DOUGLAS GALBRAITH
Northcote
Summary
I have extensive public and community sector experience across three main domains - community and health services; organisational development and human resources; and public administration and policy. Comfortably operating in senior and executive roles, I am adaptable, decisive, analytical, driven to achieve and a natural people leader.
Overview
27
27
years of professional experience
Work History
Organisational Adviser
Wurundjeri Aboriginal Corporation
08.2023 - Current
- Providing authoritative organisational development and capability acquisition advice and consultancy to the CEO and Board.
- Change management guidance and strategies in a rapidly changing and growing community controlled organisation.
- Hands on organisational development and recruitment functions.
Director, Policy and Projects
Policy and Strategy/Latrobe Valley Authority (LVA)
06.2021 - 08.2023
- As part of the LVA executive team, this role involved coordinating networks across the Department, other portfolios, and regional stakeholders, integrating the complementary work of regional strength development
- Overseeing the Food and Fibre Regional Strength team, this role partners closely with other regional strength teams to build the conditions for successful regional development and transition
- The role requires considerable adaptability and nuance to integrate the LVA’s Smart Specialisation with other contemporary regional development approaches
- This role has a direct line reporting into Policy and Strategy and works closely across RSD to develop regional development practice across the board
- In Policy and Strategy, this Director role combines leading place-based policy and economic recovery initiatives, such as Regional Workforce Pilots, Albury Wodonga Regional Deal, and implementation of regional economic development strategies
- Supporting the Executive Director, Policy and Strategy this role focuses on ensuring critical work progresses at quality and on time, including forming key strategic documents, presentations, cabinet submissions, budget bids and briefings.
Principal Advisor
Policy and Strategy – Rural and Regional Victoria (RRV)
06.2020 - 05.2021
- Working between the Executive Director Policy and Strategy, Office of the Deputy Secretary and Regional Delivery and Engagement, this role incorporated the breadth of rural and regional policy, strategy, governance, and service delivery
- Developing rural and regional policy and strategy in partnership with stakeholders, and in consultation with the Minister
- Designing effective work program and policy strategy for the RRV group
- Undertaking branch governance, systems, performance and team culture reviews and initiatives
- Writing high level presentations, business cases, policy documents, cabinet submissions and reports.
Principal Advisor
Office of the Secretary
01.2018 - 06.2020
- Working directly with the Secretary from the formation of DJPR, this role initially focused on the establishment of the new department including supporting MOG transition including early stakeholder engagement activities, undertaking the Executive Board appointments, assisting with the establishment of the DJPR governance framework, and undertaking organisational development and restructure initiatives
- With strong relationships with all DJPR Groups and interface across the VPS, in this role I participated in policy and strategy development and implementation through planning, engagement, cabinet submission preparation, Ministerial briefing and reporting
- Undertook a wide variety of projects for the Secretary, from commercial, direct project delivery and policy development
- Leadership and development role with Advisors in other groups
- Establishment of an excellence in public administration training program for all DJPR executive officers
- Provided quality assurance and timely processing of Ministerial briefs
- Established the first COVID response team for the Secretary and participated in a range of COVID related activities including Hotel Quarantine, Virgin airlines bid, and economic recovery initiatives.
Manager, Workplace Relations
Court Services Victoria (CSV)
01.2014 - 01.2018
- Partnered with each of the court jurisdictions to plan and implement the ongoing transformation of Victorian court services
- Lead Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), WorkCover and Wellbeing services and complex industrial and employee relations matters for all Victorian courts and tribunals
- Introduced innovative wellbeing programs for employees and judicial officers in response to the risk of vicarious trauma
- Brought together diverse stakeholders across the jurisdictions to implement a systemic approach, leading to the implementation of a CSV wide health, safety, and wellbeing strategy, rising awareness, and embedding strategy into day-to-day practice
- Highlighting my versatility, managed a variety of functions outside the workplace relations portfolio, such as Koori programs and initiatives, project delivery and security
- Included several higher duties periods acting in Director role.
Principal Adviser, Organisational Design and Restructure
Office of the Secretary
01.2012 - 01.2014
- Located in the Office of the Secretary restructure team, I lead large-scale workforce transition during the DHS transformation, moving 11,000 employees from old to new structures, including the establishment of an area-based service delivery model and complete transformation of central office groups
- In this, I was responsible for overseeing around 1,000 competitive recruitment processes, 3,000 individual staffing movements into new positions through a ‘best fit’ process, and around 7,000 matched positions
- In an environment of substantial downsizing of around 700 staff and major change management complexity, I managed these staffing processes with no significant adverse industrial outcomes for the department
- Partnered with statewide HR and operational teams to deliver on the strategy, establishing systems, processes, and project management approaches to ensure successful delivery
- This role required sophisticated consultation and influencing skills to negotiate complex organisational outcomes in a rapidly evolving workplace
- Collaborating with diverse stakeholder groups with competing priorities (including two unions), I applied strategic, systems thinking to develop an implementation model to help optimally deliver the strategic direction of the organisation.
Psychologist
Private Practice
01.2002 - 01.2014
- Working on a sessional basis in a small private practice, first as a probationary and then registered psychologist, I worked with a range of clients both individually and in groups, including children & young people, parents, individual adults, couples, injured staff, and managers seeking external supervision
- Working with individuals and then growing as a practitioner to apply similar concepts to managing organisational dynamics was a satisfying maturity of my practice.
