Organisation: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Job Title: Regional Manager
Word Limit: A Statement of claims no more then three pages
Location: Western NSW (Dubbo)/South Queensland (Brisbane)/Arnhem Land and Groote Eylandt (Nhulunbuy)
Throughout my career, I have consistently supported departmental objectives and I recognise how my work has contributed to the achievement of goals and the organisational purpose. I am highly experienced in developing and driving strategy, which aligns with organisational priorities, and is responsive to the strategic needs of the community. In my role as Senior Program Manager with the Department of Family and Community Services, I developed, and implemented a new framework for over 1200 staff within the South Western Sydney District. This framework inspired a sense of purpose and direction, in conjunction with the organisational reform of 2013, and broader whole of Government move, making Government services more responsive to communities. The reform involved the localisation of streamlined services that provide housing, disability, child protection, and domestic violence services under one governance, and set about enabling more decision making to take place locally, therefore, improving the way each department engaged with clients, and worked in partnership with communities in the planning, design, and delivery of services.
My framework aligned strategically with this reform, and included a Human Resource (HR) Management Plan, as well as a Risk Management Plan. The HR Management Plan ensured that district staff would have the capability, capacity, and culture to meet the changing roles and responsibilities of an integrated and localised structure, and to provide support, and deliver services that were responsive to the needs of individuals, families, and communities. Throughout the planning stages, I consulted with both senior and frontline staff, as well as operational directors, in order to harness information regarding staff and client needs, and how they were best met. I established effective relationships with Government and non-Government partners, ensuring the tailoring of services to the needs of individuals, families, and each regional community. By conducting thorough research, I gained a strong understanding of the operation of each service, and ultimately, how the overall plan would result in improved client outcomes. Because of my high-level judgement, intelligence, and common sense, I successfully led, and supported the transition of staff throughout this project, and delivered a quality framework that met all deadlines, and ensured buy-in from both internal and external stakeholders within the region.
As a self-motivated and results-driven Australian Public Service professional, I take responsibility for achieving outcomes and delivering on intended results. Throughout my career, I have marshalled my professional expertise to devise, and implement complex solutions for a variety of community issues, including significant sector reforms in Housing, Community Services, Aging, Disability, and Home Care. In my current role as Director of Business Innovation and Reform, I am in the process of developing and implementing a plan that will support the Government’s direction of ensuring that the social housing system in New South Wales continues to provide an imperative safety net for vulnerable communities into the future. The plan is multifaceted, and involves a tailored approach to reduce anti-social behaviour, and meet the needs of housing clients, including the provision of education and encouragement of community well-being. I have been working closely with a diverse range of internal and external agencies, including the Department of Housing, local Police, and Job Services Providers, in order to put together a collaborative plan to break the barriers of social disadvantages. These disadvantages include such things as children not attending school, high levels of unemployment, and lack of access to important services in areas such as disability and mental health.
One of the projects that the plan has incorporated into housing communities in Dubbo, Orange and Bathurst, is a ‘Walking School Bus’ program. This program involves members of the community such as a teachers, parents or Police Officers meeting children at designated ‘bus stops’, and walking in a group to school with an adult ‘driver’ in the front and an adult ‘conductor’ at the rear. The program aims to encourage a sense of community, and to facilitate a means where children are receiving regular physical activity and exercise, as well as foster positive relationships with fundamental members of the community. This project, as with any project that involves the wider community, faced uncertainty about the acceptance of the idea, and if the overall plan would achieve results. My extensive experience has taught me, that in order to manage projects effectively, I must take risks that involve well thought out strategies and contingency plans. By incorporating a researched, measured, and flexible plan, I can be confident that I will deliver on intended results. Feedback from local Police representatives and community groups, have reported that anti-social behaviour within the mentioned housing groups has significantly reduced since the implementation of my early stage plans, and that they are already witnessing the benefits of a tailored community approach. To ensure successful closure of this project, my next step is to initiate a review and evaluation process, so that I can build on the overall plan and ensure that the long-term view of the plan will be sustainable for each of the stakeholders involved.
Demonstrating myself to be an active team member, I have been instrumental in nurturing both internal and external relationships in order to facilitate cooperation and partnerships. I have a proven track history of building trust by valuing individual differences, and diversity and recognising the positive benefits gained from exploring diverse views. As Project Leader for the ‘Families First’ strategy between 2003 and 2006, I was involved in high-level integrated planning on an inter and intra agency context, in order to instigate changes to the delivery of certain services, to enhance the work of current services, and developing new services where they were required. In total, I liaised closely with 16 non-Government and Government agencies, including Health, Community Services, Education and Training, Housing and Aging, and Disability and Home Care, as well as Aboriginal representatives from the Murdi Paaki region. I built an interagency team consisting of Project Leaders and throughout the process, I guided and mentored them by providing opportunities to increase, and develop their capabilities, particularly in the areas of Indigenous affairs. Within the department, I facilitated an environment of cultural inclusion, and respect of others, which sat well with the overall framework of the strategy.
My successful coordination of the multiple projects and programs involved in this strategy across Western New South Wales was a result of my continued consultation and communication. Through this communicative and consultative approach, I was able to identify the priorities for each stakeholder, and generate a mutually beneficial approach for the strategies. By harnessing the wisdom, intelligence, and data from all parties, I was able to plan projects and programs that reflected both Government demands, and the aspirations of local communities, which in turn, delivered realistic and manageable results. For example, one of the projects implemented in the Murdi Paaki region, involved mentoring young people and supporting enablement within Indigenous communities through the ‘Young Leaders’ project. 140 young Indigenous people participated in this project, with 80 of them going into further education in medicine, teaching, business, and administration. My ability to cultivate productive working relationships has demonstrated the good will and desire of the Government to continue to work with local communities and Indigenous groups.
