Darren Butt
NSW
Summary
Experienced manager and professional skilled in streamlining processes and leading high-performing teams. Recognised for strong strategic leadership, and commitment to delivering impactful results. Teams benefit from collaborative leadership style and ability to adapt to evolving demands.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Manager Border Compliance Operations
Department of Primary Industries & Regional NSW Biosecurity & Food Safety
03.2023 - Current
- Responsible for the day to day management of specific border biosecurity compliance programs that require audit and inspection arrangements, certification services, targeted compliance operations, and complaint investigations, specific to this unit.
- Manage a team of 31 Regulatory Officers & Administrative staff responsible for administering compliance with the Biosecurity Act 2015, and associated Regulations. The role also has the responsibility for coordinating and undertaking general investigations of potential breaches of the Act.
- Lead and manage a broad program of compliance and investigation activities by adequate planning and ensuring that compliance activities meet best practice, achieve government objectives, and meet stakeholder and client expectations.
- Develop and implement effective compliance action plans for businesses that are in breach of or likely to breach the regulatory requirements of the Act to educate and promote compliance.
- Build and maintain effective relationships with key internal and external stakeholders to facilitate voluntary compliance in line with the legislation and the Biosecurity and Food Safety Compliance Regulatory Framework.
- Establish and promote a service focused culture within the team based on continuous improvement, shared values, and teamwork.
- Provide accurate, timely advice, briefs, submissions, reports and recommendations to the Director, Compliance and other Executive on statutory matters, reviews, complaints, and compliance matters/issues to support informed and defensible decision making and minimise potential adverse impacts.
- Monitor, manage and review work allocation, workload, and workflow to ensure the team is operating efficiently and effectively, meeting their commitments, deadlines, and service delivery standards.
- Effectively contribute to the strategic direction, decision making processes and business planning activities for the BFS Compliance Unit to facilitate the achievement of its strategic objectives.
- Provide and coordinate team resources and support for emergency preparedness and incident response activities within NSW as required.
- Balancing limited resources to meet competing stakeholder/client needs and expectations and deal with a high volume of daily issues while at the same time managing to achieve positive cultural change initiatives and effective, efficient process/service delivery.
- Maintaining a detailed and current knowledge of all policy and legislation relevant to the role and appropriately responding to compliance issues, displaying sound judgement, and accurately interpreting and providing detailed advice on these matters given that this information and issues management may be complex, and politically or economically sensitive.
- Accomplished multiple tasks within established timeframes.
- Fostered partnerships with industry leaders, enhancing company's reputation and creating new business opportunities.
Compliance Investigations Officer
Department of Primary Industries NSW Biosecurity & Food Safety
10.2018 - 03.2023
- Perform a range of high-level compliance and enforcement activities to ensure industry and community compliance with all facets of the relevant Acts, Regulations, standards, and codes of practices in accordance with the objectives of the Department.
- Lead and assist with special investigations into breaches of relevant legislation and exercise a high degree of judgment, applying an objective, evidence, and risk-based approach to enable effective, timely and proportionate enforcement action that complies with departmental policies, procedures, and protocols.
- Provide clear, accurate, straightforward, and timely information, advice, and assistance to businesses and engage with industry stakeholders to facilitate compliance.
- Work in close collaboration with other compliance officers across operational units to ensure that regulatory services and compliance activities are undertaken in an effective, efficient, and consistent manner, in accordance with to the Branch work program.
- Lead and work as part of a team to research, develop and conduct, a range of compliance projects and programs that contribute to the implementation of Compliance Unit strategies and the achievement of departmental objectives through delivering high quality outcomes on time and within budget.
- Provide high level, accurate, timely and appropriate information, technical advice, briefings, recommendations and reports to inform decision making by the Manager, Compliance Investigations, industry stakeholders and Executive management.
- Responding promptly and effectively, often at short notice, to rapidly evolving issues and emerging noncompliance that can be highly emotive and eliciting unpredictable media attention using a high degree of judgment, conflict management, client engagement and communication skills to achieve a successful outcome.
- Mentored junior staff members, helping them develop their skills and advance in their careers.
