New jobs at Rotorua Lakes Council after business shake-up

Photo/file

Nineteen new jobs at the Rotorua Lakes Council have come out of a business shake-up that has seen five roles made redundant.

Despite the several new positions being created, the council says there will not be any increase in staffing numbers or budgets.

The "refresh" is part of the council's 2030 Vision - the council's grand plan until 2030 -
and means there will be a change of roles for some staff and new roles created.

The new jobs are being advertised online until next Tuesday. Seven of the 19 jobs are financial or accounting related.

Following questions from the Rotorua Daily Post, council chief executive Geoff Williams confirmed in a statement there had been five roles made redundant.

One person has so far taken redundancy.

He said the new roles were not adding to the council's current staffing levels because it already had several vacant positions.

"There will be no increase in overall staffing levels or budget as a result of this process as the organisation was carrying vacancies - 37 FTEs (full-time equivalents) - and those positions were taken into account in the refinement process."

The council employs 368 staff members.

Mr Williams said the changes were a result of the council needing to be aligned to expectations of the community and the direction set by the council.

"The district's 2030 vision is the long-term direction, established by council and the community in 2013 with some key priorities to deliver by 2016."

He said they had a 2030 refresh this year and it set the focus for the coming years resulting in a review by team managers with staff input.

There were now four delivery units within the council. They included strategy (strategy, corporate planning and governance and communications), infrastructure (water and wastewater services, transport, waste, emergency management), operations (arts and culture, recreation and environment, consenting solutions, community and regulatory services) and business support (finance, property and legal, information solutions, customer solutions, project management).

Mr Williams said some teams would have changes in some roles, such as a change in focus or tasks, and some new roles.

"Most changed or new roles have been filled by existing staff and others are now being advertised."

The new jobs
Recreation planner
Application co-ordinator and trainer
Geographic information system officer
Service desk support, information solutions
Research analyst - arts and culture
Accounting manager
Financial accountant
Fixed asset accountant
Digital engagement co-ordinator - arts and culture
Business support & contract administration
Sport development manager
Strategic financial planner
Finance business partners (3 positions)
Graphic designer - arts and culture
Kaiwhakahaere Maori/General Manager Maori
Infrastructure Business Manager
Recreation and Environment Advisor