Organisation: The Department of Human Services
Job Title: Programme Officer
Word Limit: 4 criteria responses maximum 400 words each
Location: Various
Ability to maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders to deliver
programme services build service delivery capability and promote the department’s services
My ability to maintain and, indeed, improve effective relationships with all stakeholders to build
service delivery and promote the department’s services is reflected by my career over the past
nine years during my position as a Service Officer and Acting Team Leader with the Child Support
Agency (CSA). I have a record of accomplishment in project management, including the delivery of
quality outcomes with limited direction or supervision, whilst ensuring closure and delivering on
intended results and commitments. Considerations in the forefront of my mind when planning and
developing projects include the available budget, the potential risks arising from the project, and
the impact of any relevant legislation or regulations affecting the transaction.
For example, during a concerted digital push by the CSA, a project team was set up to define the
role of individual Service Officers and how they would be handling the online enquiry processing
from customers – What the time frames were for answering queries and how we should monitor
the performance in terms of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)? Due to my experience and
expertise in this area, I was selected as the Team Leader of the project which consisted of a
Technical Support Officer and ten Service Officers. Included in the project was the task of creating
and providing templates for the online responses, based on the feedback from the Service
Officers.
During the course of the project we held team meetings and there I suggested the Service Officers
share their best practice in order to elevate the best practice of the entire team as a whole. This
was very helpful in collating the information we needed to better service our customers. Following
on from this, I then collated all the approved responses and from that developed a standard
template in liaison with the Technical Support Officer. This was a highly successful project and
resulted in the timeframe for responses being reduced to 14 days whereas before they had been
28 days. Senior management and my peers were extremely appreciative of my efforts,
congratulating me on a job very well done.
Demonstrated experience in supporting the implementation of operational, policy, procedural
and customer service initiatives as they relate to service delivery programmes and related
change initiatives, including the provision of complex policy advice
My strong record of success in a variety of positions throughout my career demonstrates my
strong capacity to achieve crucial results and deliver quality outcomes within set timeframes.
Fundamental to these roles has been an essential ability to weigh up the costs and benefits of
courses of action in order to decide what steps to take to achieve positive outcomes. Throughout
my career I have established a reputation as a high achiever, due to my ability to effectively
evaluate processes and policies, and hold myself accountable for outcomes and the continual
improvement of the processes for which I am involved.
During the changes in 2008 when the integration into one department was deployed and changes
to data transfer from Centrelink to Child Support occurred, there was some resistance to the
changes as they affected our department. I was assigned as the Change Agent for the team and
the Site Representative. In order to handle the change and assist the staff to overcome resistance
and integrate smoothly, I offered some suggestions to the Team Leader that we could use. This
included having an honest and open discussion with the team to get their feedback on the changes
and give us the opportunity to address any concerns. I also suggested to the manager that we set
up a FAQ to answer queries about the changes in the roles and the impact the changes were
having on job enlargement. In addition, I also suggested that a representative from Centrelink
come to our contact centre and provide some insights into the changes.
These suggestions were well received and forwarded to the Site Manager who immediately put
them into practice. I then wrote a summary about the positive impacts of the changes and issued
that to the team. I logged issues that arose and we discussed them during the monthly team site
meetings, raising any teething problems with the manager. I made a point of maintaining Service
Delivery dates for the team and compiled best practices each week for the team. This worked to
smooth out teething problems and issues and assisted my colleagues to quickly and efficiently
adapt to the changes, ensuring a smooth running of the department and the workload being
processed within the required timeframes. This was all very well received by management, who
complimented me on my initiative.
High level verbal and written communication skills with an ability to prepare and coordinate a
range of written material and communications products, including draft reports, corporate
documentation, briefing papers and Ministerial correspondence for review by senior employees
A confident and experienced communicator, I have an innate ability to tailor my communications
to my audience in order to communicate with internal and external stakeholders at all levels. I
possess superior oral and written communication skills supported by my experience delivering
information in accordance with government standards and procedures. Throughout my career I
have assumed a high level of responsibility that has demanded exceptional interpersonal skills,
including managing and supervising staff, collaborating with government security branches,
dealing with customer conflict, and educating stakeholders on policies, procedures and legislation.
I strive to meet stakeholder needs through effective questioning, active listening, careful analysis
of information, and provision of services and solutions in accordance with organisational
guidelines.
My excellent oral and written communication skills are demonstrated throughout my employment
history where I have communicated with internal and external stakeholders both verbally and in
writing on a daily basis, including clients, internal technical teams and other DHS departments. For
example, the Department has key outcomes to be achieved as a team using graphs and
benchmark updates. I summarised the team’s performance to compare achievement against the
target in order to assist my Manager. In addition, I presented weekly updates to the team of the
latest policy updates and service delivery news in adherence with the departmental style,
language, look and feel. I assisted the Manager with secretarial services such as organising
meetings, recording and producing detailed minutes and also assisted with log book preparation
during my tenure as Acting Team Leader. My Manager expressed ongoing appreciation for my
communication and work in these areas
Throughout my career in the Australian Public Service I have been committed to a high level of
responsibility, demanding exceptional communication skills in such areas as undertaking
quantitative and qualitative data analysis, staff mentoring and training, preparing reports,
attending meetings, interpreting relevant legislative, regulatory and compliance frameworks. On
all occasions, I have portrayed my work clearly and logically, conveying the various aspects of my
role as a Service Officer.
At university I prepared numerous written assignments on a variety of topics, performing several
oral presentations including a presentation on “Effective use of Network Marketing in the Indian
consumer goods market.”
An ability to undertake analysis and reporting on the achievement of business outcomes, key
performance indicators and quality assurance to assist the leadership team in managing overall
performance
I believe the ability to achieve results is based on an individual’s drive to perform and excel at
requirements and necessary tasks. My experience as a high achiever incorporates the ability to
evaluate our weaknesses, implement strategies to succeed, and hold myself personally
accountable for the continual improvement of the processes for which I am involved. I have
received consistent recognition for achieving results across a range of key areas, including using
professional expertise to manage conflict and take responsibility for achieving outcomes that
reflect the values and objectives of the department or organisation.
As an example, during my time as a Business Banker Associate with the National Australia Bank
(NAB) I prepared a detailed business performance analysis of the applications received and
provide a synopsis of the analysis to my Business Banker. Although a synopsis, this was quite
extensive and detailed as it included listings of the various strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
threats; analysis; and market forces and demands. I also had to prepare business cases for any
applications for approval based on the analysis of the case. The documentation for this had to be
very clear and precise and include a risk management plan in line with the bank’s lending
principles. As well, I prepared exception reports and status reports on a weekly basis concerning
various applications.
As part of managing the overall performance, I update the team whiteboard on a daily and weekly
basis with the performance data. This helps the team remain focused and achieve the KPIs as set
by the department.
Working to continually enhance my expertise and abilities, I have undertaken various training
courses including database, data analysis and Microsoft Office Suite, with particular emphasis on
Word and Excel. Additionally, my Masters of Business Administration from the Queensland
University of Technology has assisted me with the foundations of applied business administration
and equipped me with a strong understanding of the importance of data and accuracy which has
contributed to my success.
