Kapiti Coast District Council Water and Wastewater Asset Manager, Martyn Cole, has been awarded an Overseas Manager Exchange to Australia by the NZ Society of Local Government Managers (Taituarā).
The Exchange, sponsored by AskYourTeam, was announced online today. It provides a hosted visit to Australia and a reciprocal visit to New Zealand. The aim of the Exchange is to provide a leadership and development experience for a local government professional.
Martyn’s career in delivering water services spans more than 25 years, and the judges were impressed with his experience in leading professionals to deliver projects that improve the lives of communities.
“Martyn is particularly interested in approaches to embedding indigenous values into his work”, said Jenny Spencer, Taituarā’s Workforce Leadership Manager.
“This Exchange will provide a significant opportunity for Martyn to learn about innovative approaches to the challenges of water management, along with relationship building that can benefit his Council and the sector as a whole.”
Taituarā’s Chief Executive, Karen Thomas said that the Overseas Manager Exchanges provide a valuable opportunity to learn about local government in another country and congratulated Martyn.
“Martyn is an excellent candidate for this Exchange. Not only will he gain from it, but he will also provide a rich learning experience for his Exchange partner.
“At a time when local government professionals are working tirelessly to provide services and support to their communities, it is great to be able to announce this news.”
Also announced today were the six category winners of the 2020 McGredy Winder Taituarā Local Government Excellence Awards®, including a Supreme winner, the Brookfields Emerging Leader of the Year Award, several other Overseas Manager Exchanges (sponsored by Civic Financial Services, AskYourTeam and Marsh), the Skills Organisation Melbourne Business School Leadership Scholarship, the Taituarā Distinguished Management Award, and the President’s Award for Distinguished Contribution to Taituarā.
Taituarā’s annual Gala Dinner event was cancelled due to COVID-19, and so award recipients were announced online this year.