Organisation: Department of Attorney General and Justice New south Wales Police Force
Job Title: Records Coordinator – Corporate Records & Logistics, Shared Services
Location: Sydney Region / Sydney – Greater West
Demonstrated high level of records and electronic document management principles, procedures and best practice
With experience spanning over six years in various departments of the New South Wales (NSW) Police Force, I have gained a high level of exposure to records and electronic document management principles, procedures and best practice. In all positions that I have held, I have managed documents and information in both hard copy formats, as well as in an electronic environment using the electronic document and records management system TRIM. Through using TRIM, I am able to capture and preserve electronic records, track the location of hard copy records, maintain secure access of all records and manage disposal of records, in addition to applying actions to manage workflow.
Within my previous role as Supervisor of the External Agencies Team – Subpoena Triage Unit, I undertook records and electronic management on a daily basis through TRIM. This involved creating, processing and disseminating subpoenas to the relevant Police or other Government department for compliance purposes. In doing so, I ensured that both my team and I followed all document management standard operating procedures (SOP), as well as adhered to relevant legislation and policy. As Supervisor, I was responsible for performing quality control via TRIM to ensure that all information was accurate. This extended to ensuring the creation of trustworthy, useful and accountable records by checking date and time stamps, in addition to ensuring that the records were meaningful, accurate, reliable and usable by checking the content. In adherence with the SOP, I was responsible for sustaining and securing the records and information that was required to support short and long-term business outcomes, including sending the subpoena documents directly to the department that they were addressed to.
Through proactively protecting and managing the records and information, I was successful in providing ongoing value to the Subpoena Triage Unit. After six years of experience with the NSW Police Force, I am extremely comfortable in a records and electronic document management environment and am well versed in the use of TRIM, as well as the related principles, procedures and best practice.
Demonstrated knowledge of the State Records Act and associated standards
My knowledge of the State Records Act and associated standards has been demonstrated throughout my career with the NSW Police Force, as evidenced through my efficient management of all information and documentation. As a Supervisor in both the External Agencies Team – Subpoena Triage Unit and the Operational Information Agency – Service Centre, I have ensured that my team and I are consistently up-to-date with all relevant policies and procedures, in addition to constantly following set guidelines in accordance with the State Records Act 1998 (the Act).
Within these roles, I have gained a thorough understanding of the standards issued by State Records under the Act, including the standards on the physical storage of records and records management. This extends to records and information in all formats, including both digital and physical records. It is my understanding that these standards are in place to support digital record keeping as organisations in the 21st Century transition to digital business processes. The standards put in place under the Act have facilitated the holistic and integrated management of records and information within the NSW Police Force. My knowledge has been demonstrated within my current role through my accurate and timely recording of data relating to iASK document retrieval. In adherence to the Act, I have created a spreadsheet that records the details of all iASK requests, including the time and date of the request, the results, and how the results were utilised. This enables me to give clear explanations of the actions of all staff members and myself during the six-monthly audit by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. By recording the reasons why each search was conducted and how the results were utilised, I am ensuring that all actions taken are justified and meet auditing requirements.
Due to my demonstrated knowledge of the State Records Act and associated standards, I have consistently ensured that all staff and I have adhered to the policies and guidelines set by the Act, as well as the procedures set by the NSW Police Force. In doing so, I have contributed to upholding positive integrity and best practice.
Demonstrated knowledge and experience with RM software
When used in an efficient manner, technology, particularly records management (RM) software, can help to improve business performance. Filing and document storage in an electronic form is an efficient way to use technology and it is important for any organisation in the 21st Century. During my six years of employment with the NSW Police Force, I have demonstrated my knowledge and experience with RM software through my effective and efficient use of TRIM.
Within all of my roles, I have utilised TRIM on a daily basis to create, locate and mange both electronic and hard copy documents, whilst meeting governance and regulatory compliance obligations. My experience with TRIM has highlighted the benefits of using such a system in order to provide transparent, policy based records management and archiving. Whilst working as Supervisor in the Subpoena Triage Unit, I used TRIM extensively in the management of subpoenas. This included ensuring that all incoming requests were recorded on TRIM on a daily basis, monitoring registers to ensure that information was accurate and up-to-date, in addition to performing quality control via TRIM to ensure that all information was consistently accurate. In doing so, there was a rigorous process involved such as checking all dates, time stamps and document deadlines prior to creating the relevant file in TRIM. Furthermore, it was imperative that strict confidentiality was maintained and that all documents were delivered in a timely manner to whom they were addressed. For example, when receiving a subpoena in relation to an accident, it was my responsibility to ensure that the allocated staff member checked all dates, created the TRIM file in timely manner, searched for the charge number in TRIM, located the officer in charge and then forward the TRIM document according to the set deadline.
