Organisation: Indigenous Land Corporation
Job Title: Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer
Location: Canberra
High level ability and experience in the provision of efficient and effective secretarial,
administrative and support services at Executive and Committee Level
During both my roles at Exxonmobil and Sapura Holdings, I was responsible for the full range of
secretarial support to numerous committees and, in each case, to the Board of the organisation.
This responsibility included scheduling and attending the meetings, gathering information and
producing papers ahead of the meetings, ensuring attendees were available, writing and
dissemination of minutes, and following up actions before the next meeting. Having these
meetings run smoothly relied on my ability to be able to negotiate and communicate with the
Executive Assistants of the other attendees, and in some cases, organisation of travel
arrangements to ensure attendance was possible.
As Senior Executive Assistant within Exxonmobil, I was responsible for the provision of high quality
administrative support including collation of official company documents such as annual reports,
executive summaries and contracts, reviewing of documents to ensure they remained current and
accurate, formatting and maintenance of information into database applications, drafting and
writing of business documents and correspondence, scheduling of overseas travel and event
coordination. In addition, my role included the management of the daily activities of the office
and complex multiple diary management within the department.
During this role, I would work mostly without direct supervision and was able to manage my own
workload and work around the requirements of my Executive, whilst prioritising and meeting
deadlines consistently. I was responsible for the supervision of a number of administrative clerks
within Exxonmobil and ensured we were working together to achieve the companies goals and
objectives.
Within my role at Platinum Management and Services as a Management consultant administrator,
I was responsible to facilitate the delivery of around 5000 worker’s visas and permits for the
manufacturing and construction industries in Malaysia, demonstrating my ability to work to
deadlines and prioritise large workloads to successful outcomes.
I also have experience in travelling, through my position at Sapura Holdings where I travelled and
contributed within the committee for international telecommunication exhibitions. This required
travel to numerous European countries and organisation of travel, accommodation and exhibition
set up and dismantle. I am happy to travel if necessary in the role and having done this before,
have a good understanding of what this entails.
With an excellent track record of providing high level and efficient administrative and secretarial
support, my skills will become an asset with the Office of the Chief Executive Officer.
Ability to initiate, plan and organise projects and work programs with a demonstrated ability to
manage conflicting priorities, meet deadlines and commitments, and identify acceptable costs
and outcomes
During my role at Exxonmobil, I was in charge of planning and organisation of bringing around 450
staff from other countries to Malaysia with their families. In this project, I managed and
coordinated a team of around 60 staff who were booking overseas travel from a range of
countries to Malaysia and were organising expat’s living arrangements, shipment of personal
items, arrangement of their families and schools for their children as well as visas and permits. I
was also responsible for matching employees to suitable roles, and planning and implementation
of staff inductions to the company and the country. I ran these inductions personally and ensured
they were carried out very soon after the family’s arrival within Malaysia to ensure they felt
welcomed and safe.
Within this project, there were multiple deadlines to monitor including the large amount of
paperwork to be completed for each and every person being relocated. This entailed extensive
liaison with the immigration department and gaining approval from Petronas, which was required
before geologists and staff could be brought into Malaysia.
Each of the teams of 4-6 staff members were responsible for different parts of the relocation
process and my role including ensuring any conflicts were sorted out and prioritised between the
teams. This huge undertaking was very successful with most families being very pleased with the
service we provided to them and also makes me somewhat of an expert in booking and arranging
travel and accommodation.
At Sapura Holdings, I demonstrated my ability to plan and organise projects and meet deadlines
within budget, during the period of travelling internationally with the team responsible to set up
and man international exhibitions for the telecommunications company. My role specifically was
in the planning and organisation of the exhibitions, along with travel and accommodation
bookings and shipment of our electrical goods to the venues efficiently. I was able to organise all
of this, assist with set up and dismantling all within our given timeframes and budgetary
constraints and very much enjoyed my attendance.
Able to communicate effectively with Aboriginal People and Torres Strait Islanders and a
knowledge and understanding of their cultures
Whilst I have limited experience in a professional sense, working and communicating with
Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders, I do have a basic understanding of Torres Strait
Islander culture through a colleague who has become my friend, who I met during the running of
my own business in 2009. My friend, Pat is also one of my referees and has shared her rich Torres
Strait Islander culture and history with me over the years.
As a well-travelled individual, I enjoy learning about other cultures and experiencing their beliefs,
food and ways and believe that I can adapt and respectfully communicate with both Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people when this role requires it.
Having become an Australian citizen in March 2014, I have embraced Australia as my home and
am genuinely interested in the first people of this country and their cultural heritage and would
welcome any opportunity to expand on this.
Excellent computing skills, particularly the ability to utilise the Microsoft Office suite of
applications in a MS Windows environment
I have worked with a broad range of computer software packages over my career and have the
ability to deliver high quality documents as a result. I have acquired a high level of competency in
using Microsoft Office suite and was able not only to help new starters but also advise current
users when they wanted to enhance their knowledge.
