Job Description

Most operational leadership roles ask you to maintain performance. Few give you the opportunity to fundamentally reshape it.

About Brisbane City Council

Brisbane City Council is Australia's largest local government by population, managing assets exceeding $44 billion and an annual budget of over $4.1 billion. The city is entering a pivotal period shaped by accelerating growth, rising public service expectations, and the approaching 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. These forces are sharpening the focus on how Brisbane plans, performs, and improves for decades to come. In response, Brisbane City Council is evolving how it operates to remain a high-performing organisation that delivers lasting value.

The role

Reporting to the General Manager, Construction, the Manager Civil Operations leads one of Council's largest frontline service portfolios through a significant period of renewal.

Created as part of a functional realignment that separates civil operations from civil project delivery, this role provides the opportunity to establish a more focused, contemporary and high-performing maintenance business.

Leading a workforce of up to 200 employees and overseeing significant operational and program budgets, you will be responsible for the maintenance and operational performance of Brisbane's major civil infrastructure networks, including roads, footpaths, drainage networks, waterways and active transport assets, together with strategic oversight of the Traffic Control service.

Working closely with the General Manager and executive leadership team, you will drive improvements in productivity, planning, service delivery and workforce capability while fostering a culture of accountability, safety and continuous improvement.

Key responsibilities

• Lead Brisbane's civil maintenance operations, delivering safe, efficient and customer-focused services.
• Drive operational performance, productivity and resource optimisation.
• Implement contemporary maintenance practices and performance frameworks to improve cost, quality and customer outcomes.
• Build a high-performing workforce with strong capability and succession pipelines.
• Plan and position maintenance services to meet future city needs.
• Provide executive oversight of Council's Traffic Control service.
• Champion safety, governance and operational excellence.
• Ensure sound financial stewardship across substantial budgets and resources.
• Drive value-for-money outcomes across internal and outsourced delivery models.
• Collaborate across the executive team to support organisational performance and branch-wide priorities.

About you

You are an accomplished executive with experience leading large operational workforces within civil infrastructure, construction, utilities, transport, public works or similarly asset-intensive environments.

You understand what high-performing operational organisations look like and have a demonstrated track record of improving service delivery, productivity and workforce performance within complex organisations.

You will bring:

• Experience leading large-scale operational service delivery functions.
• A track record of driving performance improvement and organisational change.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, including experience benchmarking cost and delivery performance.
• Experience leading workforces through change while maintaining engagement and operational continuity.
• Sophisticated stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• A collaborative leadership style with the ability to build accountability and drive results.

Most importantly, you are motivated by the opportunity to improve services that make a tangible difference to the daily lives of Brisbane residents.

Why Brisbane City Council

At Brisbane City Council, you'll join an organisation responsible for delivering and maintaining the infrastructure that supports Australia's largest local government and one of the nation's fastest-growing cities.

This role offers more than operational leadership. It presents a rare opportunity to help shape the future of civil maintenance services through a significant business realignment, influencing how critical infrastructure is maintained and how services are delivered to the Brisbane community.

For leaders motivated by public purpose, operational excellence and meaningful organisational impact, this is an exceptional career opportunity.

Please visit the detailed candidate page for further information and to apply: https://www.luminarypartners.com.au/bcc/mco

General inquiries to luminary@luminarypartners.com.au

Confidential inquiries to:

Kerry Larkin, Senior Associate, Luminary, on 0404 095 421

Shannon Keys, Executive Consultant, Luminary on 0416 889 307

Applications close: Midnight, Sunday 23 August 2026

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