Alex capably ran the Workforce Skill Set Fund (WSSF). I met Alex when seconded to her programme to provide workforce capacity during a high-volume period of applications. I immediately found her personable, engaging, empathetic and sincere. Alex has an impressive ability to be able to focus both on the human and logistical elements of project delivery with no apparent sacrifice. It can be all too common with individuals choosing between task focus and people focus. This is not the case with Alex. Alex well-manages the demands of people management within project management timeframes. This is not an easy task to do – one I still have some way to go mastering myself!
In managing the WSSF fund Alex was responsible for leading the initiation and progress of the project, while managing the output of several assessors of varying VPS grades. I have personally witnessed Alex manage individuals of differing capabilities and communication preferences professionally, responsibly and calmly. This is also a difficult challenge given the time constraints and expectations of working in a government department. DET, especially, has expectations of high performance in often unreasonable time constraints. This can mean staff work extraordinary hours to complete their workload. Alex has consistently maintained a professional and unflappable demeanour during these times.
With limited guidance and support, Alex managed to launch the WSSF fund and manage its implementation. Due to its agile operating structure DET is a hard organisation to navigate this task. Alex identified the core people responsible for task, she followed government processes and run the fund successfully.
I would have no hesitation in recommending Alex for a project leadership or project management role. She capably manages both functions, demonstrating the ability to deliver on time, always adopting a leadership role. In leaving DET for a new role, she has chosen to go above and beyond in training her successor, providing recorded training sessions for the team and providing plenty of notice to her team members so there is no drop in performance in her absence.