Joss Godbold is a Partner at Omera Partners specialising in mining and mining services executive search, based in Brisbane and operating Australia-wide. He works with ASX-listed, private, and international mining and mining services companies to appoint C-suite and senior leadership talent, with a particular focus on connecting East Coast talent pools across Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria with mining operations in Western Australia and beyond.

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What are the biggest challenges your clients face in finding senior talent?

“The biggest challenge for most ASX-listed mining and mining services companies,particularly those operating in Western Australia, is that they are fishing in a very shallow pool. Perth is an overheated market for executive talent, especially at Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and General Manager level. Our edge is that we recruit across the East Coast, drawing on Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, and bring that broader talent market to bear for clients who did not know it was accessible to them.”

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Which industries or functions do you specialise in?

“I specialise in executive search across the full mining and mining services value chain, appointing Chief Executives, Managing Directors, and General Managers alongside senior leaders across Finance, Operations, Technology and Projects, and People functions, for ASX-listed and privately held mining and mining services companies. I work across a broad range of commodities including coal, gold,iron ore, rare earths, potash, platinum group metals, copper, lithium, uranium,graphite, and critical minerals. My geographic reach spans Australia, the Asia-Pacific region, and global markets.”

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What types of appointments are you most proud of?

“One that stands out is a Chief Executive search for a coal producer navigating a genuine operational inflection point: growing production, maturing infrastructure, and a need to elevate the senior leadership team. Finding a Chief Executive with the right mix of operational depth and stakeholder credibility for that stage of a company’s journey, and then watching that appointment transform the business, is exactly why I do this work.”

The brief was precise in its technical requirements but less clear on the leadership profile needed to take the organisation through its next phase. Joss worked with the Board to reframe what the role required beyond operational credentials, identifying a candidate whose stakeholder management capability and track record of building high-performing leadership teams proved to be the decisive factor. The appointment has since been credited by the Board as transformative for the organisation."

As Joss reflects, “Mining clients often know exactly what technical capability they need. The conversation I most value is helping them articulate the leadership qualities that will make the real difference at that stage of the company’s journey.”

How do you build trust with both clients and candidates?

“Whether I am advising a candidate on their next career move or working with a Board on Chief Executive succession, my mandate is the same: to develop executive careers and help people get to where they want to be. Career sits alongside health and family as a core pillar of life, and the direct effect I can have on someone’s sense of purpose and professional growth genuinely drives me.”

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‍_{“I think greatnesscomes from asking great questions, gleaning great insights and, in my case,using this to build great teams. Watching these teams and executives go on tomake their companies larger, more profitable, better and more sustainable iswhere I see greatness in executive search.”.}

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What keeps youenergised outside of work?

“I am a late bloomer in terms of parenthood and have two young children. Watching them grow into little people, teaching them and being taught by them in equal measure, is a dynamic I love. I think it makes me a better person and brings greater empathy to my work.”