Chief Executive Officer

The organisation

For the past 50 years, Latrobe Valley Village Inc (LVV) has provided high quality aged care services to the communities of Moe and Newborough. LVV is a not-for-profit organisation offering residential and hostel accommodation. It has 52 Independent Living Units, while the residential facilities comprise 96 beds, incorporating a 17-bed dementia specific ward. Set in beautiful, spacious grounds, LVV has earned a sound reputation for excellence and compassionate care.

Its workforce numbers some 150 staff, covering clinical, care support, maintenance and catering roles, and the facilities have been recently updated to a very high standard.

The brief

After 17 years of exemplary service, the Chief Executive Officer retired, creating an outstanding opportunity for a suitably qualified and experienced leader.

Brooker Consulting was identified as one of a small number of Human Resources service providers with the capacity to appoint the next CEO of Latrobe Valley Village. Following an exploratory discussion between Len Cairns of LVV and Jeremy Wurm of Brooker Consulting, Brooker accepted the invitation to formulate a document outlining our capability in senior regional healthcare appointments. Having been provided with the Position Description and some further background material, we submitted a formal proposal for the provision of specialised Executive Search and Selection services tailored to the specific needs of LVV, and Brooker Consulting was ultimately selected to partner with the board.

The process

Following a comprehensive briefing session with the board’s designated recruitment sub-committee, Brooker Consulting launched a campaign which combined external advertising in the lay press and online, augmented by active interactions with our vast network of referral partners.

The outcome

Regionally based sources were the focus of Brooker’s executive search activity, and a number of recommendations were followed up. After initial screening interviews with Brooker Consulting, the recruitment sub-committee of the LVV board interviewed a shortlist of candidates. Alison Skeldon emerged as the preferred candidate, through thorough reference checking and further validation.

Within weeks of Alison commencing as LVV’s CEO, she was notified by the Director of Resident Care that she was resigning for personal reasons, although she would remain in her role until a suitable successor could be appointed. Again, Brooker Consulting was fortunate enough to partner with LVV, and a similar process to the CEO search was instigated. Shonna Brown was duly confirmed as the Director.