, programs and projects. This includes working across the organisation and with the community to renew Merri-bek’s Open Space through planning and managing Open Space Maintenance operations to the standards of quality and efficiency required by the community.

You will have a wide range of knowledge and experience in leading people through significant change, developing, implementing and monitoring policies and initiatives to plan, design, develop and conserve quality open space for the City of Merri-bek. This role will require the capacity to build and maintain strong relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders including strong engagement with the community.

**Skill and experience Required to perform this role**
- Proven track record in managing teams and leading through change;
- Excellent written and verbal communication;
- Customer focused, innovative, drive to improve and capacity to deliver change within the business
- Project management in the field of open space;
- A tertiary qualification in Horticulture or related disciplines and/or relevant experience managing open space and sports field maintenance service delivery is desirable.
- Relevant experience in the public realm and Local Government environment is desirable.

**What this role can offer**
- The opportunity to work alongside a professional and supportive executive team
- Opportunity to influence the future of Merri-beks open spaces
- Extensive opportunities for training and career development
- Salary sacrifice options
- Wellness programs
- A real sense of work-life balance

**Further Support Offered for our staff**
- Up to 20 weeks primary & up to 5 weeks secondary parental leave
- Purchase leave
- Ceremonial leave
- Pandemic leave
- Gender affirmation leave
- Family violence leave
- For further information please contact

***

**Marcel Lafontaine at Public Sector People** on
**0423 668 753 or**

***
- _

**Our Commitment**:
In May 2021, Merri-bek Council adopted a revised Statement of Commitment to Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung People and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities of the municipality. The statement recognises the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people as the traditional owners of the lands and waterways of our municipality.