Sonia Cooper appointed as acting CEO of Ipswich City Council after departure of David Farmer

Current CEO David Farmer will depart the organisation on April 9

Ipswich CEO David Farmer will leave his role in April.

A MEMBER of Ipswich City Council's existing executive leadership team and a longtime public servant will take on the role of acting chief executive officer following the departure of David Farmer.

The process now begins to find a permanent replacement, which could take up to six months.

Mayor Teresa Harding moved a mayoral motion at Thursday's council meeting to appoint general manager for corporate services Sonia Cooper to the interim position.

Sonia Cooper will serve as Ipswich City Council's acting CEO following the departure of David Farmer.

It was passed unanimously by councillors.

Mr Farmer will finish up in Ipswich in April 9 to become the new CEO of Central Coast Council in New South Wales.

He announced his resignation last month after a little over two years in the role.

Mr Farmer was appointed under former Interim Administrator Greg Chemello in 2019.

At his final ordinary council meeting on Thursday, Cr Harding thanked Mr Farmer for his "honesty, integrity and competency" and wished him all the best in his new position.

At a press conference last month, Cr Harding denied the move had anything to do with Mr Farmer's performance as the head of the organisation, instead insisting he had been "poached" by a bigger council.

Ms Cooper, who was also brought to Ipswich City Council during its period of administration, will take on the role of acting CEO for an expected period of between four and six months.

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She started at the council in February last year after a seven year stint as deputy commissioner with the state government's Public Service Commission.

Ms Cooper had previously worked as CEO of the State Library of Queensland, assistant director-general of human resources with the Education Department and general manager of corporate and risk with the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority.

A recruitment panel selected to pick the council's new CEO will be made up of first term councillors and won't include veteran representatives Sheila Ireland and Paul Tully.

Cr Harding moved a mayoral motion for the panel to be made up of herself, Deputy Mayor Marnie Doyle, councillors Andrew Fechner and Jacob Madsen and an "independent member", who will be selected by the panel.

CEO David Farmer was appointed to his position in 2019.

The process to appoint a new CEO will be managed by the office of the mayor and supported by the panel and the council's people and culture team.

Ultimately, the appointment will need to be approved by a majority of councillors.

"This motion proposes a robust executive recruitment governance framework and process to ensure council is best placed to attract a suitably qualified and experienced Chief Executive Officer to lead Ipswich City Council," Cr Harding said.

"The composition of this panel ensures broad representation of councillors and will enable a robust and efficient recruitment process.

"To support the process, council will engage a qualified executive recruitment partner through a robust procurement process and council may also seek legal and other advisory services as required to support the Panel.

"This will ensure council and the panel is best placed to deliver a robust process that meets the highest standards and complies with relative legislative requirements.

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"The panel will conduct an initial selection process to identify, interview and shortlist suitable candidates.

"After initial panel interviews are conducted, a final recommended shortlist will be brought to council for consideration.

"The panel will also provide regular updates to councillors on the progress of the process."

Councillors voted unanimously to support this process.

Read more stories by Lachlan McIvor here.

Originally published as Sonia Cooper appointed as acting CEO of Ipswich City Council after departure of David Farmer