is now recruiting for

Executive, Transport for Brisbane

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Applications close midnight Sunday, 1st June 2025

Overview

About Brisbane City Council

Brisbane is the largest local government in Australia with 26 wards and 27 councillor positions. Today, Brisbane City Council has an annual budget of more than $3.4 billion, an asset base of $35.9 billion and serves a population of 1.2+ million people. With a permanent workforce of more than 7000, Council employees deliver core local government services including roads and infrastructure, bus and ferry services, environment protection and local parks, as well as neighbourhood planning.

Our responsibility is to provide leadership for the people of Brisbane and to manage our resources to create a vibrant, successful, and liveable city for the future. We work in partnership with a variety of governments, peak bodies, industries, and community organisations to build a better Brisbane.

Corporate Values

Getting things done - Adapting to meet changing needs and priorities

Value for money - Looking for opportunities to contribute to the growth of the city.
Passion for Brisbane - Delivering value to Brisbane, its residents and customers.
Respect for people - Embracing diversity and communicating openly and honestly.
Responsive customer service - Adding value to every customer interaction
Working together - Looking for opportunities to collaborate and connect to deliver a better Brisbane.
Courage to make a difference - Committed to continuous improvement and a city and workplace free of discrimination, harassment and offensive behaviour.

Making a Difference

Brisbane City Council’s people deliver services and projects that contribute to making Brisbane a great place to live and do business. We are passionate about delivering:

active and healthy and creative communities
driving a strong economy
sustaining a clean and green environment
a city of cultural vibrancy
developing our New World City
creating an enduring legacy of liveability for future generations.

More information can be found here.

Vision

Brisbane Vision 2031 is Brisbane City Council’s long-term community plan for the city. It guides the work that Council does and provides a focused set of goals to work towards.

Council's eight programs guides the implementation of our Corporate Plan to achieve the Brisbane Vision 2031. Council and the community are working together to ensure the important things about Brisbane are retained for future generations and we all make the right choices to achieve the future we want. Council is also transforming to be a leaner organisation that delivers better value for money.

Executive, Transport for Brisbane

Brisbane City Council is the largest local government in Australia, with assets over $38 billion and an annual budget of about $4 billion. Council is committed to keeping Brisbane moving by building better roads and improving public transport, maintaining a balanced budget to keep pressure off households’ rates and rents and making Brisbane lifestyle even better by creating more to see and do in our suburbs. Council works in partnership with a variety of governments, peak bodies, industries, and community organisations to ensure Brisbane continues to get even better.

In this role

Brisbane City Council, through Transport for Brisbane, is one of the largest multi-modal public transport operators in Australia, servicing the people of Brisbane. The services provided by Transport for Brisbane are delivered for the community in accordance with the direction set by the Lord Mayor and Civic Cabinet.

The leader of Transport for Brisbane is responsible for ensuring residents and visitors receive high quality, customer focussed transport services. In this role, you will directly oversee more than 2700 staff and an annual operations budget exceeding $400M, as well as indirectly, capital programs across fleet, strategy, network services and strategic planning.

The leader of Transport for Brisbane is responsible for management of the Divisional Leadership Team, setting culture and tone of the organisation, as well as having line-of-sight over their work products. As a member of Council’s Executive Management Team, the leader of Transport for Brisbane also plays a key role in the management of the broader organisation.

The team you work with and lead

Transport for Brisbane is one of Council’s largest divisions and is a key influencer of community perceptions of Council. Transport for Brisbane has a key role in shaping Brisbane’s attitudes and patronage of public transport to further Council’s objectives to improve congestion, the environment and community accessibility. In addition to managing Council’s fleet of more than 1200 buses and 30 ferries, Transport for Brisbane is responsible for the new Brisbane Metro bus rapid transit system which is delivering fully-electric, turn-up-and-go services for residents and visitors. Transport for Brisbane provides more than 90 million passenger trips annually with operations managed out of 8 depots strategically located across the city. In addition to regular timetabled services, Transport for Brisbane supports the cities key sporting and cultural events with free public transport.

