City of Nanaimo announces hiring of new senior manager

There’s a new addition to the management ranks at city hall.

The City of Nanaimo has hired Shelley Legin as its new general manager of corporate services, according to a press release issued Jan. 15.

Legin has more than 30 years of experience including 20 years in senior leadership roles and was most recently Vancouver Island University’s chief financial officer and vice-president of administration, the release notes.

As the general manager of corporate services, Legin will be responsible for overseeing the finance, information technology, police support services and emergency management departments.

She will begin her role with the city next week and will earn an annual pre-tax salary of $189,769.

Jake Rudolph, the city’s chief administrative officer, told the News Bulletin that Legin is an “exceptional” individual who brings years of strategic leadership with her.

“We need strategic leadership. We’re very lean on corporate resources,” Rudolph said.

The city hasn’t had a general manager of corporate services position in nearly five years. It was eliminated in 2015 after Ian Howett left the role in order to become the City of Colwood’s chief administrative officer. Rudolph said the position needed to be restored because there isn’t a general manager overseeing internal affairs within the city.

“The normal architecture for a city is having somebody overseeing those departments and that is the role of the general manager of corporate services,” he said.

The city has struggled to fill vacant positions until recently, said Rudolph, adding that the city has mostly been focused on “keeping the lights on” in order to ensure everything is running.

“The back-of-house support has been lean. We’re just now getting a place where we are able to fill positions,” he said.

Legin’s strategic leadership will also move the city forward in a positive direction, Rudolph said.

“It’s hard to move everything forward in the changing world with technology and we really need [Legin’s] leadership skill set,” Rudolph said.

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