Organisation: Department of Human Services
Job Title: Team Leader (TL5)
Word Limit: 250 words per selection criteria
Location: Melbourne
Essential – Provide Support to their leadership groups by managing a team of officers in their
day-to-day operations
Supports shared purpose and direction
The Department of Human Services (DHS) is moving towards an intermittent workforce trained in
a variety of work which can be accessed from all locations within the organisation. This allows
permanent staff time to concentrate on processing complex cases, and enables the business to
provide faster response times and allocate work according to workflow and KPI (key performance
indicator) requirements.
As Team Leader, I manage both permanent and intermittent staff. Recently, we welcomed 24
intermittent staff to our team. I was required to allocate systems access, passwords, assign
permanent staff members to buddy them while taking phone enquiries for the first few days,
monitor for adherence issues or overload of information, ensure all KPIs were met, and rosters
were being adhered to.
Accessing phone rosters to confirm adherence to rosters and allocated breaks allowed me to
address non-adherence so peers wouldn’t be removed from processing work to assist with
incoming calls. Monitoring intermittent staff enabled me to track their development and provide
additional training where required. For example, if phone adherence was an issue, I worked with
intermittent staff to determine why calls were exceeding KPIs and provided strategies for how
these could be handled more effectively in future.
Performing call monitoring quality assurance, holding one-on-one meetings to determine if the
staff member was experiencing difficulties and required additional assistance, and quality control
monitoring ensured I was able to provide additional training where required. This resulted in
multi-layer training of intermittent staff supporting the strategic direction of DHS.
Achieves results and supports strategic direction
Identifies and uses resources wisely
Responds positively to change
Takes responsibility for managing work projects to achieve results
My ability to achieve results at a leadership level has been demonstrated on numerous occasions,
including an instance when I was approached by the management team to implement the new
Government Direct Entry Service (GDES) processing for return payments. One of the first trained in
this system, I applied my knowledge and professional expertise to plan and develop training for
my colleagues following the WANDA (workload and distribution application) format. I received
praise and positive feedback from Team Leaders who confirmed that their staff were confident
and proficient in putting GDES into practice.
Consistently supporting departmental objectives, I recognise how my work contributes to business
goals. I proactively contribute to departmental purpose such as the transformation of our services
and shift to digital delivery as per the Strategic Plan 2015-19.
To enable me to provide full support and coaching to all staff in the lead-up to a system change, I
undertook a strategic approach by liaising with my APS6 and EL1 to elicit the focus, priorities and
commitments needed to achieve our goals. Recognising not all staff possess high-level computer
skills, I created task instruction cards to increase confidence and also provided necessary training.
Provision of training resulted in consistent operational performance.
My commitment and ability to provide effective mentoring, whilst reinforcing the strategic
direction of DHS resulted in the achievement of positive outcomes, including the facilitation of the
new ‘clear desk policy’ through promoting office incentives aimed at motivating staff to align
themselves with the new agenda.
Supports productive working relationships/communicates with influence
Nurtures internal and external relationships
Values individual differences and diversity
Communicates clearly
Listens, understands and adapts to audience
Negotiates confidently
I take pride in being an active team member with a record of accomplishment in cultivating
relationships based on trust and mutual respect in order to facilitate the achievement of
departmental goals.
Being responsible for the development and delivery of technical training, I worked collaboratively
with a colleague, focusing on monitoring trends in topics of enquiry. The collected data, combined
with staff engagement, enabled me to develop training aimed at increasing staff confidence,
capability and performance. When creating training, I take into consideration different learning
styles, staff situations and technical capability. By listening to, understanding and recognising the
needs of my colleagues, I contribute to a workforce fluent in their work output and up-to-date
with the latest initiatives, thus facilitating their ability to provide high levels of quality customer
service.
A confident and experienced communicator, I possess high-level communication skills that have
been extensively demonstrated when liaising with staff at all levels. A key communication method
I use is to relay messages in a clear, concise and articulate manner.
I demonstrated this ability when communicating with staff regarding leave requests and the flow
on effect to staff and the department. The result of my effective communication and negotiation
skills, was staff having a clear understanding of leave processes and being more diligent with their
requests. This was in line with the departmental initiative for all staff members to be proactive
with their leave requests, reducing instances of unplanned or last minute leave requests to enable
appropriate planning for absences.
Displays personal drive and integrity
Demonstrates professionalism and probity
Promotes and adopts a positive and balanced approach to work
Demonstrates self-awareness and a commitment to personal development
Having contributed to the Department of Human Services (DHS) since 2007, I have gained a
thorough understanding of public service professionalism and consistently show my commitment
to the Australian Public Service (APS) code of conduct in addition to departmental values.
Demonstrating high levels of motivation, and personal drive and integrity, I have successfully
undertaken leadership roles and completed ongoing professional development whilst
demonstrating my ability to remain focused on my responsibilities.
I am committed to my career within DHS and as such, have regularly embraced opportunities for
training and undertaking higher duties. My professionalism and probity was verified in an instance
when I was completing training for NAQI processing of return cheque claims. Whilst practicing the
skills and knowledge gained, I cancelled a cheque too early which would have caused issues for the
patient when they attempted to bank the cheque.
I immediately declared my error and committed to remedy this. Action taken included liaising with
my Manager, Team Coach, and associated doctor’s surgery to facilitate a stop on the cheque, and I
then organised a new cheque to be issued. While this was a high-pressure situation, I remained
positive and professional to ensure the best results could be achieved for the patient in the
shortest timeframe.
Dedicated to learning from my error, I have since ensured I am thorough and vigilant when
undertaking NAQI processing, and have used this situation as an example when training staff
members so they are aware of how to avoid similar errors in future.
Security Clearance
These roles require successful candidates to currently hold or be able to obtain and maintain a
Baseline security clearance
Being an employee of the Department of Human Services for ten years, I currently hold a Baseline
security clearance.
