Riwilo Masulani CMgr MCMI, CMI Chartered Manager of the Year 2024

Last summer, Riwilo Masulani CMgr MCMI took the role of principal permitting manager at the Coal Authority. His remit is the granting of permits enabling development in areas historically impacted by coal mining. His appointment coincided with a major increase in workloads and higher demand on the service. This forced Riwilo to review its strategy to try to better meet user needs. 

The service needed to work effectively; the permits it issues provide assurance that adequate controls are in place to minimise risks to public safety. It required serious engagement with partners, stakeholders and the sector’s main trade body to ensure stakeholder needs were being met and to understand where processes could be improved. 

Riwilo had become a Chartered Manager prior to taking on the principal permitting manager role. He had developed a values-based management approach, keeping the core values of the organisation at the heart of decision-making. 

“This has enabled me to motivate others by removing barriers to help teams deliver,” he says. “I also adopt democratic leadership styles, empowering others to take ownership; recognising good performance; giving people a sense of progress through feedback and updates; and helping people see how their work contributes to our organisation’s ambition.”

Horizon scanning 

Riwilo organised stakeholder engagement workshops in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Mansfield, Newcastle and Stoke-on-Trent. He used these to identify ways in which he could improve the efficiency and capacity of the permitting service. Good communication was critical, he says, from coordinating and delegating tasks to securing commitments from partners such as the British Drilling Association (BDA) and the Health and Safety Executive. 

Building those relationships aligned with the Coal Authority’s mission of “working with others to create value”. The insights gained were valuable for improving the permitting service, says Riwilo. 

“I recognised the need for open-mindedness and aimed to articulate the need for improving the system, fostering a more informed and more collaborative community.” 

Riwilo coordinated a multidisciplinary joint effort in renewing the process, involving 25 colleagues from seven teams and three partner organisations. The team engaged with over 230 stakeholders through the engagement workshops. This required strategic leadership, says Riwilo, who articulated an improvement strategy to encourage cross-department collaboration.