Director Operations

CAPSTONE RECRUITMENT ASIA PACIFIC; Sydney; On-site; AUD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Lane Cove Council is seeking a Director Operations to lead facilities, open space, sport and recreation, civic services, traffic and transport, and capital projects, reporting to the General Manager and sitting on the Executive Leadership Team.

You will provide strategic direction, manage a multi-disciplinary team, ensure safe, efficient delivery of services, champion customer-centricity, and translate strategy into visible community outcomes.

Qualifications

• Experienced executive with a record of leading senior leadership teams.
• Delivery of capital and civil infrastructure projects.
• Depth across engineering, civil works, architecture or project management.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight of the Operations Directorate.
• Lead facilities, asset management, open space, sport and recreation facilities, civic services, traffic and transport.
• Oversee capital project delivery and Council’s commercial operations, including property.
• Manage five direct reports and asset management planning and capital delivery.
• Contribute to whole‑of‑organisation leadership and strategy translation into outcomes.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Public sector experience

Capital project delivery

Engineering depth

Financial acumen

People management

Education

Tertiary qualification in relevant discipline

Postgraduate study desirable

Job description

Director Operations
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 a natural environment its residents value highly. Council’s infrastructure, facilities and open spaces are central to that quality of life, and the community rightly expects them to be well planned, well maintained and well managed.
The Director Operations leads that portfolio at the executive table. This is an appointment for an accomplished and contemporary leader who can hold strategy and delivery in the same hand: setting the long-term direction for Council’s assets and services, while ensuring the work on the ground is safe, efficient and visibly delivered for the community.

The Role
Reporting to the General Manager as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, the Director Operations provides strategic leadership and operational oversight of the Operations Directorate. The portfolio is broad: facilities and asset management, open space, sport and recreation facilities, civic services, traffic and transport, capital project delivery and civil works, and Council’s commercial operations, including its property portfolio. You will lead five direct reports and carry accountability for Council’s long-term asset management planning, the delivery of its capital program and the sustainable use of its resources.
Beyond the portfolio, the role contributes to the leadership of the whole organisation: working transparently with the elected Council on strategy and policy, shaping medium to long-term business plans aligned with the Community Strategic Plan, championing customer-centricity and continuous improvement, and modelling a culture in which safety and wellbeing sit at the forefront of everything the Directorate does.

About You
You are an experienced executive with a record of leading and developing senior leadership teams, ideally in complex public sector environments. You bring demonstrated success in the delivery of capital and civil infrastructure projects, technical depth across areas such as engineering, civil works, architecture or project management, and the commercial discipline to manage finance, people, assets and risk with rigour. Tertiary qualifications in a relevant discipline 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 shape the places and services 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.

Recruitment Timeline Closing Date: Midnight, Thursday 1 October 2026.

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Director Operations • Lane Cove, NSW, AU