Manager, Human Resources
Youth Justice Custodial Services
01.2009 - 07.2012
- Managed a team of staff charged with providing specialist human resource service to one of the department’s most complex and challenging programs
- This role required leadership through significant change and several critical external service reviews, implementing vast practice changes while continuing to provide flexible and essential people and culture services
- One of the key challenges of the role was improving OHS, WorkCover and wellbeing outcomes for employees who were regularly assaulted by clients or exposed to direct or vicarious trauma
- The great success of this role was introducing a radically improved training program, and a suite of HS&W programs such as clinical supervision, operational debriefing, emergency procedures, restraint, and challenging behaviour programs to ensure a safer workplace with better outcomes for the clients.
Senior Human Resources Consultant
Youth Justice Custodial Services
01.2007 - 01.2009
- Commencing in a newly created team, this role encompassed learning and development, employee wellbeing, and broad human resource consultancy services in response to challenging program needs
- Entering an operational environment with no employee wellbeing programs, I established a peer support program, a calendar of professional development to better manage challenging client behaviours and implemented critical incident stress debriefing programs.
Injury Management Coordinator
Work Health Unit, Human Resources
04.2006 - 12.2006
- The focus of this role was employee health and well being, undertaking a broad range of activities to respond to workplace stress, conflict or injuries and prioritising early intervention and risk management strategies to ensure best outcomes for staff and program areas
- This role provided me with a sound working knowledge of OHS, the WorkCover system, return to work and injury management approaches.
Team Leader, Child Protection
North & West Region, Department of Human Services
11.2002 - 04.2006
- Undertook a range of supervisory positions within Child Protection, providing effective supervision and leadership to a team or teams of child protection workers, and on several occasions acting as Unit Manager
- In this role I managed a challenging, unpredictable, and high-volume workload responding to reports of child abuse, while prioritising staff safety, development, and retention.
Senior Child Protection Worker
Western Region, Department of Human Services
01.2001 - 11.2002
- Commencing in Child Protection I quickly advanced to a senior Child Protection Practitioner role, in which I demonstrated advanced risk assessment and case management skills, high quality report writing, excellent management of Children’s Court matters, and mentoring to staff.
High Risk Adolescent Case Manager/Youth Worker
MacKillop Family Services
01.1997 - 12.2000
- In this role I coordinated a Lead Tenant Program, which involved recruitment, training and supervision of volunteer lead tenants and supervision of a youth worker
- This role also entailed both case management and youth work with young people in MacKillop’s High Risk Adolescent program, providing case management and support services to those young people identified by Child Protection as among the highest risk young people in the Region
- While employed with Anglicare I functioned as both an Outreach Youth Worker and Residential Care Worker, providing direct care and outreach support to children and young people residing in out of home care and young adults experiencing homelessness.
Education
Psychologist -
Psychologists Registration Board of Victoria
12.2014
Graduate Diploma in Psychology -
Deakin University
12.1996
Bachelor of Arts (Psychology/Sociology) -
Deakin University
12.1995
Skills
- Excellent communication and written skills to inform and influence decision makers and stakeholders
- Analytic and critical appraisal of information to develop creative and fit for purpose actions and work programs
- Problem-solving, dispute resolution and solution design for complex policy, organisational or operational matters
- Evidence based approach to policy and program development
Other Roles
- 01/01/2014, 12/31/2017, School Council Member, Fairfield Primary School, On my four-year tenure on School Council, I was chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee throughout and Treasurer for one year. This role required extensive stakeholder management with the school community and funding bodies to advocate for an introduce a significant program of investment into the school grounds and buildings.
- 05/01/2002, 12/31/2011, Critical Incident Response Debriefer, Department of Human Services, Actively involved in Critical Incident Response Debriefing at DHS, facilitating numerous group and individual debriefing sessions, stress stock-takes and follow up to ensure staff impacted by a critical incident were aided in their recovery to stay at or return to work as soon as possible. In this capacity I have also assisted the DHS Emergency Management Branch as a personal support team leader responding to Victorian bushfire emergencies.
Professional Development
- Ethical Leadership (Cranlana 2021)
- Systems Leadership theory & practice (2021)
- Cognitive behavioural therapy, drug, and alcohol treatment
- Conflict resolution and mediation
- Injury management coordination, OHS, ergonomic assessments
- Stress management, trauma and abuse, assessment, and case management
- Project management
- Psychological first aid, critical incident, and trauma response
- Corporate Investigations
- Psychological testing administration and interpretation
Timeline
Organisational Adviser
Wurundjeri Aboriginal Corporation
08.2023 - Current
Director, Policy and Projects
Policy and Strategy/Latrobe Valley Authority (LVA)
06.2021 - 08.2023
Principal Advisor
Policy and Strategy – Rural and Regional Victoria (RRV)
06.2020 - 05.2021
Principal Advisor
Office of the Secretary
01.2018 - 06.2020
Manager, Workplace Relations
Court Services Victoria (CSV)
01.2014 - 01.2018
Principal Adviser, Organisational Design and Restructure
Office of the Secretary
01.2012 - 01.2014
Manager, Human Resources
Youth Justice Custodial Services
01.2009 - 07.2012
Senior Human Resources Consultant
Youth Justice Custodial Services
01.2007 - 01.2009
Injury Management Coordinator
Work Health Unit, Human Resources
04.2006 - 12.2006
Team Leader, Child Protection
North & West Region, Department of Human Services
11.2002 - 04.2006
Psychologist
Private Practice
01.2002 - 01.2014
Senior Child Protection Worker
Western Region, Department of Human Services
01.2001 - 11.2002
High Risk Adolescent Case Manager/Youth Worker
MacKillop Family Services
01.1997 - 12.2000
Psychologist -
Psychologists Registration Board of Victoria
Graduate Diploma in Psychology -
Deakin University
Bachelor of Arts (Psychology/Sociology) -
Deakin University
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