One of the country’s most respected General Managers Ray Brownlee PSM is returning to the top job at Randwick Council, Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker announced today 10 February 2023.

Randwick City Council held an Extraordinary Council Meeting this week where Councillors resolved to appoint Mr Brownlee to the position for a 5-year period.

Mr Brownlee is the current Northern Beaches Council CEO, was General Manager of Randwick Council from 2004 to 2018 and also served as General Manager at the former Auburn Council.

Mr Brownlee brings to Randwick over 35 years of Local Government experience, 22 of those years at General Manager/CEO level.

“Ray is widely regarded as one of the top local government executives in the country and our organisation and community are extremely fortunate to have him returning to lead our Council through the next chapter of Randwick’s history,” said Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker.

At Northern Beaches, Mr Brownlee was responsible for the effective amalgamation of three councils to form one of NSW’s leading local government organisations.

His leadership led to Northern Beaches Council being awarded the highly coveted AR Bluett Award in 2022 for delivering a record capital works program, long-term financial stability, and increasing customer satisfaction from 71% to 88%.

Mr Brownlee’s previous service as General Manager at Randwick City Council between 2004 and 2018 was characterised by strong organisational leadership, financial sustainability, and deep community engagement.

He is a recipient of the Public Service Medal for outstanding public service in NSW. His qualifications include a Master of Business Administration, Graduate Diploma in Management and a Bachelor of Civil Engineering at honours level.  He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

The appointment follows an exhaustive and competitive recruitment process. Council received a number of very strong applications, but Mr Brownlee’s application was exceptional.

Mr Brownlee said he was looking forward to returning to Randwick.

“I am very humbled and honoured to have the opportunity to work again with the elected Council and the outstanding staff at Randwick, for the Randwick community.

“I look forward to building on the work of the last four years to deliver a customer focused organisation that provides excellent service to our community,” Mr Brownlee said.

Mr Brownlee is expected to take up the role at Randwick in late March 2023.

Mr Brownlee’s appointment follows the departure of former Randwick Council General Manager Ms Therese Manns who left in November 2022 to take up the role of General Manager at North Sydney Council.