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Waikato District Council – Executive Search Case Study
Case Study
Our client, Waikato District Council, is the local government authority serving one of New Zealand’s fastest growing regions, anchored between Auckland, Hamilton and the Bay of Plenty. Guided by a vision to build livable, thriving and connected communities, the Council leads strategic planning, infrastructure delivery and essential services for residents, businesses and visitors across the Waikato district. With a commitment to partnership, cultural engagement and sustainable growth, Waikato District Council works collaboratively with local communities and stakeholders to shape the district’s future and improve wellbeing for current and future generations.
- Service: Executive Search Recruitment
- Industry: Government
- Size: 450+ employees
- Locations: Waikato District
The challenge
Waikato District Council was undertaking a significant organisational transformation to deliver a step change in customer experience, leadership capability and service excellence across one of New Zealand’s fastest growing regions. Rapid growth across the Golden Triangle region increased complexity in financial stewardship, workforce capability and community facing service delivery, intensifying the need for future focused executive leadership. The Council required senior leaders who could operate confidently in a dynamic, culturally grounded environment, working in close partnership with Waikato Tainui and demonstrating a genuine commitment to te ao Māori. At the same time, public sector attraction challenges and niche capability requirements across finance, organisational development and customer strategy made engaging high caliber candidates particularly complex. The organisation needed a fit for purpose executive cohort capable of driving transformation while maintaining service continuity for diverse rural, urban and coastal communities.
Setting up the partnership
We began with in-depth discovery sessions with the Chief Executive, Executive Leadership Team and hiring panels to define leadership expectations, transformation priorities and cultural alignment requirements across the three executive roles. Together, we co designed a tailored attraction strategy grounded in Waikato District Council’s growth story, values and partnership with Waikato Tainui. A bespoke microsite and video were developed to authentically showcase the leadership opportunity, while clear role profiles and aligned assessment frameworks ensured consistency across all searches. Governance expectations, service levels, and communication rhythms were agreed upfront to support a transparent and well-paced executive process.
The solution
We executed a targeted national and international executive search, mapping talent across public sector, iwi partnership, commercial and high growth environments aligned to each brief. Through proactive market engagement and direct approach methodology, we surfaced high caliber leaders not actively seeking new opportunities. A rigorous behavioral and values-based assessment process tested each candidate’s capability to lead customer experience transformation, strengthen organisational capability and steward complex financial environments. Candidate engagement was carefully managed through transparent communication and culturally grounded briefing, ensuring confidence at every stage. Final recommendations were supported by comprehensive market insight and transformation fit analysis, enabling confident decision making by executive and elected member stakeholders.
Key results
The executive search partnership delivered three critical leadership appointments for Waikato District Council, successfully securing a Chief Financial Officer, Head of People & Capability, and General Manager Customer Services. Each leader brought deep domain expertise and transformation experience aligned to the Council’s long term strategic direction. Together, these leaders strengthened capability across financial governance, people and culture, and customer centred service design, supporting the Council’s ambition to set a benchmark for local government customer experience.
The campaign also elevated the Council’s employer brand, with bespoke attraction assets generating strong candidate interest and showcasing the district’s growth, values and cultural partnerships. Stakeholder feedback reflected strong confidence in the quality and alignment of shortlisted candidates, while the appointments provided critical leadership stability to drive transformation and long term capability uplift.
Client Testimonial
Hear from Craig Hobbs – Chief Executive, Waikato District Council
“The results that we achieved in partnership with Robert Walters in attracting top people was excellent. The relationship went beyond recruitment to working side by side for a great outcome.”
Craig Hobbs
Waikato District Council
Chief Executive
Client
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