Meet the Team

Graham has been closely associated with the operational and administrative needs of local government for over 40 years, having provided consulting engineering services for development and operation of critical infrastructure, particularly in the field of water management. In recent years he has focussed on the application of good governance and business principles as a member of state and local government boards. He is currently a board member of Urban Utilities and is Chairman of an ecological engineering professional services company, Verterra.

Eleanor 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...

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, l...

As 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.

Belinda 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.  

As a multi-skilled recruiter, Gemma joined Leading Roles in 2015 to manage our technical recruitment projects and the Leading Contractor portfolio. Gemma specialises in building and nurturing customer relationships to gain a more holistic understanding of our client’s culture and unique hiring needs. With more than 20 years’ experience, as a recruitment practitioner in UK and Australia, Gemma worked with a diverse range of clients including Sky, National Australia Bank, EDS, Scottish Power and JP Morgan.  

As the Executive HR Business Partner, Leanne leads our HR and Advisory Services with a strategic focus on organisational design and development. Leanne is an accomplished Executive Consultant with 25 years’ experience working in the private and public sector in urban, regional and remote Australia and internationally. Her expertise is organisational transformation, employee relations, complex case management, drafting and implementation of HR policy and procedure, workplace health and safety, talent acquisition and project management.  Leanne has facilitated organisational development project initiatives, in local and state government, with HR teams that were undergoing significant transformation for cultural change, workforce diversity, HR system reviews, intranet design and implementa...

Rob is a senior recruitment specialist, whose experience spans over 20 years. He has held senior roles in the private, public sectors and resources sector. Since joining Leading Roles in 2017, Rob specialises in developing recruitment project campaigns for engineering, infrastructure, technical and specialist roles. In addition to Rob’s recruitment leadership experience, he has an excellent understanding of the HR/IR operating environment. Rob takes pride in delivering a quality service that is founded on honesty, reliability and a high customer focus.

From her foundational studies in Psychological Science, Michelle has quickly built a successful career in developing high performing recruitment and employment services teams. She is an astute Program Manager who has implemented organisational improvement strategies, provided advice and staff training during change management programs and motivated teams to improve performance outcomes. Michelle’s industry expertise comes from 10 years’ experience providing specialised public sector recruitment services. With a collaborative engagement style, Michelle assists organisations build their capabilities and talent with a view on the future. As a passionate and enthusiastic senior recruitment leader, Michelle believes the success of any organisation is their people, integrity and culture that ...

With a key focus on content marketing and client engagement, Marie is a creative and resourceful public relations professional who manages our marketing activities and social media community. With a career that spans across government, private industry and the not-for-profit sector, Marie’s previous roles involved developing media opportunities and organising international events for clients. As an avid volunteer, Marie loves giving back to the community and encouraging others to make a difference.

Jeanette 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.    

Dee 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. 

Specialising 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.