The City of Unley is a vibrant and dynamic local council that provides a range of valued and diverse services to the surrounding community. Based on the city fringe, less than 4 kilometres from the Adelaide CBD, we engage with our community across local business initiatives, community events, arts, environmental sustainability, community services and volunteering programs.
We are passionate leaders in many fields, and we exist to enable a better life for our community.
We are committed to creating a connected, progressive and resilient City that embraces new ideas, prioritises sustainability, and enhances quality of life.
About the role
As Business Improvement Lead, you'll own a single, organisation-wide pipeline of improvement work, drawing on the Organisational Plan, audits, service reviews and the people closest to the work and lead it through to delivery: implemented, embedded, and sustained.
Your focus is on prioritising what matters most, leading delivery, and building continuous improvement into how the organisation operates day to day.
What you’ll actually do:
- Own the pipeline. Bring together improvement opportunities from across the organisation and prioritise them against strategic value, effort, and organisational capacity.
- Lead delivery, not just design. Run cross-functional initiatives with Managers and Service Owners, embedding change into policies, systems, roles and performance measures.
- Build lasting capability. Coach leaders and teams to identify and sustain their own improvements, so the impact continues well beyond any single initiative.
- Demonstrate the value. Define benefits up front, track them honestly, and report clearly on what's been achieved for the organisation and the community it serves.
What you’ll bring:
- A track record of leading improvement or change initiatives at an organisational scale, local government or public sector experience highly regarded.
- Working knowledge of continuous improvement methods and structured change management.
- The ability to influence and deliver outcomes without formal authority over the teams involved, through collaboration and negotiation, not direction.
- Comfort working through ambiguity, with a strong bias towards practical delivery.
- Clear, confident communication, equally comfortable briefing Executive and working alongside operational teams.
Why this role matters:
This position exists because Council's Executive is genuinely committed to building improvement capability, not as a compliance exercise, but because better ways of working make a real difference to employees and to the community we serve. You'll have Executive sponsorship, a clear mandate, and the opportunity to shape how continuous improvement is delivered across the organisation.
Why work with the City of Unley?
For 150 years, the City of Unley has been defined by service, to our residents, our businesses, our neighbourhoods, and to each other. Generations of employees and volunteers have been united by a commitment to serve and have contributed to making Unley a place of character, connection, resilience and pride. Building on our proud history, we have an aspiration and a plan to continue to evolve, strengthen our culture and create the conditions for every person to do their best work and make a meaningful impact each day.
We believe this is a great time to join us to shape and share in the future.
More information
All enquiries and applications will remain private and confidential. Position specific enquires can be directed to Vanessa Godden, General Manager Community and Organisational Development, at [email protected] or on (08) 8273 8781.
Applications should include a Cover Letter and Resume expressing the skills, experience, and qualities you can bring to this position.
If you're ready to lead work that has a genuine, lasting impact on our organisation and our community, we'd welcome your application.
Applications close COB Wednesday 5 August 2026.
We will be reviewing applications throughout the advertising period, and we may close this advertisement before the specified date.
This position is subject to satisfactorily meeting the following employment requirements:
- Facet-5 Personality Profiling
Everyone Belongs at Unley
As part of our commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, this role is open to candidates seeking workplace flexibility. We invite candidates of all ages and culturally diverse backgrounds including people living with a disability and First Nations People to apply.
We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to provide a positive, barrier free recruitment process and a supportive workplace. Please refer to the Manager’s contact details above for any support you need along the way.
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