TURNER CONSULTING

High-level leadership skills

As Assistant General Secretary of the Public Service Association of NSW (the PSA), I worked with the General Secretary to lead our organisation of 38,000 members, 150 staff, and a $22 million budget. ​

Career highlights in relation to these skills include being awarded a highly competitive scholarship to the Harvard Trade Union Program, an executive leadership program delivered by the Harvard Law School in Boston. Another highlight was being a Board Member for the Natural Resources Advisory Council (NRAC) from 2006 to October 2011. Further I was a board member of Waste Services NSW (2005 to 2011) and Delta Electricity (2011 to 2013)​

 

Management Experience

I worked in many management positions at the Public Service Association (PSA) from 1995 when promoted to Senior Industrial Office, a role responsible for managing a team of 10 staff and the interests of 14,000 members spread over many agencies and the whole of NSW, and subsequently as Assistant General Secretary working with the General Secretary to manage the whole of the PSA.

 

I am proud to have been a part of a leadership team which oversaw the development and implementation of the PSA’s first ever strategic plan, undertaken in the context of movement-wide declining membership and income and a rapidly changing and hostile operating environment. The planning process drove a comprehensive program of work which strengthened governance, accountability and member participation, improved our strategic capacity, set us on the path to reversing our membership decline and significantly improved the PSA’s finances.

 

My skills extend to the continual improvement of member recruitment strategies, the PSA’s key revenue source.

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Capacity in high-level policy development and policy analysis

I am highly skilled at research, interpreting legislation and understanding any obligations and the consequences arising, I have the skills necessary for ​analysing Government policy and developing and guiding policy on issues of governance and the extensive variety of issues in the workplace.

 

I engaged this high-level policy analysis and development skills when PSA members faced similar challenges in the child protection, disability and corrective services sectors.

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High-level verbal and written communication skills

I am a highly experienced public speaker and proven media spokesperson with a strong record of effective lobbying, advocacy and negotiation at all levels of government and across various courts. Similarly, my written communication skills are strong and extend across different fora, such as high-level correspondence to the most senior levels of government, drafting of industrial instruments and government submissions.

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Ability to actively engage with, and facilitate member groups and volunteer committees.

I have extensive experience in this area. Effective engagement with, and facilitation of member groups and delegate (volunteer) committees were an essential part of every role I have held. I have always collaborated with supporters, colleagues and communities. I worked with many people in various successful campaigns, i.e. pioneering the recognition of domestic violence as a workplace issue, and the landmark Pay Equity win for Librarians.

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Change management and facilitation skills

A core part of union work is change management and facilitation. I have dealt with an infinite number of restructures giving me considerable experience on effective change management. I have also driven change management at the PSA when our strategic planning process revealed a need to restructure for greater accountability and effectiveness.

 

Financial management and fundraising skills

As Assistant Secretary of the PSA and of the NSW branch of our federal union, I held joint responsibility for financial management. During my tenure, we maintained services and staffing levels while improving the overall financial position of the PSA.

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Ability to actively engage with parliamentary members and senior government officials

I have extensive experience in lobbying of all levels of government. I always prepared with ​good research to demonstrate and support the position being proposed.

 

Ability to manage competing demands within limited timeframes

I balanced rapid response across multiple sectors while progressing pro-active strategic and operational work daily. For example, as an office holder for a trade union I was responsible for ensuring that the unions I represented were compliant with various Acts. We operated as both a State and Federal union with multiple statutory requirements and limited time frames. I managed this work whilst dealing with the day to day issues facing the membership, leading on rapid response and driving many of our campaigns.