Today I want to talk to you about the changes afoot at the Local Government Association of Queensland. Not only are we at the beginning of a new term but we are also at the start of a new decade. As our member councils and their communities adapt, so too must the LGAQ.
In supporting you to become the Next Generation of councils, the Association itself also needs to consider how best it should be organised. And just as your eyes are firmly focussed on the decade ahead, so are ours. The restructure I am announcing today consists of two very important changes. The first is the establishment of a new Digital stream.
This is to reflect how important embracing technology is to councils and to our communities. It reflects how critical digital projects being rolled out like Jadu websites, Sherlock, Our Town, LG Online and other offerings are to our members. Progressing through to November we will be looking to consolidate almost all our digital and IT projects and activities within this stream.
We have started our search this week for a senior executive – a Chief Digital Officer - to take on this new and fast-growing portfolio. The second important change is that our General Manager of Assist, Glen Beckett, will now take on responsibility for the member engagement and business intelligence portfolio.
This will bring together the complementary functions of member engagement, member communications and advisory and member services. This stream will continue to be called Assist. Furthermore, we will be taking some active steps to further strengthen our in-house project management, business development and member communications functions.
Importantly, this restructure is about the future and about growth. Over the coming months there will be opportunities for our talented staff to take on new roles and we will also have some new staff come onboard. Please rest assured, we are not looking to say goodbye to anyone.
There will only be a small change, in net terms thanks to vacancies we currently hold. Our headcount will remain consistent with what the LGAQ Board has already approved.
Next Gen councils need a Next Gen LGAQ.
I hope you can all see how this restructure demonstrates a real commitment to our goal of delivering the best imaginable member services and which similarly recognises the growing importance of all our contemporary digital services.