Timo Sivula is named Managing Director of Kokkolan Urheilupuisto Oy

Sivula gra­duated from Hel­sinki Uni­ver­sity of Tech­no­logy with a Master of Science in Tech­no­logy, and he has held mana­ge­ment posi­tions in several com­pa­nies as well as mana­ge­ment and admi­ni­stra­tion posi­tions in nume­rous pro­jects.

The sports and event park is the latest major pro­ject in Kok­kola and it cont­ri­butes to the town’s visi­bi­lity and plays a sig­ni­ficant role in its att­rac­ti­ve­ness and vibrant growth. Kok­kolan Urhei­lu­puisto Oy is res­pon­sible for the imple­men­ta­tion of the pro­ject. The Mana­ging Director’s first task is to create a plan and sche­dule for the con­struc­tion pro­ject, which will specify the ser­vices, ser­vice models and other con­tent for the park. The pro­ject will be launched this spring.

Sivula has a proven track record in the successful plan­ning and imple­men­ta­tion of new pro­jects and set­ting up of new com­pa­nies. He is also expe­rienced in networ­king, having formed several alliances both in Fin­land and over­seas. He also has expe­rience as an event orga­niser and sports coach.

MPS Career Oy’s rec­ruit­ment ser­vices and psyc­ho­lo­gist con­sul­tant were involved in the applica­tion process as part­ners. The dead­line for the applica­tions was 21 March 2021. A total of 17 applica­tions were sub­mitted, and eight can­di­dates were selected for inter­views. On the basis of the applica­tions and ini­tial inter­views, three applicants were invited to an exten­sive apti­tude assess­ment, tests and final inter­views.

Accor­ding to Daniel Särs, MPS’s psyc­ho­lo­gist con­sul­tant, the tes­ting and assess­ment focused on mana­ge­rial skills, especially in the ove­rall mana­ge­ment of an exten­sive pro­ject. “Other key cri­teria were the abi­lity to unders­tand and ana­lyse the ove­rall pic­ture, people skills in col­la­bo­ra­ting with large num­bers of sta­ke­hol­ders, com­mu­nica­tion and inte­rac­tion skills, and strong deci­sion-making and nego­tia­tion skills,” says Särs. Kok­kola City Board acts as the stee­ring group in charge of Urhei­lu­puisto Oy’s ope­ra­tions. The stee­ring group pre­pared the company’s charter (articles of associa­tion, industry), discussed the cri­teria for the Mana­ging Director role and was pro­vided with several reports on the progress of the process.