My demonstrated knowledge and experience with RM software ensured a timely response to records creation, retrieval, distribution, and management within the Subpoena Triage Unit. Furthermore, my knowledge ensured the integrity, accuracy, and security of information that was utilised within the TRIM system.
Knowledge of security requirements for confidential information
The roles that I have undertaken throughout my career with the NSW Police Force have required adherence to strict confidentiality and compliance to specific rules and regulations. In demonstration of my commitment to security requirements for confidential information, I uphold high ethical standards in my work and treat seriously my responsibility to maintain confidentiality and discretion at all times.
Within my roles with the NSW Police Force, I have been exposed to privileged and confidential information, and I understand the reasons for, and implications of not adhering to, strict security measures. This includes sensitive legal matters, personal and financial information, criminal history and health information. As an employee of the NSW Police Force, I adhere to all requirements in the Privacy Management Plan, which clearly explains what I must do to comply with obligations under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act (PPIPA) 1998 and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act (HRIPA) 2002. In doing so, I am ensuring that all information that I collect is for a lawful purpose and that it is directly related to my core position functions or activities. I am aware that both PPIPA and HRIPA contain privacy principles that set out how I must manage an individual’s personal information and identify the privacy rights of individuals and what I must do to protect those rights. In order to adhere to this, I ensure that both my team and I are up-to-date with all agreements and guidelines and that we have all signed a confidentiality statement declaring that we are accountable for our actions. Furthermore, I have recently attended professional development sessions relating to the digital information security policy and information classification labelling and handling guidelines to ensure that I am current with the latest initiatives.
Having worked in numerous leadership positions with the NSW Police Force, I have demonstrated my ability to work in a way that promotes integrity by adhering to strict confidentiality principles and maintaining high levels of professionalism. This includes ensuring that my team and I maintain appropriate confidentiality and avoid conflicts of interest at all times.
Demonstrated experience and ability to supervise staff
Due to my high-level skills in allocating and managing workloads, monitoring attendance and contributing to staff development, I have been afforded the opportunity to supervise staff within two of my positions with the NSW Police Force. In my current role as Supervisor within the Operational Information Agency – Service Centre, I have demonstrated my capabilities in successfully managing a team of 14 staff members on a 24 hour, 7-day week roster basis. This involves organising a six-weekly roster for all staff, handling leave requests, passing information to staff via the chain of command, managing the workflow and allocating tasks, as well as performance monitoring and training.
My success in supervising staff was evident in my previous role as Supervisor within the External Agencies Team – Subpoena Unit. Within this role, not only was I responsible for the set-up of the unit, but I effectively managed 13 staff members, including nine civilian officers and four sworn officers. My responsibilities included but were not limited to, handling leave requests, informing staff about new policies, procedures and legislations, staff performance monitoring and training, as well as reporting the staff’s daily, weekly and monthly statistics to the Commander. The aim of the Subpoena Unit was to closely scrutinise all subpoenas in order to determine the nature of information request prior to the subpoena being distributed to the Commands. This came about due to a complaint that 87% of subpoenas were determined to have no relevance to those they were issued to.
As a result of my effective supervisory skills, I was successful in leading the team to increase the compliance percentage for subpoenas to 90%, including 111 being sent out and 100 making court date. While it was noted that 32% of these had no obvious relevance, it was deemed that they were rightly sent for further analysis. This achievement is one that I have been most proud of in my supervisory roles and, in recognition of my efforts, the Manager of Information Services at the time commended me for my hard work and contributions.
High-level written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills dealing with all levels of staff and a wide variety of clients, including a customer service attitude
My exceptional written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills have been a vital component in my effective conduct within the variety of roles I have undertaken with the NSW Police Force. On a daily basis, I have had contact with a wide variety of professionals, including Magistrates, Police Officers, Barristers, Solicitors, Civilian Officers and Prison Officers, as well as defendants, victims and witnesses. When communicating with others, I focus on listening to needs and core messages prior to responding. This specific approach has assisted in not only developing appropriate customer solutions, but has also contributed to sustainable working relationships.
Within my current role, I deal with a high volume of requests via NEMESIS from interstate and overseas agencies through Interpol and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The majority of these requests are time sensitive and require prompt action on my part, whilst ensuring that they are received and delivered in accordance with strict guidelines. In dealing with all requests, I demonstrate high levels of initiative and innovation, in addition to a creative and practical outlook when determining solutions and communicating these solutions. Acting as a liaison between agencies and organisations, I have developed a professional and courteous approach that allows me to handle a variety of situations in an efficient manner. At a supervisor level with the External Agencies Team – Subpoena Unit, I was responsible for updating and creating correspondence that was issued to NSW Courts, defence counsel and Police. On numerous occasions, I was complimented on how professional these letters were. Furthermore, when setting up the unit, I was responsible for writing all position descriptions, and worked collaboratively with my team in writing the standard operating procedures.