Key accountabilities

Leadership and Strategic Planning – providing strong leadership and setting the strategic direction for the organisation in accordance with the priorities of the Lord Mayor and Civic Cabinet. This involves implementing policies, programs and initiatives that align with the Administration’s objectives and community needs.
Operational Management – oversee the day-to-day operations of the Transport for Brisbane division, ensuring the efficient and effective delivery of services to the community, including the oversight of major projects and managing budgets, resources and employees to achieve organisational goals.
Stakeholder Engagement – the Transport for Brisbane leadership plays a critical role in building and maintaining positive relationships with stakeholders, including elected officials, community groups, business leaders and the community.
Delivery and Innovation – drive patronage growth on buses and ferries, particularly in the lead up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, through innovative service initiatives, fleet quality, customer service and improvements to efficiency in the absence of control over fare policies and ticket prices.
Workplace Culture – ensuring Transport for Brisbane is a modern and efficient organisation that continues to improve.

Key relationships

Lord Mayor, Civic Cabinet, CEO
People who live, work, study or visit Brisbane, Queensland Government through the Department of Transport and Main Roads, Stadiums Queensland
Elected Council members

Key knowledge and experience

The position requires a substantial knowledge of and experience in management, at a senior level, of a client focussed service industry, preferably within the transport industry. Senior management level experience in a public-sector organisation and experience in reporting to elected officials is desirable.

Specific knowledge of and demonstrated experience is required in all aspects of guiding and directing a large, complex organisation particularly in:

Efficient financial control and asset management
Effective change management and culture development
Formulation of capital investment recommendations
Preparation, negotiation and administration of major contracts
Effective employer/union negotiations
Proven strategic leadership and business planning to achieve quality outputs and results.

Key selection criteria

Within the context of the responsibilities described previously, the ideal applicant will be someone who has:

Demonstrated experience and achievements in delivering public value and leading organisational change, including:
- Demonstrated evidence of capabilities in Council’s Leadership Blueprint to deliver performance excellence and a values-based culture.
- Leading organisational performance to deliver coordinated, responsive, and customer-focused outcomes.
- Maintaining and developing relationships across organisational boundaries to drive consistent and seamless delivery and the direction of resources to corporate priorities.
- Managing complex and contentious issues with high sensitivity and competing stakeholder interests
- Leading thinking about initiatives to create public value.
Demonstrated experience and achievements in managing business through:
- Developing an engaged, productive, and customer-focused workforce.
- Delivering systems and processes which deliver value to the organisation and to the customer.
- Planning the resourcing of services with appropriate risk management to meet demand within budget.
- Building new collaborative models with suppliers and program partners to improve public value.
- Demonstrating a focus on shared outcomes, negotiating budget and resources across the organisation, and submitting joint budget proposals.
Demonstrated ability to undertake broad executive leadership beyond the specific requirements of the position, across the organisation, including the ability to:
- Collaborate and share accountability across organisational boundaries
- Participate in strategic decision making; represent Brisbane City Council to the community, other levels of Government and to industry.
- Own and champion corporate values, strategies, policy, and directions, particularly: Council values, Code of Conduct, workplace justice, diversity and inclusion, Zero Harm and flexible work arrangements.
- Champion the strategic corporate management agendas on issues such as customer service, service delivery, change management and people management, and integrate these principles into the operation of the business.
- During disaster events, be available to perform the role of Incident Controller within the Local Disaster Coordination Centre to provide leadership and implement strategic directions from the Local Disaster Management Group.
- Possession of relevant tertiary qualifications such as Business, Management, Engineering, Planning or similar, which in the view of the Chief Executive Officer are relevant to the role of the position.

Due to the requirements of this role a criminal history and business checks will be undertaken on preferred applicants. A criminal history does not necessarily preclude an applicant from appointment.

Position Description

To learn of the requirements and attributes of our ideal candidate for this position, we invite you
to please download the position description below.

Download

How to Apply

Requirements

Brisbane City Council are committed to inclusive and diverse practices, including recruitment and selection which ensures people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people with disability, women, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have equal opportunity to apply and participate.

Candidates who represent diverse backgrounds are encouraged to submit an application.

To be considered, please provide the following information in your online application, for the assessment of your suitability:

A short (no more than two pages) statement focusing on how you align with the core accountabilities outlined in the role statement below.
Your current CV highlighting your relevant experience, qualifications, and achievements.

If you need assistance with your application please reach out to us.

Download Candidate Pack