As the Coordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services, Mr Brian Gleeson oversees all Government activity relating to the delivery of services to the 29 Indigenous communities under the Remote Service Delivery National Partnership. This National Partnership was born out of Australian Government's Closing the Gap initiative in 2007 to reduce the gap between Indigenous and non Indigenous Australians.
Prior to his current position, Mr Gleeson held a twelve year term at the United Nations in three senior positions including; Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative for the United Nations Development Programme in Libya, Senior Advisor in the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery in New York and Director of the Office of Human Resources, also in New York.
Mr Gleeson’s United Nations experience saw him:
As Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative for the United Nations Development Programme and head of the United Nations in Libya, Mr Gleeson initiated and led the realignment and reform of the United Nations relationships with the Libyan Government, non government organisations and the private sector to ensure the sustainability of the work of the United Nations to improve the lives of Libyan people. Mr Gleeson led ten United Nations agencies in Libya to improve public sector reform, humanitarian support, assistance to refugees, illegal migration, HIV/ AIDS, drugs, de-mining and human rights.
Beyond the United Nations, Mr Gleeson has worked in and consulted to the UN Secretariat, World Health Organisation, UNFPA, UNICEF, WFP, OCHA, UNESCO and over 30 years experience in the Australian Public Service where his role began as a Postal Officer and ended as First Assistant Commissioner, APS Human Resources Policy Division for the Australian Public Service Commission, with long periods of work in Treasury and Finance.
On a personal note, Mr Gleeson is an avid believer that health, fitness and discipline are core to his approach as a leader of change. Mr Gleeson also believes in sharing his wisdom with others as is evident from his lengthy history and commitment to supporting young Indigenous athletes including Cathy Freeman at the 1996 Olympic Games.
On his appointment as Coordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services, Mr Gleeson said;
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to bring my global experience in community development and change management home to work with Indigenous Australians. This feels like a great reward for my years of work in these areas.”