Job Title: Application Development and Business Engagement Manager
Word Limit: 300 words per criterion
Location: Canberra
- Shapes strategic thinking
Covering:
- Inspires a sense of purpose and direction
- Focuses strategically
- Harnesses information and opportunities
- Shows judgement, intelligence and common sense
Throughout my career, I have led and participated in complex projects that have contributed significantly to shaping and underpinning the future strategic direction of an organisation. The Department of Human Services (DHS) is currently implementing a range of agency and sector-wide initiatives, focused on: service transformation, standardisation, rationalisation and compliance. In my current role as the Technical Manager of the Common Services Team, I manage a diverse team, ensuring the delivery of projects that are aligned to these business requirements and structured to progress whole-of-Government priorities. For example: I contribute significantly to the MyGov single authentication framework project, providing strategic advice concerning the effective staged implementation of the project and the feasibility of specific approaches.
I can also translate the direction of strategic projects into its impact on my team, using good judgement to harness opportunities presented to simplify systems. A recent instance of this relates to my team’s responsibility for LoginServices, a key Java component utilised to logon to all Centrelink applications. It is a complex, time intensive system and significant development and maintenance knowledge regarding the component has been lost out of the agency. The MyGov project, which currently uses LoginServices, proposes transitioning to Tivoli Federated Identity Manager (TFIM), an IBM product that provides similar functionality for single sign on and user validation. I suggested we utilise this opportunity to simplify our architecture by postponing further enhancements to LoginServices, identifying which components use the system, transitioning them to TFIM and standardising on this as a whole-of-department.
My team is also progressing on a number of projects that overlap with other ICT functional areas. I need to understand how all the elements of strategies integrate in order to plan the work flows within my unit, ensuring they are efficiently coordinated and cascaded with congruent projects from other teams.
- Achieves results
Covering:
- Builds organisational capability and responsiveness
- Marshals professional expertise
- Steers and implements change and deals with uncertainty
- Ensures closure and delivers on intended results
In several previous roles, I have led and contributed significantly to IT projects and services that focused on allowing the business to build its future capability and responsiveness. These key projects have included: the MyGov reliance framework project, transitioning DHS to a SAP platform, departmental compliance with the whole-of-Government mandatory web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG), the version standardisation of the WebSphere platform and managing the security certificate renewal process. To deliver on these projects, I needed to respond flexibly and efficiently to constantly changing priorities and deadlines, allocating staff and resources as required to meet regularly revised requirements.
To achieve this, I use available resources effectively, working with other teams to integrate projects, reduce redundancy and efficiently schedule linked stages. I also focus on the skill profile of my team, encouraging ongoing cross-development, up-skilling and multi-skilling, work shadowing and mentoring to build internal capacity. Sustaining this level of staff engagement and productivity has been challenging in my current role, as I am managing a team that is being progressively absorbed into other DHS ICT teams. To minimise their feelings of uncertainty and displacement, I focus on continuous skill development and encouraging them to embrace opportunities to expand their capabilities.
I also have a strong record in managing scope effectively, and delivering on required outcomes within strict and sometimes conflicting deadlines. I proactively manage approval process with senior executive staff for emergency changes to guarantee no system outages and negotiate effectively to ensure feasible deadlines and deliverables. Additionally, I have managed multiple priorities, deploying resources effectively to meet changing demands, and leveraging the skills of my team and negotiating the input of external resources to deliver results. This requires a strong understanding of the business, the cross-functional implications of strategies and projects, and the skills of staff and resources available.
- Cultivates productive working relationships
Covering:
- Nurtures internal and external relationships
- Facilitates cooperation and partnerships
- Values individual differences and diversity
- Guides, mentors and develops people
I have a proven record in developing collaborative relationships with internal and external clients to deliver quality business outcomes. A number of projects I am involved in have cross-functional implications. I work closely with other teams to enable an integrated approach to project management and an efficient, staged rollout.
I have been involved in projects with both DHS and sector-wide implications, where I needed to build productive partnerships both within the department and with external agencies. During the certificate renewal project (where our vanguard certificates were expiring and needed to be renewed to maintain functionality of systems) I managed the process across DHS, coordinating the input of other teams and managing the relationship with the external certifying body; the Department of Industry, Science and Research (DISR). Similarly, I currently participate in the whole-of-Government forum to drive the WCAG reform process. As the Online Services Branch representative at these forums, I coordinate internal processes to meet compliance requirements and communicate effectively externally to manage departmental interests.
My experience includes extensive consultation with third party suppliers, developing effective relationships with them, and negotiating sustainable solutions that meet business needs and are cost effective. In my current role, I work closely with SAP representatives to discuss custom development options for web channel experience management (WCEM) and to explore options to meet WCAG compliance requirements and Saltbush contractors in relation to penetration testing.
I am a strong supporter of diversity in the workplace and the principle that people should be treated on their merits at every stage of employment. I have worked with people from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds and have a proven ability to interact effectively and respectfully with all these stakeholders. I recognise and embrace the value and benefits that come from having diverse ideas and perspectives within an organisation.
