Director of Services

Capstone Recruitment; Sydney; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Lane Cove Council is seeking an experienced Director Services to provide strategic leadership and oversight of the Services Directorate, including finance, governance, people and culture, IT, and community services such as libraries and early childhood education.

You will lead nine direct reports, drive long‑term financial planning, and deliver transformation programs to improve efficiency and customer experience while maintaining a safe, compliant organisation.

Qualifications

• Experience leading senior leadership teams in complex public sector environments.
• Strong track record in managing resources across finance, people, technology, assets and risk.
• Commercially minded, financially literate and able to translate strategy into outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and operational oversight of the Services Directorate.
• Oversee financial planning, budgeting, governance frameworks, procurement and risk management.
• Lead Business Transformation Program and Workplace Management Strategy across the organisation.
• Work with the Executive Leadership Team and elected Council to implement strategy and policy.

Skills

Leadership

Public sector experience

Financial planning

Project management

Education

Tertiary qualification in relevant discipline

Working with Children Check

Postgraduate study desirable

Job description

Lane Cove is Australia’s most liveable community, named so in the 2025 Australian Liveability Census: a Lower North Shore community of close to 43,000 people, around ten kilometres from the CBD, with distinctive village neighbourhoods, a strong sense of community and an engaged population that values the quality of the services Council provides.

Few directorates touch that community more directly than Services, and few offer a leader such breadth.

The Director Services leads a portfolio that spans the corporate engine of the organisation and the community services that define daily life in Lane Cove. This is an appointment for an accomplished and contemporary leader who is equally credible in the finance and governance conversation and in the library, the early childhood education centre, and community and cultural programs.

The Role

Reporting to the General Manager as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, the Director Services provides strategic leadership and operational oversight of the Services Directorate. The portfolio encompasses Council’s key corporate functions, including financial services, corporate governance, people and culture, customer experience, information technology, and communications and engagement, together with its community services: cultural programming, early childhood education and care, libraries and community services. You will lead nine direct reports and carry accountability for Council’s long‑term financial planning, budgeting and procurement, its governance and risk frameworks, and the commercial performance of its fee generating services.

The role also carries two organisation-wide agendas: leading the development and implementation of a Business Transformation Program that embeds digital solutions and process improvement to lift efficiency and customer experience, and leading Council’s Workplace Management Strategy to support workforce sustainability, engagement and performance. Working transparently with the elected Council on strategy and policy, and championing a customer‑centric, continuously improving and psychologically safe organisation, are central to the position.

About You

You are an experienced executive with a record of leading and developing senior leadership teams in complex public sector environments. You bring demonstrated success in managing organisational resources across finance, people, technology, assets and risk, strong technical expertise in community services or development and related fields, and well‑developed project management capability. You are commercially minded, financially literate and able to critically evaluate community needs and trends to inform strategy. Tertiary qualifications in a relevant discipline and a valid Working with Children Check are essential; local or state government experience and postgraduate study are desirable.

Just as important is how you lead. The General Manager is seeking a leader who is passionate about local government and not afraid to challenge the status quo; who builds trust, brings people together and creates an environment where people perform at their best. You are politically astute, comfortable navigating complexity and leading through change, and able to turn strategy into practical, visible outcomes for the community.

Why This Role

Lane Cove offers a rare combination: a council of a scale where a Director’s influence is direct and visible, an engaged community that values what Council delivers, and a leadership team that prizes collaboration, integrity, professionalism and a willingness to have a go. For a leader who wants to strengthen the services, places and experiences that matter to a community, and see the results of that work, this is a defining appointment. An attractive executive remuneration package will be negotiated with the successful candidate.