The board, which met for the first time late last year, is due to become the stand-alone Port of Echuca management authority at the end of June — when the Campaspe shire is scheduled to hand over responsibility for the historic tourism precinct.
CPA board chair Joanne Butterworth-Gray said the appointment of the general manager was"time critical“ and the three-member panel — of which she is a member — appointed to find a general manager would continue its search.
“We have done a significant amount of work to get someone on board, so we are not going back to the drawing board.
“We have conducted interviews after shortlisting applicants, but we are yet to find the right person,” she said.
Mrs Butterworth-Gray said the post-COVID recruitment market was really difficult.
“People are not leaving their jobs. It is even more difficult to attract someone to regional Victoria and they are asking for big money.
“It is a customer-driven market at the moment and we are in the middle of that,” she said.
Mrs Butterworth-Gray said there was not a huge amount of candidates at the moment.
The CPE board met last Friday, where the news was delivered that the search for the right person would continue.
“The calibre of the person needs to be extremely high and we just haven’t cracked it yet.
“We are talking with the recruitment company and key local people with the aim of discovering where we need to go to find the right person,” she said.
Initially there were 24 candidates and, with the assistance of a recruiting company, a handful were chosen for interviews in the second round.
“We completed virtual interviews and then did in-person interviews last week,” she said.
“We have been very thorough, but we have only one chance at getting it right.
“It is important for business and the community that we find the right person.’’
Mrs Butterworth-Gray said the general manager appointment might not be made prior to the June 30 deadline of council handing over responsibility for the port’s management to the CPE.
The board has, however, completed and tabled its transitional corporate plan to council.
"I expect council to accept that plan at its May meeting,“ she said.
The CPE board and a consultant worked together to complete the transitional document, which is the key to allowing the CPE to move forward.