- Exemplifies personal drive and integrity
Covering:
- Demonstrates public service professionalism and probity
- Engages with risk and shows personal courage
- Commits to action
- Displays resilience
- Demonstrates self-awareness and a commitment to personal development
I consistently display professionalism and ethical behaviour, and adhering to, and modelling the principles of the Code of Conduct. I am a security conscious, fiscally responsible and effective manager who focuses on efficiency, waste minimisation and cost reductions wherever possible.
I deliver advice in the best interest of DHS, and the sector and have challenged management direction when I believed their proposals were not feasible, wasteful or not achievable. For example; with regard to the MyGov implementation I took a stance in relation to the implementation of a site visit counter, maintaining that the benefits of the information obtained through the collection of one month of data was not justifiable in terms of the implementation effort required.
In addition to this, I show drive, energy and a commitment to action. If I encounter problems my focus is always to resolve these as expeditiously as possible, either gaining the time or resources needed to fully resolve the issue or implementing a work-around that minimise service disruption. I have exceptional resilience and can overcome set-backs and maintain momentum in challenging circumstances. In my current role, I have consistently demonstrated the flexibility required to deal with the constantly changing priorities and requirements inherent within an ICT driven service environment. I also actively encourage staff to engage with the opportunities that change brings, and to see the benefits for innovation and enhanced services.
Throughout my career, I have consistently demonstrated a focus on continuous learning and development. It is important that I maintain currency of knowledge across ICT, specifically in relation to DHS and whole-of-Government priorities. I achieve this through networking, accessing various ICT publications and attending training when available. I also access knowledge and expertise from diverse sources within the department, leveraging the expertise of my colleagues to increase my own effectiveness.
- Communicates with influence
Covering:
- Communicates clearly
- Listens, understands and adapts to audience
- Negotiates persuasively
I have excellent communication skills, with the ability to interact effectively with a wide range of staff, including those from my own team, other ICT areas, the business divisions and from external agencies. With all these interactions, I ensure the transfer of clear and concise information, which in turn allows these separate areas to work cohesively to achieve project goals. Within DHS I also manage significant reporting and briefing processes across high-level internal and external forums. As part of the MyGov and WCAG projects, I have provided written and verbal briefings to senior DHS management, across the department to impacted teams, and within sector-wide forums.
My communication skills also allow me to negotiate persuasively with Senior Executives and Project Managers in relation to realistic scope, appropriate deadlines, resource capacity and funding requirements. In these negotiations I need to be extremely clear about deliverables and persuasively outline the resources required to deliver effectively against these outcomes.
In previous positions I have also used my communication skills to manage relationships between various parties. While employed by Fujitsu, I delivered several significant projects to Government clients, often working onsite within the agencies. While completing a project for the Department of Environment and Heritage, there were a number of complex, unresolved post implementation issues which resulted in conflict between Fujitsu and the department. My employer was seeking final payment on the fixed price contract, while the client wanted the outstanding technical issues resolved. I leveraged my excellent working relationship with the client to broker a work plan that would resolve outstanding issues and bring the initial development phase of the project to a close. The client was happy with the outcome and I was called back to the site on several occasions to perform system enhancements, generating further income for Fujitsu.
Technical Experience
Covering:
- Solid understanding of the contemporary application development and support
- Demonstrates ability to provide strategic advice on the technical management of production applications
As demonstrated in my resume, I have broad skills and expertise across a variety of IT functionalities, including a strong understanding of contemporary application development and support. In my current role as Technical Manager, Common Services, I manage and coordinate strategic projects such as the MyGov project, the WCAG compliance project and the transition of DHS to the SAP platform. In previous roles I also led key strategies, such as the 64 bit migration of the Customer Portal, the security certificate renewal process and the version standardisation of the Web Sphere platform. My experience also includes leading teams of diverse ICT professionals, such as Developers, Change Managers and Release Managers, to deliver on these strategies. This incorporates structuring resources to provide effective support within the application development environment, and deploying staff efficiently to meet changeable service and project needs.
All these projects relate to standardising and simplifying the ICT environment of DHS, and building an architecture and infrastructure that is flexible and scalable. They also align with the sector-wide priorities of service transformation, standardisation and rationalisation.
I also understand the Agile methodology and have a proven record in adopting a collaborative approach to application development that incorporates adaptive planning, ongoing improvement and a flexible response to changing requirements. Working within government has also provided me with an understanding of various approaches to deliver economies of scale, such as cloud computing, and shared services and infrastructures.
In previous roles I have demonstrated the ability to provide strategic technical advice on the management of production applications. In relation to WCAG compliance, the transition to SAP, WCEM and MyGov, I have delivered authoritative guidance and recommendations regarding implementation, integration, simplification and cost/benefit implications. This advice was provided at various departmental meetings up to the Director-level and within whole-of-Government reform project forums.