As my experience demonstrates, I am confident in handling difficult and sensitive matters in both written and verbal contexts, in a clear, concise and tactful manner to ensure a high-level of customer service at all times. I have strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to communicate complex information in a way that is accessible to the audience.
Ability to multitask and manage time effectively with often overlapping priorities, with high attention to work performed
My current position within the Operational Information Agency – Service Centre is autonomous and I am responsible for managing and distributing the workflow to all staff within the centre. This includes disseminating interstate and international messages received via NEMESIS to inform local police of various matters such as death messages, please attends, welfare checks and statement requests. Within this role, I am faced with tight timeframes to complete these tasks, distribute the work and submit to relevant stakeholders, and I work without supervision. With 14 staff members to supervise and manage, I am required to consistently demonstrate my forward planning abilities, excellent time management skills and organisational skills.
Through utilising my effective leadership capabilities, I have been successful in achieving team deadlines and outcomes, which has been the result of setting individual and team goals, as well as positive reinforcement and motivation. Furthermore, my accurate and thorough explanation and demonstration of tasks, with consistent monitoring and support, has resulted in the great success of my direct team and in turn, the Service Centre. My team processes over 500 information requests through the iASK system that are received from serving Police Officers for major, media sensitive and high profile cases. This involves making relevant requests to Government departments and corporate organisations, such as telecommunications service providers. All of these tasks require different time inputs with varying and often conflicting deadlines. In order to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the team, I prioritise tasks and continually reassess workflows and priorities. Moreover, I am accountable for continually monitoring each individual staff member to ensure that the team as a whole is operating efficiently.
Whilst ensuring that my team is consistently meeting targets, I still manage my other duties such as rostering, answering telephone calls and training staff, and have found over the past six years that I have gained exceptional skills in balancing priorities. My excellent organisational skills and ability to multitask have made it possible to manage these priorities and keep all stakeholders satisfied at all times.
Analytical and problem solving skills with the ability to gather statistics and report on activities
The ability to overcome challenges and create solutions to complex problems is something that I have repeatedly demonstrated throughout my career. This is clearly verified in my current role within the Operational Information Agency – Service Centre. Whilst answering telephone enquiries, receiving requests and managing incoming iASK results, I have learnt that it is necessary to resolve problems quickly and effectively. To enable me to provide the best outcomes, I utilise all resources available, including researching information on the Intranet relating to policies and procedures, making phone calls to more experienced colleagues, contacting an external agency, or simply asking for my Team Leader’s opinion. After exploring all options using the tools available to me, I am confident in resolving all problems with the highest professionalism.
Additionally within my current role, I utilise my analytical and problem solving skills in managing the staff rosters. At all times I am accountable for ensuring that there is adequate staff coverage within the Centre, which can prove to be challenging during staff absences. For example, one staff member recently took leave without notice and left me a note stating that she would be overseas for one month. Recognising the consequences that this would have for the Centre, I immediately took action and rewrote the six-week roster within 24 hours. I then immediately contacted all staff that were affected in order to discuss the changes, as well as notified the Roster Clerk. As a result, I ensured that all shifts were covered within the Centre and that no staff members were negatively impacted.
My ability to gather statistics and report on activities was demonstrated during the set-up of the External Agencies Team – Subpoena Unit. During the initial stages, I was required to gather daily performance statistics on each staff member, as well as weekly team statistics and submit these to the Team Leader to demonstrate the team’s achievements. Furthermore, in my current role, I gather statistics regarding outstanding iASK reports and use this data to ensure that the Service Centre staff are consistently aware of the tasks that they are required to complete.
Excellent computer skills
My computer skills are of an excellent standard and I have noteworthy experience in using a wide variety of applications. Throughout my career with the NSW Police Force, I have demonstrated my competency using SAP, the Microsoft Office suite, TRIM, and Lotus Notes, as well as in-house databases and systems such as iASK, JusticeLink, NEMESIS and intranet systems. I am confident and comfortable using these applications and use them on a daily basis to successfully and efficiently fulfil my duties and responsibilities. Furthermore, I am a competent user of the Internet and have extensive experience in using Windows Internet Explorer, File Manager and Browser.
During my employment with the NSW Police Force, I have completed formal computer training that was focused on records management. This has enhanced my ability to use computer systems in managing all incoming and outgoing documents and information. Within my current role, I demonstrate my high-level skills in the use of Microsoft Excel through creating and implementing the six-week roster for the Service Centre. Additionally, my skills are demonstrated in the use of Microsoft Office in authoring correspondence, in addition to standard operating procedures. In order to manage my time effectively, I utilise Lotus notes on a daily basis for scheduling meetings and task reminders. Recently, my expertise was sought to contribute to team training and I utilised my skills in Microsoft PowerPoint to create an engaging presentation on the topic of the Integrated Public Numbered Database. Subsequent to my presentation, I was complimented on the overall aesthetics of my PowerPoint slides and the ease with which they could be read. Within my current and previous role as Supervisor, I have been required to utilise my excellent computer skills to train others, particularly new staff who have had no prior experience with our systems.
