MARK DACOMBE
Director
Mark brings a wealth of skills and experience to Localise. He is an experienced CEO and adviser who has held a variety of senior management roles in local government and senior policy roles in central government.
He has led small rural local governments right through to New Zealand’s fifth largest City and managed the merger of four urban councils. Mark’s leadership in implementing local government reform saw the local governments concerned acknowledged for their high standards of integrated planning and community engagement. Prior to arriving in Western Australia, Mark was the adviser to the New Zealand Prime Minister on local government issues with a particular focus on Auckland. Until joining Localise, he was the CEO of a metropolitan local government in Perth.
Mark’s background also includes advising local government and Local Government Associations in Pacific countries. His passion for working in local government in the Pacific was ignited when he became involved in a Commonwealth Local Government Forum governance project in 2004, followed by an institutional rebuilding project in Honiara.
Skills
- Organisation leadership and management
- Advising elected councils and Ministers
- Advocacy and negotiation
- Management of policy development, advice and implementation
- Stakeholder management and engagement
- Strategic planning
- Corporate planning
- Organisational restructure and change management
- Operations management and review
- Financial management
- Executive mentoring
Experience
- Director, Localise Pty Limited, Western Australia
- Chief Executive, City of Canning, Western Australia
- Advisor, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, New Zealand
- Advisor (voluntary), Commonwealth Local Government Forum, Honiara and PNG
- Chief Executive, Kapiti Coast District Council, Wellington
- Senior Advisor, Local Government Division, Dept of Internal Affairs, Wellington
- Chief Executive, Waitakere City Council, Auckland
- Chief Executive, Glen Eden and New Lynn Borough Councils, Auckland
- County Clerk, Strathallan County Council, Timaru, New Zealand
- Deputy County Clerk, Waimate County Council, New Zealand
- County Clerk, Chatham Islands County Council, New Zealand
Qualifications
- Master of Public Management (2006), Victoria University of Wellington