Victoria’s peak local government body has appointed local government professional Rhys Thomas as Head of Local Government Programs & Policy.

Mr Thomas has spent three decades working in local government and has been a senior manager in corporate planning, research, communications and community development.

He has held senior management roles in governance, at the Cities of Darebin, Knox and Yarra for the last 13 years.

VLGA says Mr Thomas is recognised as a leading thinker and problem solver in local government circles.

“He is often called upon to provide advice and to act as a sounding board for colleagues across the sector, and enjoys sharing and applying what he has learned to support councils and councillors to deliver positive outcomes for their local communities through high performance leadership and effective governance” the association said in a social media post.

Mr Thomas said he was looking forward to joining the VLGA team and building on the organisation’s work to lift governance standards.

“I hope to bring my real world experience to bear in further developing practical and implementable support mechanisms to enable councillors to be the best that they can be,” he said.

Mr Thomas takes up the new role on May 8.