Having worked in the Australian Public Service (APS) for the past 15 years, I have gained a comprehensive understanding of public service professionalism, including a commitment to the APS Code of Conduct, as well as departmental values. Regardless of whom I am working with, I act professionally at all times, and within the boundaries of organisational processes, legal, and public policy constraints. I take great pride in the quality of work that I produce, and strive to deliver on indented results at all times, demonstrated throughout my career, and includes planning, implementing, and managing regional plans, and over 40 projects and services that have delivered on agreed outcomes, within allocated funds, and timeframes. Due to my extensive experience, and ability to exemplify personal drive and integrity, recently, I was asked to undertake two secondments in regions that I had not yet worked. While most of my colleagues saw this as a great risk to my career due to the tight project periods, and unfamiliarity, I demonstrated personal courage in committing to the positions, and as a result gained valuable new skills and experiences. Through demonstrating my resilience, I successfully led and directed the service delivery of high quality, innovative and integrated Family and Community Services client services across the Western New South Wale sand Murrumbidgee Districts.
With self-awareness and a strong commitment to personal development, I take responsibility for my own training and development, as well as making time to attend regular meetings, and keeping up-to-date with organisational procedures and objectives. I have completed numerous University degrees, including an Associate Diploma in Applied Management, and a Graduate Diploma in Public Sector Management. Recently, I have undertaken training with the Australian Institute of Company Directors, where I gained skills and knowledge in the areas of Financial Management and Human Resource Management, as well as PRINCE2 (Projects IN Controlled Environments) training to further develop my effective project management skills. Throughout my career, I have been active in keeping up-to-date with major social issues and policy trends, and have participated in many professional training sessions, workshops, seminars, activities of an official nature, and facilitated by reputable professionals. I have also contributed too many discussions and research papers, and have made numerous presentations at professional meetings. In addition, I have been an active participant in the New South Wales (NSW) Public Sector E-Mentoring program, and member of the NSW Public Sector Leadership coaching Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership.
A confident and experienced communicator, I possess high-level oral and written communication skills, which have been demonstrated throughout my career, where I have communicated with a diverse range of colleagues, internal, and external stakeholders. My effective communication has been a result of my ability to confidently present information in a clear, concise, and articulate manner, while focusing on key points and using appropriate, unambiguous language. In order to undertake my work effectively, I have liaised with, and gathered data from a number of equally significant groups, including Government Representatives, Planning Developers, Indigenous Elders, and grassroots community members. I keep in mind who I am communicating with, and seek to understand my audience while tailoring my communication style and messages accordingly. By listening carefully to responses and questions, I ensure understanding of my views.
I am a strong proponent of interest-based negotiation, and always strive to ensure that the focus of discussions is the end result. One example of my skills in this area, has been working on the provision of expanded service and support for children within diverse communities. I have managed significant consultation and communication processes as integral phases of program and project implementation, developing and sustaining productive working relationships and facilitating collaborative partnerships across all levels of Government, community, and non-Government sectors. During these processes, I have negotiated and balanced service delivery imperatives with political sensitivities, and community priorities. An example that demonstrates these skills, is was when I led a partnership with Country Rugby League (CRL), focused on developing and implementing a program for children under five across sixteen Aboriginal communities. The program required that both the child and the father participate, and offered a fun and engaging way of supporting men in the parenting role. The program also provided an innovative way of disseminating public health messages, including a range of information and support related to the well-being of children in the community. As this was an ‘out of the box’ concept, the process required exceptional mediation, and influencing skills to both support the partnership participants, and to negotiate in favour of Government and Departmental interests. The volatile political environment in remote NSW had to be taken into consideration, and managed, while issues concerning service delivery finalised. I used my communication and influencing skills to build stakeholder support across various points of discussion, and strove to anticipate points of conflict in advance.
I have a strong understanding of, and sensitivity to, the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and their communities. I approach Aboriginal cultural issues with support, knowledge, and dignity, and I am a firm belief that all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should achieve equality of community and lifestyle opportunities. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the most socially and economically marginalised people in the country, and experience greater barriers in accessing services than the rest of the community. These barriers are related to poor linkages and coordination across the system, cultural misunderstanding by service providers, social-economic issues, racial discrimination, and often the availability and distribution of services. Having worked extensively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, in both regional and metropolitan areas, I have the ability to effectively identify priorities and tailor strategies based on local need.
My ability to communicate sensitively and effectively is demonstrated through the many successful programs and services that I have delivered, including the ‘Aboriginal Child Youth and Family Strategy’, the ‘Aboriginal Flexible Respite’, and the ‘Aboriginal Cultural Inclusion Framework’. I have worked in partnership with Aboriginal communities, and have delivered outstanding results, as evidenced by my leadership in the cross jurisdictional engagement for the New South Wales response to the Murdi Paaki Region under the Council of Australian Governments Indigenous Trial, and Murdi Paaki Regional Partnership Agreement (RPA). The Murdi Paaki Regional Engagement Group was the main regional governance structure responsible for ensuring cooperation between the New South Wales and Commonwealth Governments, and the Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly. Because of my ability to communicate sensitively and effectively, I was the winner of a Multicultural Award in 2015. I am committed to contributing to bridging the gap in opportunity and achievement between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, and to support people to improve their lives through initiatives that address local community needs. I strive to maintain and uphold standards that reflect my learning about, nurturing, and valuing of the cultural identity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait communities in order to facilitate their success.
