Welcome

Country Energy is one of Australia's largest energy providers.

They are also one of Australia's strongest regional businesses. With around 4,000 employees in 142 customer and field service centres, nine regional offices and four business centres in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Newcastle. Country energy operate in a decentralised regional management structure ,responsive to local priorities.

Operator of Australia's largest electricity network

The organisation is responsible for around 200,000 kilometres of powerlines and 1.4 million power poles across urban, coastal, mountain, tableland and outback environments, with almost $1,500 million invested to maintain and improve network reliability since July 2001.

A national energy retailer

More than 870,000 customers in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.

Competitive energy offers and value added services include renewable energy, broadband and dial-up internet services, LPG, energy efficiency advice and flexible payment options.

Strengthening communities

Created more than 670 new apprenticeships since 2001 and the largest direct employer of Indigenous apprentices in New South Wales.

Opened 45 new customer and field service centres since 2001, restoring local service levels.

Environmentally responsible

A major purchaser of solar, hydro and wind energy and a major provider of expert energy and water management solutions, including Australia's first residential smart metering trial.

Culture and Employee Value Proposition

Country Energy is one of Australia's largest regional employers, and an employer of choice throughout both regional and coastal Australia.

We have around 4,000 employees Australia wide, and offer a range of clerical, trade and professional career opportunities. In every instance, we are committed to helping our employees develop and progress in their individual careers. We provide ongoing training and education, as well as access to the technology needed to provide superior service to our customers.

Jigsaw Search’s Viewpoint

Country Energy is a highly desirable employer for commercially driven procurement professionals. In this current climate of economic uncertainty the organisation offers public sector security along with a dynamic, ‘green field’ operational remit that is fully supported both strategically and financially at the most senior level.

It is extremely rare to find green field roles in established businesses with sizeable budgets, which is exactly the circumstances that are being represented by the opportunities at Country Energy. This is large scale procurement management from a spend, profile and strategic importance perspective.

In addition to the highly desirable technical and operational environment, the roles are located in the beautiful Port Macquarie area of NSW.

Geographical Location of Role

Greater Port Macquarie is perfectly located along the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, only 260km north of Newcastle, 420km from Sydney and 510km from Brisbane.

As well as being a thriving centre of tourism for many years, Port Macquarie is a mature, long-established community with regional centre status. This status comes from its broadly based public and private business sectors coupled with a dynamic retail and commercial district.

Lifestyle

Ideally situated at the mouth of the Hastings River and the blue Pacific Ocean, Port Macquarie is a water lover’s paradise. 15 pristine beaches, most of them patrolled, line the coast from Port Macquarie south to the Camden Haven. Enjoy the coastal walks, surfing, sail boarding, swimming, fishing, whale watching, and even camel rides. Many beaches feature barbecue facilities and playgrounds.

The European settlement of Port Macquarie was established in 1821, 3 years after John Oxley reached the region by trekking down the Hastings River from the New England area. It is one of the oldest penal settlements outside of Sydney. Many early structures still stand today, along with a range of museums and interpretive centres, ideally suited to the history buff.

Today, with a population of over 40,000 people, Port Macquarie is the regional centre for the area.

You will be impressed by the range of accommodation, the pubs, clubs and shops and the diversity of places to wine and dine, including several award winning restaurants.

Geography

From the mouth of the Hastings and Camden Haven Rivers west to the Great Dividing Range with a coastline of 84kms. Total area is 3,739sqkms. The topography of the area is very diverse ranging from sand dunes, coastal wetlands, flood plains and mountain regions.

Climate

Temperature range is 7-27°C.The area enjoys the best climate in Australia, with the maximum daytime temperature not going above 30 degrees C or below 15 degrees C.

Major Towns/Suburbs

Port Macquarie, Wauchope, Laurieton, North Haven, Dunbogan, Comboyne, Kendall, Kew, Bonny Hills, Lake Cathie.

Transport Access

Air, rail, interstate and local coach services.

Surrounding Areas

Coffs Harbour, Forster, Tamworth

Population Growth

There were an estimated 71,407 persons residing in the Greater Port Macquarie region in 2006, an increase of 1.0% from the population level in 2005. The estimated resident population was greater than the number of persons counted in the region at the 2006 Census night (and therefore missing those persons not completing the Census) and is considered the more accurate measure of a region’s population. Over the past five years, the population of the Greater Port Macquarie region has been growing at an average rate of 1.8% per annum, significantly higher than the growth rate for both the Mid-North Coast (1.1%) and New South Wales (0.9%) over the same period.

Local Government

For more information on the how the area is administrated please click here