- Established effective relationships with key stakeholders both internally and externally for increased collaboration opportunities.
Regulatory Compliance Manager Biosecurity
Department of Primary Industries NSW
12.2013 - 10.2018
- Remotely manage a team of 24 compliance officers based throughout NSW.
- Act as a liaison between Biosecurity Compliance and other Biosecurity branches and agencies.
- Support the Director Biosecurity Compliance with monitoring and improvement of service quality across the operational unit, internal and external liaison, provision of accurate and timely advice on regulatory matters to a range of clients.
- Coordinate breach investigations by the Biosecurity Compliance Branch and manage the issuing of sanctions including penalty infringement notices and prosecutions.
- Assist the Director Biosecurity Compliance to prioritise regulatory activities in different areas within NSW according to the principles of risk-based compliance in order to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the branch and deliver on service agreements with the other branches.
- Provide advice to compliance staff to ensure statewide consistency in the application of relevant policies procedures and work instructions.
- Develop and manage multiple auditing programs including national programs for market access.
- Contribute to the development or amendment of Acts, subordinate legislation, policies, and procedures.
- Respond to ministerial inquiries in a timely and accurate manner.
- Identify, develop, and assign priorities to industry compliance monitoring programs.
- Maintain close contact with other Branches of Biosecurity NSW to ensure that regulatory services are aligned with the policies, objectives, and priorities of Biosecurity NSW.
- Represent the Biosecurity Compliance Branch at departmental meetings and on working groups to ensure that compliance issues are considered in the development of policy and legislation.
- Maintain interstate departmental relationships to ensure harmonisation with policy for market access.
- Manage staff expenditure and approvals.
- Monitor key performance indicators and unit performance.
- Ensure staff are working within the code of conduct, values and strategic direction, existing policy, and work instructions of the department.
- Undertake staff performance development plans and manage poor performers.
Police Officer
Western Australia Police Force
05.2008 - 12.2013
- Worked within 3 divisions in the WA Police undertaking duties to enforce the relevant laws within the:
- Sex Crime Division, Sex Offender Management Squad
- Serious & Organised Crime Division, Proceeds of Crime Squad
- Licensing Enforcement Division, Licensing Enforcement Unit
- Trained in conducting complex investigations, execution of search warrants, issuing of sanctions, compiling briefs of evidence, providing evidence in court, handling of firearms and investigative interview techniques.
Quarantine Inspector Perth International Airport
Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service
01.2006 - 01.2008
- Proactive with the inspection and intervention of arriving passengers and baggage, ensuring compliance with Australia’s quarantine laws (duties carried out under relevant legislation Quarantine Act 1908).
- Authorizing and issuing infringement notices, written warnings, and prosecutions for acts of non-compliance.
- Supervision and development of 14 officers and 2 supervisors including performance management.
Skills
- Service excellence
- Strategic team guidance
- Organizational time strategies
- Strategic decision-making
- Solutions focused
- Complex Problem-solving
- Cross-functional teamwork
Certification
- Diploma Government Investigations
- Change Management Course for Organisations (The University of Sydney)
- Fundamentals of Leadership Program Department of Industry
- High Performance Conversations Course Department of Industry
- Lead Auditor Qualified - SAI Global
- General Investigators Qualification Detective Training School WA Police Academy
- Investigative Interviewing Qualification Detective Training School WA Police Academy
- Intelligence Analyst Course WA Police State Intelligence Division
- Certificate IV Government Investigations
- Certificate III in Government
- Certificate Conflict Resolution & Crisis Negotiation
- Biosecurity Emergency Response Training
Timeline
Manager Border Compliance Operations
Department of Primary Industries & Regional NSW Biosecurity & Food Safety
03.2023 - Current
Compliance Investigations Officer
Department of Primary Industries NSW Biosecurity & Food Safety
10.2018 - 03.2023
Regulatory Compliance Manager Biosecurity
Department of Primary Industries NSW
12.2013 - 10.2018
Police Officer
Western Australia Police Force
05.2008 - 12.2013
Quarantine Inspector Perth International Airport
Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service
01.2006 - 01.2008
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