Organisation: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Job Title: ICT/Technical Directors (Specialists)
Word Limit: 350 words per criteria
Location: Barton
Shapes strategic thinking
Highly developed ability to analyse highly complex issues, make sound judgements and achieve
outcomes that advance the department’s interests in ICT services
I have demonstrated a range and depth of experience in the planning and implementation of
strategically aligned initiatives. A notable example of this was the implementation of the mobility
platform for ActewAGL, identified as a key business enabler aligned with the organisational and IT
strategies.
The project’s aim was to provide staff members with mobile access to business information
without the need to return to the office. This presented significant cost and timesavings to the
organisation, representing approximately 100 hours per day for proposed timesheet efficiencies
alone. I developed the business proposal to gain project sponsorship. To manage risk and scope,
the pilot program was limited to 100 users and to the human resource (HR) platform only.
In developing the project initiation documentation, I assumed the role of Senior Supplier on the
project board. This allowed me to ensure budget and scope was maintained through project
management reporting. Considerations reviewed were the ISO 27019 and ASD-ISM security
policies and standards, privacy legislation, and various HR considerations relating to the pilot’s
participants.
Project requirements were the set-up of procurement and capability on boarding function in IT,
including update of the service catalogue, creation of an automated system, and working with the
service desk to ensure technical support requirements were arranged. Workflow of the training
and service management-training tool also needed to be set up correctly.
Negotiations with the service desk in provisioning support for this project resulted in the
requirement of early retirement of legacy systems requiring organisational change management.
This was distributed to stakeholders through the communication plan.
The project covered the 3 pillars of change management and used the following structures
Project management – Prince 2
Change management – ITIL v3
Technical management – systems engineering lifecycle
The pilot was successful and full implementation to scale this solution to other systems was
approved. The complete project budget was $1.2 million aimed at implementing mobility for all
systems within the organisation within a 3-year period. Tangible results were a saving of over $800
thousand; intangible results were efficiencies of the mobile workforce.
Achieves results
Set priority and direction; respond to challenges. Deliver high quality work, often within tight
deadlines. Manage human, financial and other resources effectively to achieve objectives.
Advanced problem solving and judgement skills
My experience includes a number of problem and project management cases defined by time and
resource restrictions, necessitating high-order resolution capabilities to achieve an acceptable
outcome. A project example was the planning and execution of the outsourcing of ActewAGL’s
primary datacentre (DC).
When I commenced, there was an approved and funded project of $12 million in the ICT strategic
plan for the remediation of the existing on-site DC situated on a leased site with an expected
lifespan of 10 years. This was the least cost effective approach as the site was leased, we were not
expected to remain for 10 years, and upgrade of leased premises was an inefficient use of capital.
Using the IT strategy as justification, I arranged for PwC to undertake a feasibility study and
recommend options.
Recommendations made were that outsourcing would provide better scalability over upgrading
the current leased DC premises. Outsourcing would cost $8 million compared with $12 million for
the upgrade, providing a $4 million saving.
As the design authority and manager of the technical areas, I oversaw and coordinated the
planning of logistics, personnel, testing, including DR and BC processes, remediation of older
systems through upgrade, outsourcing or decommissioning, risk and assurance activities and acted
as the senior user of the project board upon approval by the board.
Following government procurement guidelines, I organised the request for quote (RFQ) processes,
including requirement gathering, and stakeholder management. The migration project required
me to coordinate logistics including a full cutover plan. I went through this process with the
procurement team to negotiate a support contract with a third party service provider who would
look after business as usual (BAU) activity whilst we were on-site.
Timeframes were negotiated with the business to accommodate weekend migration. This required
me to utilise the disaster recovery plan for the organisation in many cases to arbitrate decisions
and negotiate using organisational agreements.
The DC migration was a success. Tangible results were a saving of $4 million, cloud enabled
infrastructure for future implementation, and support of the longer-term business strategy of
going to outsourced providers.
