JOBS OLD, NEW AND UPCOMING: In breaking news on Thursday. Tony Lombardo stepped down as chief executive of Lendlease after a tumultuous period for the company. The resignation will take effect in August and comes after five years in the top job and 18 years with the company.
The Australian Financial Review on Thursday said Lombardo, as recently as November, “played down speculation about his role and said the board was looking forward to him delivering in ‘[financial year] 28 and onwards‘. This, after chairman John Gillam praised Lombardo in August when the company reported operating earnings after tax swung from a $1.2 billion loss to a profit of $386 million – but also said he had started succession discussions with Lombardo.
Also leaving the company is chief investment officer Simon Dixon. Following the chief executive development, Tom Mackellar, who is now at AirTrunk. Cate Harris, who was group head of sustainability and had been at the company for about 18 years, left in September last year. She is now the general manager of sustainability at Coles.
The AFR said Lombardo had been regarded as a “safe pair of hands” when he was appointed in 2021 to take over the top job from his predecessor of 12 years, Steve McCann and had “grappled with the mammoth task of orchestrating a turnaround for the serially underperforming former giant of Australian corporate life.
“By the time Lombardo took charge, the company had come to be regarded as a black box by many in the investment community for its opaque and hard-to-understand finances.
“Lombardo inherited a company that had shredded shareholders’ value while earning a reputation for arrogance.”
Climate change and sustainability advisory firm Foresight Consulting Group has snagged two high profile sustainability leaders – including former EY partner Terence Jeyaretnam, who led the company’s climate change and sustainability practice across APAC for 11 years. Jeyaretnam has been appointed executive director and chair at his new gig.
The other appointee is ex-KPMG director of climate change and sustainability services Cameron Reid, who has also held senior roles at Commonwealth Bank, AGL and Mars. Reid will take the position of director at the firm.
The consulting firm was founded three years ago by Josh Martin, who was previously a senior director at ENGIE Impact and director at EY.
This follows another big loss for EY in recent times, Matthew Bell, who was snapped up in December last year by the fast growing Anthesis Group for its group chief executive office role. Bell’s sustainability credentials are long and deep, including chairperson of the World Green Building Council and a raft of senior roles with EY over a massive 18 years.
The Energy Savings Industry Association has appointed Scott McKenry as its new executive director. Prior to the new role, McKenry had been an executive officer for the Eastern Alliance for Greenhouse Action for more than 13 years, while working as a consultant. He had also been an engagement manager at ClimateWorks Australia and team leader of business and community sustainability at the National Centre for Sustainability at Swinburne University.
Jobs on offer
TFE heard on the grapevine that sustainability jobs are back on the rise again, and it looks like the advertised jobs list backs up the chat. Here are a few that caught our eyes.
Planners are still in demand
The Planning Institute of Australia is looking for a full-time policy and advocacy manager, a senior position that coordinates and delivers national advocacy work and leads policy work across NSW and ACT. Salary ranges from $115,000-$125,000.
Several councils are also looking for planners at a range of salaries plus super, including Burwood Council, which is in the market for an executive strategic planner at between $105,000 and – $126,000, the City of Sydney, which is looking for a senior transport planner at $149,833 Shoalhaven City Council, which wants a few cadet town planners, in a “work while you study” offer of between $44,000 and $65,000 and lastly, Tamworth Regional Council, which is looking for various development assessment planners at $72,000-$103,000 plus super and allowances.
In the private sector, Mecone Group is also looking for several planners, as well as an associate director for town planning, and Port Stephens-based Le Mottee Group is looking for a senior town planner.
Sustainability jobs
Last year, Sustainability Victoria was axed, but the state’s Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action is now hiring, although this time for a manager for its First Peoples employment and development branch, with a salary of around $79,000- $96,000.
Another noticeable pick up is in councils and government jobs. These include a climate and sustainability officer for the Far West NSW Local Health District in Broken Hill, with an accompanying note saying, “We really aren’t that far away!” (We might think otherwise – at least from where we are in Sydney), but the role promises $114,000-$134,000.
City of Melville is looking for a sustainability engagement officer part time ($87,000- $100,000), City of Adelaide is looking for a coordinator of climate change ($94,283) Victoria’s Surburban Rail Loop Authority wants a principal advisor of sustainability ($138,000- $185,000) and City of Rockingham in Perth is looking for environmental planning officer ($99,000-$106,000 plus a most attractive 22 per cent super).
Still in Perth, the Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure is looking for several sustainability roles, including a principal sustainability project officer and manager of sustainability policy and strategy, quoting a high salary of $139,000 to $171,000.
Even academia is on the hunt. Western Sydney University is looking for a sustainability program manager to drive university-wide sustainability transformation, offering $116,000-$129,000 plus 17 per cent super and leave loading.
In the private sector again, the Smart Energy Council is looking for a senior policy and advocacy officer, Spanish renewable tech giant ACCIONA wants an environmental manager, promising a rewarding salary, annual bonuses and a workplace that has been named “top employer” every year from 2022 to 2025. And Lanson Partners is looking for a sustainability reporting manager, offering a salary package of up to $160,000 plus bonus.
And in sweet news, Mondel International, which owns Cadbury, The Natural Confectionery Company and Pascall, is also looking for a part time sustainability officer, promising a great salary and “endless chocolate”.
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