Having worked with a number of computer applications throughout my career, I am familiar with learning new programs and have efficiently integrated them into my daily routine. I am confident in my computer literacy skills and am eager to learn and implement new systems as I move forward in my career.
Proven experience working in a RM environment
My six years of experience working with the NSW Police Force has extended to working in a variety of areas, including the Downing Centre Local Court as a Court Process Officer, the External Agencies Team – Subpoena Unit as a Supervisor, and the Operational Information Agency – Service Centre as a Supervisor. All of these roles have been within a records management environment, where I have been responsible for receiving and disseminating highly sensitive and confidential information.
Within my current position, all information and documentation that I process and action must be clearly recorded in the TRIM system and then all hard copies filed in accordance to policies and procedures. Even if I simply send email correspondence to a stakeholder, I must clearly record when it occurred and the nature of my request. This is to ensure that full and accurate records of all activities and decisions are created, managed and retained or disposed of appropriately, and in accordance with relevant legislation. This enables the NSW Police Force to achieve information accessibility in addition to business enhancement and improvement. Also, it ensures that all obligations are met for accountability, whilst ensuring that the rights and interests of all stakeholders are protected. In my previous role within the Subpoena Unit, it was imperative that I ensured that records management procedures were stringently followed. This included checking all date and time stamps, ensuring that document numbers matched both the hard and electronic copy, and, by closely analysing the content, ensuring that they were sent to the correct stakeholder. In doing so, I maintained the integrity of the Unit and achieved a record of accomplishment during my 12 months with the Unit.
Through my extensive experience, knowledge and compliance within records management environments, I have contributed positively to the strategic direction of the NSW Police Force, in addition to ensuring that all key performance indicators have been met. Not only has this facilitated information accessibility and protection, but it has ensured that all customer services are delivered in an efficient, fair and equitable manner.
Demonstrated capacity to implement required health and safety policies and safe work practices
Having been an active member and Secretary of the Operational Information Agency Workplace Health and Safety Committee for two years at the NSW Police Force, I have a thorough understanding of, and capacity to implement, required health and safety policies and safe work practices. I am serious about my obligations under health and safety legislation and organisational policy, and commit wholeheartedly to safe work practices. My experience with workplace health and safety has provided me with an understanding of the general requirements that must be met by every workplace in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of employees.
Within my current role as Supervisor, I have recently provided training to all staff in the Operational Information Agency – Service Centre in relation to ergonomically safe practices. This involved providing staff with information on how to set up their desk spaces, including the height of their chairs, computer monitors and keyboards. We also conducted self assessments to identify if there were any further needs that were required to be met. Additionally, I arranged an ergonomic mouse for each staff member in order to reduce the likelihood of repetitive strain injury or shoulder pain. As a Supervisor, I consistently provide occupational health and safety advice to staff and manage issues and concerns as they arise. During my time on the Workplace Health and Safety Committee, I was responsible for attending meetings, relaying health and safety information to staff, as well as acting as the central point of contact for all occupational health and safety matters in my unit. This involved reporting all incidents and providing basic medical attention if required.
Throughout my tenure with the NSW Police Force, I have demonstrated my working knowledge of the practical application of occupational health and safety measures in the workplace, both from a general employee perspective and an organisational perspective. As a dedicated employee, I ensure that I take care of the health and safety of others at all times by reporting any incidents and notifying the Occupational Health and Safety Officer of any hazards that I might come across.
Will be required to obtain and maintain a National Security Clearance
During my employment with the NSW Police Force, I have obtained and maintained a National Security Clearance for over six years. I understand that these clearances are undertaken to ensure that people entrusted with access to security classified information or resources are eligible, suitable and can be trusted to safeguard them. As such, I take my role with the NSW Police Force very seriously and act with integrity and professionalism at all times.
Within my current and previous roles, I have upheld my obligations in relation to my National Security Clearance through maintaining a thorough understanding of the application of the records management system security for the purposes of the NSW Police Force and to protect the sensitive information that I work with. This includes coordinating and prioritising resources to maintain confidentiality, whilst ensuring that high levels of customer service are maintained at all times. Additionally, I ensure both my staff and I are consistently entering correct information at all times on hard copy and electronic files in order to ensure data integrity.
In recognition of the significant responsibilities that come with a National Security Clearance, I have enhanced and maintained my knowledge regarding relevant security standards and procedures. This has involved completing in-house training, including
- Employee Acknowledgement – Security of Information
- MCPES – Information Security Awareness
Confident that I will pass any background check required of me, I am willing to undertake further training if necessary and take all required steps to continue to maintain my National Security Clearance.