Cultivates productive working relationships
Build and maintain professional relationships and networks. Have strong cross-cultural
awareness. Lead, motivate and manage staff, in Australia and overseas
I have led and been a member of a number of geographically dispersed teams, often requiring
managerial understanding of diversity management to be effective. Whilst positioned in
consulting roles, I have been required to coordinate technical efforts with internal resources from
America, Japan, and India on separate projects. This required the accommodation of cultural
differences around work ethic, communication preferences and different reporting structures, in
order to produce deliverables in a suitable timeframe.
As part of the cooperation and partnership between ActewAGL and Comcare I was required to set
up a technical development program for junior IT resources. This program included an internal
coaching process, formal training at certain milestones, working with a variety of subject matter
experts (SME’s) to gain different exposure to higher-order technical considerations. The aim of the
program was to provide them with a career path and the opportunity to use functionalities that
are more interesting. They were able to take this information back to their teams to work more
effectively and afforded me the opportunity to identify juniors suitable for my team.
Whilst at ActewAGL I reviewed the existing performance management process and implemented a
quality-based process. I also implemented a formal training and development plan, and included
the team in strategic planning through planning days. After setting clear expectations around what
was required I was able to promote four of the senior server technicians to team leads, and three
of them gained or commenced external Microsoft engineering certifications through the
development process.
A key enabler of being able to achieve successful outcomes in these circumstances was the
development and maintenance of professional relationships. I am active with the Australian
Computer Society (ACS) to improve my professional network and engagement with other
Canberra based students studying the same MBA as me. I have also maintained a number of
contractor and supplier relationships whilst working across different organisations, understanding
benefits of good contract management (relationship) practice in delivering higher risk or time
constrained deliverables. A notable outcome of this approach was the negotiation of a 34%
discount on ActewAGL’s Microsoft ELA.
Exemplifies personal drive and integrity
Maintain and promote exemplary standards of conduct, integrity and professionalism
During my career, I have undertaken to maintain a high level of personal integrity. Through my
appointments, I am able to demonstrate a pattern of trustworthiness and professionalism that I
have not only upheld personally but have encouraged in the team within my leadership capacity.
My appointment as an Army Reserve Officer is an outstanding example of this. Put in a position of
trust, leading a group of soldiers, a high level of professionalism and integrity is culturally
reinforced, taught, and expected. As an officer, you are expected to set the example for your
juniors and work towards instilling these values within your team, both through formal scenarios
where statutory training is undertaken, and the soldier’s development using coaching, discipline,
and reward methods.
I have demonstrated a high level of integrity throughout my career when placed in positions of
trust with elevated access in a number of security-cleared positions as a senior technical resource.
Working as the operations manager for Comcare, and the assistant director, systems development
section for the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) I was required to adhere to the APS code of
conduct.
Whilst working as the Operations Manager for Comcare and the ESG Manager for ActewAGL I
demonstrated a high level of conduct and professionalism. In each instance, I undertook to
achieve cultural changes from my position of leadership by introducing development programs for
junior technical staff and realigned and reinforced organisational policies and procedures in-line
with best practice.
This required the motivation of individuals and teams to improve their work approach and address
any friction, which came about from these changes. Working democratically with senior technical
staff to gain a consensus and buy-in as well as autocratically to resolve points of conflict or poor-
practice. Concerning ActewAGL this included performance management of four staff at separate
times. The result of these activities were better performing teams, from both a morale and SLA
perspective, as well as a number of junior staff being promoted to senior roles.
Communicates with influence
Negotiate, liaise and consult to achieve departmental ICT support objectives. Possess persuasive
oral and written communication skills. Provide high-level advice, support and guidance to key
stakeholders and internal clients on ICT systems
The engagement with PwC on a Defence project based in Canberra, Adelaide and Perth, was the
most intensive from a communication standpoint. This involved working with 17 stakeholders
across four organisations, from technical, public service, and officers of defence. Geographically
dispersed, these stakeholders represented staff from junior to senior level.
