Mark founded Leading Roles in 2012 to provide specialist assistance in recruitment and human resource related projects for councils, and he is a passionate advocate for the development and performance of the local government sector. Mark has been working with councils for 25 years, holding senior roles in companies that provide cost savings, business process improvement and service improvement to councils. These roles have included working for the local government technology services provider Civica, and the LGAQ’s local government procurement service Local Buy. He started his career in environmental services, and moved from there into leadership roles in waste and facilities management companies providing complex services to councils in the UK.Mark leads all our client engagement, lead...
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Mark Ogston
Chief Executive -
Eleanor Ogston
Executive DirectorEleanor Ogston provides leadership and oversight of Leading Roles' operations. She has 19 years’ experience in working with the Queensland local government sector and has strong relationships with many elected members, council CEOs and Executive Managers. Eleanor has significant experience in assisting local government clients with both their corporate service and infrastructure programs. Prior to joining Leading Roles, she held the role of Local Government Market Leader and Principal Consultant with AECOM. Eleanor was also the CEO of Local Buy, an LGAQ organisation with a turnover of $250M, delivering procurement services to councils. Eleanor has a strong understanding of operations and challenges faced by the local government sector and has worked closely with councils to address iss...
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Edwina Mackay-Eyler
Business Development ManagerAs a recruitment specialist, in the United States and Australia, Edwina has worked across local, state and federal government sectors for 23 years. Throughout her career Edwina managed delivery teams and held account management and business development roles, aligning strategic recruitment planning with the individual needs of an organisation.Edwina’s ability to listen and understand businesses and HR challenges has proven results and delivered creative recruitment solutions with positive impact. Edwina is well networked, enthusiastic and keen to continue building long-term quality relationships and establishing new connections within local government.
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Carla Anderson
Marketing & Communications ManagerCarla’s career in marketing spans 25 years, having held positions in the UK, the Middle East and Australia. A seasoned marketer, Carla has had the privilege of working in many industry sectors including tourism, education, food retail, employment services, fashion retail and manufacturing.Carla worked closely with Local, State and Federal government in her role with Gold Coast Tourism, in particular working through recovery plans for the tourism sector during the global pandemic.Being particularly passionate about working with all levels of government and employment services, Carla has the opportunity to combine both and has joined the team at Leading Roles. Her main focus is maintaining a high level of engagement with Clients and Candidates through effective marketing communications.
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Belinda Walker
Executive Talent ConsultantBelinda is our senior recruitment specialist with more than 15 years’ experience recruiting executive, senior management and specialist roles in public and private sectors in the United Kingdom, Australian Capital Territory and Queensland.As a high-level communications specialist, Belinda worked in the not-for-profit sector and professional services organisations in the UK and Australia including Burson-Marsteller, Queensland Cancer Council, UnitingCare Queensland and a leading national law firm.Belinda prides herself on her stakeholder engagement skills, her client and candidate care, and her collaborative communication style to ensure a quality and professional level of service is always delivered.
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Katharine Ottaway
Talent ConsultantKatharine is an experienced and resourceful senior recruitment consultant having worked across both the private and public sectors across Australia. Her experience across labour hire, internal and external recruiting and job networking, has enabled Katharine to build strong relationships with stakeholders, implement new strategies and processes and deliver projects on time.Katharine’s professionalism and fairness, along with her commitment, energy and perseverance are what makes her an excellent recruiter.
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Angie Simmonds
Principal Talent ConsultantAngie’s experience is primarily as an internal recruiter, working in both the blue and white collar spaces. Initially studying law, Angie realised that while people engagement was important in her career path she wanted to influence people’s lives in a different way. In 2015, Angie found herself in a Recruitment role and that’s when she found her passion. She loves that recruitment can be challenging, but also that you get to engage with all different types of people and personalities and ultimately change lives. Angie enjoys relationship building, learning and delivering high quality outcomes for candidates and clients.
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Claire Doran
Team Leader, Talent PlacementsClaire has a background in managing contract resources for both global organisations and local government. Combined with an MBA from the University of South Australia and a Master of International Business from QUT, Claire uses her commercial acumen and industry experience to deliver the right person for the right role.
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Jeanette Graham
Talent Acquisition SpecialistJeanette is a highly experienced human resources and recruitment practitioner. Her work history includes eight years as a HR generalist within a large metro local government as well as senior HR and recruitment roles within the IT, Banking and Agency Recruitment sectors. As Talent Acquisitions Specialist, Jeanette brings a wealth of experience to Leading Roles, providing research and support to our executive and specialist technical recruitment projects.
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Dee du Toit
Business Support OfficerDee brings nearly 20 years support and administration experience to the Leading Roles team. Dee recently immigrated from New Zealand where she worked as a team leader for Whangarei District Council. Dee managed the organisation's fleet and telecomms team and specialised in regulatory and statutory planning and compliance.As the Leading Roles' Support Officer, Dee provides high-level support to our team. She has a wealth of experience in TechOne and document management systems and an exceptional eye for detail.
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Marina Klopper
Talent Acquisition OfficerSpecialising in data management, business reporting and compliance, Marina joined our team in 2018 after immigrating from South Africa. Working closely with our consultancy team, Marina enjoys the challenge of finding local government’s future leaders. Marina works alongside the Leading Roles Talent Consultants to search and headhunt local government’s next shining stars. With personal values to strive for excellence and do the right thing always, Marina performs her search enquiries with integrity to enhance the candidate experience and find the best available leading talent.
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Lorna Clarke
HR Advisory Business CoordinatorLorna is a highly skilled business service professional and a vital HR Advisory team member. With over 19 years of business support and coordination experience, Lorna brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her role. She has a strong background providing business administration management and project management, including 13 years working in local government. Notably, Lorna has played a crucial role in the road and transport network provisions for the GC2018 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, showcasing her exceptional project management and stakeholder management skills. Her ability to understand corporate objectives and deliver innovative solutions has contributed significantly to the success of various projects, earning her endorsements in business process improvement, organisa...
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Liarne Gollan
Business Support OfficerLiarne brings over 30 years of support and administration experience to the Leading Roles team. She joins us after her most recent role as an Administration Manager with a leading not-for-profit organisation. Liarne is highly experienced in business organisation and development, communication of policies and procedures, and writing and preparing marketing materials and reports. Liarne's enthusiasm, organisational and communication skills ensure our team works effectively and efficiently in delivering services to our clients.