Kim Thorpe has worked in both the private and public sectors in South Australia, as a consultant and leader.

Kim worked for the Department of Human Services for many years in the service delivery and policy areas, specialising in evaluation, planning and project management. Examples of work that he has led whilst in Human Services includes the evaluation of the Central Intake Team, a review of Community Service Order Teams, development of a corporate performance information framework, and project managing two Justice Information System (JIS) projects.

Whilst working for the SA Police, Kim developed, and reported on, the first set of corporate performance measures. These performance measures are now incorporated in the corporate plan, and reported on in an annual corporate performance report. Kim also led the development of the SAPOL Corporate Plan in 1996, and provided advice to the COAG working party on National Performance Indicators.

Between 1997 and September 1999, Kim has been working for the Department of Treasury & Finance in South Australia as the Team Leader - Outputs. In this role, Kim has had responsibility for the transition of the State's public sector from Programs to Outputs, including output specification, reporting and performance measurement. Kim has been responsible for the policy development and support for output specification and performance measurement in South Australia. Leading a small team, Kim has imparted a unique style of collaboration with and support for Departments.