In order to be successful in the development of the design deliverable, a number of stakeholder
management activities were required. This included the development of a stakeholder and
communications plan, and subsequent to this, coordination of relevant stakeholders to attend
meetings, presentations, design reviews, and workshops that I ran.
Documentation produced had to be tailored to the specific audience. For example, when
produced for a stakeholder this was required to be more tailored than other engagements
because of the diverse situation we were working toward. I had to adjust jargon to make sure
documentation could not be misinterpreted.
Training material intended for junior technical personnel, was required to be presented to senior
management (non-technical personnel) for approval and sign off. Documentation had to be
formatted in a way they both could understand what was required. Communications were
required to align with either PwC or ADF (ADFP102) writing standards. Training material had to
adhere to Defence standards, project updates etc. were on PwC stationery and was required to be
composed to their writing standards.
Communications were developed in-line with the systems engineering process or Prince2 PM
Artefact requirements and linked back to business outcomes, technical requirements or relevant
registers (risk, issues) to ensure they were contextual. Frameworks such as SWOT analysis, P&L
statements or referencing technical, academic, or statutory documents ensured suggestions,
options and recommendations were supported and as such persuasive. Where consensus could
not be reached by either negotiation or arbitration, the stakeholder management plan outlined
the escalation process required on a number of security related considerations.
Proactive communication, notably the maintenance of relationships, a preference for tactile
meetings, and meticulous use of meeting minutes, contributed to ensuring smoother decision and
milestone activities progressed on this effort, thus supporting the overall deliverable on time and
budget.
Position / Job specific criteria requirements
Relevant IT tertiary qualifications are desirable. Experience is essential in at least one of the
following areas:
– Managing large ICT programs
– Managing the major components supporting a complex secure global ICT infrastructure.
– Providing security related guidance on business processes, emerging technology and
vulnerability assessment/mitigation approaches
Dot point 2 – global ICT infrastructure – aware of the different acts stored information is governed
by for example the US Patriots Act – means they can monitor what you are doing
When using telephone and ICT infrastructure – a lot of Asian places are under that
Context Actew AGL cloud based services 0 had to consider where information was stored (location
of storage) and how that information governed for example by the US Patriots Act – they can
monitor what they are doing – risk assessments would be required for all information stored in the
cloud environment
Specific to my formal qualifications, I have a Bachelor of Computer Science and have completed the
majority of a Technology major MBA, planning to complete in 2017. I also have industry certifications from
Microsoft, Prince2 and ITIL. Supporting this theoretical knowledge, I have extensive experience in both public and
private enterprise, working in both large operational and program environments at a technical managerial level, and
specific to this application in security cleared international settings.
Relating to the job specific criteria focused on large ICT programs, for ActewAGL I have operated as a
design authority, senior supplier and infrastructure manager during their CRM replacement, DC migration and
mobility capability development programs. In each instance my role included the technical lifecycle, human
resource, design (architecture) alignment, security assurance and change management responsibilities for these
solutions. In each case this also included a high level of outsourced/partner collaboration to achieve project
milestones, whilst still being required to provide operational support.
The other body of experience I am able to demonstrate from the technical assurance and strategy
perspective. As previously described the PwC engagement with Defence to introduce a new technology into a high
security environment touched on all aspects, requiring me to develop, in consultation with stakeholder’s new
business processes, documentation and training, the new technology needed to be progressed through ASD
assessment whilst also aligning with CIOG and DoF (COE) requirements in addition to abstract requirements around
material safety and procurement channel establishment. The formal artefact for internal security sign-off I need to
develop was a TRA/TTP, which all was required for successful delivery.
Additionally, I have also worked on assurance activities for ActewAGL, notably rebaselining the SLA’s
used in business reporting to better align with business and IT strategies and then using this as justification to stand
up an Enterprise Monitoring Platform project. I also developed the drafts for and implemented the mobility platform
strategies and introduced the ISM for corporate environments and ISO 27019 for SCADA environments to ensure the
organisation met its statutory IT security responsibilities.
