Warren Roberts, CEO at the City of Stonnington, Victoria, has decades of experience in public works, including as former IPWEA President and current Chairman of the Municipal Engineering Foundation Victoria. Roberts was recently awarded the 2013 Keith H Wood Medal for his contributions to the industry.

By Gemma Black

What originally drew you to a career in public works engineering? 

I wanted an active career rather than just sitting behind a desk, so I went into civil engineering at Swinburne University. From that course, I came to learn that engineering is about a lot more than just building things – it is about creating something that helps communities develop. 

From there decided I wanted to work within local government, which was fortuitous, because you didn’t learn much about local government during your undergraduate degree, it was just something that caught my interest, and I thought it’d be an interesting area in which to work. 

How did your career progress from there?

I started off in fire protection engineering. It was a fun job for a while, but my passion was really in local government, and I was fortunate enough to get a job at the old City of Box Hill in 1977 [amalgamated into the City of Whitehorse in 1994].

I worked my way up from a design engineer through a number of areas and positions at Box Hill and Whitehorse, and then moved to the City of Stonnington. I’ve been at Stonnington for about 18 years in a number of roles, through to General Manager of Operations and in 2008 I was appointed Chief Executive Officer. 

Has there been a highlight of your career?

Being appointed CEO was a career highlight. It brings together all of the engineering training and all of the experience you gain through your career to one position. And it’s just great fun.

Being on the IPWEA Board and being President [2003–05] was also a highlight, as was being appointed Trustee of the Municipal Engineering Foundation Victoria and, more recently, Chairman. 

What advice could you offer a younger or less experienced public works professional?

Really enjoy what you do – and part of that is about building your professional and social networks, being prepared to ask questions, and taking risks along the way. For me it’s about taking opportunities when they arise, but also having the networks so that if you don’t know something, you can ask.

Anything is possible through your career, but nothing comes easy. You’ve got to be prepared to put the effort in, participate and belong. 

How did it feel to be awarded the 2013 Keith H Wood Medal? [Recognising outstanding service to the public works profession, named in honour of one of the founders of IPWEA.] 

It was fantastic; I was honoured and stunned by the award. I knew Keith very well; he was really an inspiration to me. He was also a significant influence, someone who was always prepared to spend time with colleagues and share pearls of wisdom – whether they were wanted at the time or not! To me, the award was really both a personal and professional career highlight. 

What are the biggest challenges facing the public works sector at the moment?

I could give you the standard response, which would be about recruitment and retention of staff, environmental and financial sustainability, asset management, and so on, but while these are important, I would also look at communication and customer service – for local government as an industry, as well as for public works engineering as a career option. 

I don’t think we’re particularly good at communicating what we do, the types of services we deliver. Local government needs to be more proactive in promoting what we do, to improve the reputation of local government as an employer of choice, and of public works as a profession. 

If you get the reputation and the role and function of public works out there, then recruitment and retention and a lot of those other challenges will fall into place. 

What do you hope for the future of your career?

To remain passionate about what I do and to continue to deliver for the Stonnington community, as well as the broader public works and local government community. 

 

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