I have used MS Word every day for the production of official company documents such as annual
reports, executive summaries, meeting minutes, contracts, Standard Operating Procedures,
monthly staff bulletin and mail merging letters. My use of the MS Access and MS Excel
applications has included the preparation and maintenance of both databases and spreadsheets. I
use MS PowerPoint for presentations, some of which were used in senior management meetings
and conferences and in fact, it was part of my role to produce effective and well-articulated slides
to support new programs. My use of MS Outlook included sending messages to selected
distribution lists and managing my Executive’s complex diary to book meetings and schedule trips.
In addition, I have strong experience in the use of Document Management Systems including SAP,
similar to the TRIM program and I have developed skills through learning to work with the Human
Resources and Student Administration Systems and Student Learning Portal (WATTLE) during my
placement at Australian National University (ANU).
Well-developed oral and written communication skills in order to effectively prepare
submissions, briefings, reports and other correspondence and enhance relationships with a wide
range of people.
I have excellent communication and interpersonal skills and have the ability to communicate well
at all levels within and external to organisations. Within my role at Platinum Management and
Services, I was responsible for communicating with a large amount of foreign workers and their
families to ensure their needs were being met. This included deciphering a range of accents and
different understandings that we would have had in Malaysia and being able to satisfy everyone.
In addition, this role required my written skills in writing large amounts of correspondence to
Government departments and international departments to ensure the safe passage of the
workers, including visa’s and paperwork.
Within the ‘Malaysia, my second home’ project, I was responsible to make presentations to groups
of people within different European countries, selling the benefits of making Malaysia a home to
do business and to enjoy. I gave presentations to numerous Chambers of Commerce in Europe
and was also liaising with the Malaysian High Commission and other departments around the
project. This part of my role demonstrates my ability to enhance relationships through
communication which can be adapted to suit the audience at the time.
During my role as Senior Executive Assistant with Exxonmobil in Malaysia, I deal with a large range
of stakeholders, both internally and external to the organisation. Most people I deal with were
attempting to get time with my Manager, and although I could set appointments and schedules
for him, I was also a gatekeeper of sorts, determining priorities and urgencies on his behalf. This
requires a great deal of diplomacy and tact, especially if you need to say no to someone of
importance.
At Sapura Holdings, stakeholder management was particularly important as part of the organising
committee for international telecommunication exhibitions. This was a highly confidential
environment as the line of products were leading-edge technology and of commercial advantage
to the organisation. My interpersonal and written skills were fully utilised whilst managing these
events between Marketing staff, Royal Customs and the Excise Department, removalists and
external suppliers. The logistics involved were enormous and required precise planning across a
wide range of resources not only internal, but also external (international freight, quarantine,
visas) with a very tight schedule. The level of excitement and commitment was such in the team
that everyone was working the extra mile to secure a successful operation. It was very rewarding
to witness that through effective communication all stakeholders would make prompt and
collaborative decisions. At one time, I was based in the Sales and Marketing Department of Sapura
Holdings, and one of my critical tasks was to deal with a diverse range of customers from
corporate to dealers to individuals. Enquiries could come from many channels including enquiry
forms, emails, letters and in-person. I was knowledgeable, attentive, informative and tactful in
responding to these enquiries.
Capacity to work independently and as a member of a team in a diverse work environment and
effectively manage priorities and tasks to completion
As a resourceful and innovative Executive Assistant, I have the ability to sort out issues, which
makes me a central point of reference for others within my office. I am a person who enjoys
seeing projects through to completion and who insists on accuracy, timeliness and efficiency. My
skills include a natural ability to be a resourceful team player who forges good friendships with
colleagues and I consider myself to be well respected by those around me. Strengths I possess
include building trusting relationships, cultural sensitivity and the ability to build connections with
a diverse workforce particularly in multicultural settings. My task of mentoring new staff and
training the pool of secretaries prior to their posting to other departments within Sapura Holdings
made me a great team leader and appreciated by my superiors, peers and subordinates.
I like to think of myself as the person who knits the team together, bridging the gap between the
executive and staff, clients and stakeholder and who can be relied upon in all circumstances.
Within a team environment, I respect other’s points of view and whilst I will contribute mine, am
happy to oblige theirs.
As an Executive Assistant, I regard one of my teams to be myself and my Executive, working
together to meet requirements, deadlines, budgets and timelines. During my role at Exxonmobil, I
was at my desk every morning when my Executive called to get an update on his day and where
his time would be spent. I would prioritise for him if I could and by the time he came into the
office, he was ready to hit the ground running. I am there to provide a reliable, organised, efficient
and friendly service and ensure the smooth running of the office as a whole. These types of
activities demonstrate my ability to both work independently and work as a team cohesively and
collaboratively.
There were many teams which I have mentioned where I was either leading or forming part of the
team including at Exxonmobil, where I was supervising 60 staff and at Sapura holdings as part of
the team travelling to international exhibitions. In both cases, I have demonstrated leadership
within the team, worked collaboratively in the team environment and produced successful
projects.
‘Waidah was very well liked and respected as a member of our team, always displaying wonderful
professionalism and interpersonal intelligence which enabled her to liaise effectively with the
members of the team as well as the domestic and international students she needed to interact
with’, Natalie Young, ANU.
