Program Director - Enabling Growth Infrastructure Program

Lead a once-in-a-generation infrastructure program shaping water security, growth, and liveability for one of Queensland’s most important regional economies.

Toowoomba Regional Council is seeking an exceptional Program Director – Enabling Growth Infrastructure Program (EGIP) to lead the delivery of a significant $300 million program of water infrastructure. This is a rare opportunity to lead work that is not only critical to Toowoomba’s growth, resilience, and liveability, but also important to the broader regional economy and the communities that rely on secure, sustainable and future-focused water infrastructure.

Reporting to the General Manager, Water and Waste Services, this role will provide strategic leadership, integration and coordination across a complex and highly visible portfolio of projects, including the Southern Water Treatment Plant, Four Communities and Greenmount Water Treatment Plant, and key interfaces with the Toowoomba to Warwick Pipeline Program.

This is a career-defining opportunity for a senior infrastructure, utilities, program or capital works leader who is motivated by scale, complexity, purpose and legacy. The successful candidate will lead a program of genuine regional significance, work with highly engaged stakeholders, and help set the foundations for future water security and enabling infrastructure across one of Queensland’s most dynamic regional areas.

About the opportunity

This role offers far more than delivery of a single program. It provides the opportunity to shape the governance, delivery model, stakeholder confidence, and long-term success of a critical infrastructure agenda that will support growth well beyond the immediate program horizon.

The Program Director will lead planning, governance, delivery and performance across the EGIP program, ensuring safety, scope, time, cost, quality, risk, environmental and stakeholder outcomes are achieved. The role requires a leader who can bring discipline and momentum to complex delivery, while also creating confidence across Council, government, regulators, contractors, delivery partners and the community.

Key areas of focus include:

• Leading a significant, complex and high-value infrastructure program that will directly enable regional growth and water security.
• Establishing strong governance, program controls, reporting, risk management and decision-making frameworks.
• Leading commercial, procurement, budget and contract management strategies across a major capital program.
• Providing clear, practical and trusted advice to senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Managing interdependencies, performance, risks and critical issues across multiple concurrent projects and workstreams.
• Building productive relationships with Council, government agencies, regulators, delivery partners, contractors and community stakeholders.
• Providing visible safety leadership and embedding a proactive WHS culture across planning, delivery and program performance.
• Leading and supporting a capable program team, fostering collaboration, accountability, innovation and high performance.

About you

You will be a highly capable senior program or infrastructure leader with a strong track record delivering complex capital works, water, utilities, infrastructure, construction or development programs of significant scale and consequence.

You will understand that the best candidates for this opportunity will be in demand. You may already be leading critical infrastructure delivery elsewhere and looking for a role where the work is substantial, the purpose is clear, and the opportunity to make a lasting contribution is real.

You will bring the confidence and credibility to operate in a politically aware, stakeholder-rich environment, balancing technical, commercial, community and governance expectations. You will be comfortable engaging with executives and elected representatives, while also building practical and trusted relationships with project teams, contractors, partners, regulators and community stakeholders.

You will bring:

• Extensive experience leading complex infrastructure, utilities, development or capital works programs, ideally exceeding $100 million in value.
• Strong program governance, delivery, risk and performance management capability.
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple concurrent projects and workstreams with significant interdependencies.
• Commercial and contractual acumen across procurement, budgets, contracts and delivery models.
• Strong stakeholder engagement, communication, negotiation and influencing skills.
• A visible and practical commitment to safety leadership and WHS obligations.
• The ability to build, lead and retain high-performing teams in a competitive skills market.
• Tertiary qualifications in Engineering, Project Management, Construction Management, Business, Planning or a related discipline.

Experience in local government, utilities, water infrastructure or large-scale public infrastructure environments will be highly regarded. Equally important will be your ability to lead with judgement, clarity, resilience and a genuine commitment to delivering outcomes that matter for communities.

Why this role

This is a rare opportunity to lead one of the most significant infrastructure programs in the region — work that will underpin growth, water security, resilience and liveability for decades to come.
For the right candidate, this role offers:

• A visible and influential leadership opportunity on a major regional infrastructure program.
• The chance to deliver work with genuine public value and long-term community impact.
• Exposure to complex stakeholder, governance and commercial environments.
• The opportunity to contribute to future critical infrastructure priorities beyond the immediate program.
• Strong career development potential in a region with a continuing pipeline of important work.

Toowoomba Regional Council offers the opportunity to be part of a large, diverse and future-focused local government organisation with a clear commitment to service, community outcomes, safety and wellbeing.

How to apply

OnTalent has been exclusively engaged by Toowoomba Regional Council to manage this appointment. For a confidential discussion, please contact Natasha Olsson-Seeto or Jevon Seah on (07) •••• •806.

Alternatively, submit your application via the Apply Button here: Toowoomba Regional Council - Program Director Enabling Growth Infrastructure Program 

PLEASE NOTE: Your application may not be considered if you do not follow the instructions outlined above.

The preferred candidate will be required to undertake a Criminal History Check and a pre-employment medical assessment to assess their ability to perform the genuine occupational requirements of the position.

Closing date

The closing date for applications is on Sunday, 6 September 2026.

About Council

The Toowoomba region is about rich traditions and bold ambitions. Our long and proud agricultural history has evolved Toowoomba into Australia’s second largest inland city supporting diverse townships in the council area and acting as a service centre for South West Qld and North West NSW. The region is boldly forging new opportunities around the Surat Basin resource sector, education, health, transport and massive infrastructure investments. Growth hasn’t come at the expense of liveability though, with Toowoomba twice voted in the top 5 most family friendly cities in Australia.

Toowoomba Regional Council services a regional population of 178,500 and employs a team of approximately 1,600 staff, dedicated and passionate about delivering excellent customer service to the community, residents and visitors throughout the region. We recognise that our success depends upon attracting and retaining skilled and talented staff and offer a wide variety of interesting challenges and opportunities to develop your career.

Council does not accept unsolicited agency approaches or applications for this or any other vacancy. No response will be provided.

Attachments:
- TRC Values and Behaviours.pdf