Nicole Phillips
Sydney,NSW
Summary
Strategic delivery and portfolio leader with extensive experience across education, infrastructure and large, complex organisational environments. A trusted advisor to senior leaders, bringing deep expertise across program and project delivery, portfolio governance, organisational change and stakeholder engagement, with a strong track record of translating strategy into structured, achievable outcomes. Known for providing clarity in complex environments, strengthening governance and reporting, and enabling informed decision-making across multi-stream initiatives. Highly collaborative, analytically strong and outcomes-focused, with the ability to operate across strategic planning, delivery oversight and hands-on execution. Brings over 15 years’ experience across Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese, Transport for NSW, Sydney Trains and RailCorp, combining strategic insight with operational depth across transformation, procurement, systems implementation and organisational change.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Portfolio Lead
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
11.2024 - Current
- Led and managed portfolio of strategic programs and initiatives across CSPD, partnered with executives, directorates and schools to enhance portfolio governance, delivery discipline, and change readiness for system-wide priorities.
Strategic Delivery Lead
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
07.2023 - 11.2024
- Led a portfolio of strategic programs and projects, providing subject-matter expertise across program design, organisational change and alignment to CSPD strategy.
- Oversaw and enable delivery across 10+ concurrent strategic initiatives, driving enterprise-wide alignment and delivery confidence.
- Provided end-to-end portfolio governance, strengthening executive insight, reporting quality, and management of risks and opportunities, and guiding initiatives through optimisation and transition to BAU.
- Partnering with executive sponsors, program leads and project managers to define scope, deliverables, resourcing, budgets, timelines and dependencies, ensuring cross-functional alignment across the portfolio.
- Co-designed and co-facilitated organisational strategy development with the executive team, working alongside external consultants to shape a system-wide strategy following an extended period without a formal strategy.
- Supported strategy launch and system-wide rollout, including presenting strategy priorities to system leaders and enabling alignment across directorates and schools.
- Supported strategy formulation and prioritisation through cross-directorate data analysis, identifying interdependencies and informing planning decisions.
- Delivered project and change management support across major system initiatives including the Education Blueprint, Education Reference Panel, School Improvement Plans and Student Voice.
- Led project management for the CSPD 2023 Employee Engagement Project.
- Designed and delivered change strategies, including stakeholder analysis, impact and readiness assessments, and targeted engagement approaches to support adoption across schools and central teams.
- Planned and facilitated executive, leadership and stakeholder workshops, including future-state design, problem-solving and decision-making forums.
- Built strong, trusted relationships across schools and central teams, strengthening leadership alignment, business readiness and sustainable change adoption.
Change Manager – Enterprise Transformation
Transport for NSW
09.2021 - 04.2022
- Delivered enterprise change management across a major, multi-agency transformation program, partnering with senior leaders and stakeholders across the Transport Cluster.
- Delivered end-to-end change management for the TAHE Implementation Program, including stakeholder engagement, communications, change strategy and lessons-learned activities.
- Developed and executed enterprise change approaches, including completion and tracking of change impact and readiness assessments.
- Supported enterprise business planning and change capability uplift through participation in Enterprise Change Management Committee workshops.
- Designed and delivered targeted change and communication collateral (training, webinars, FAQs, bulletins and guidance materials) to support adoption across diverse audiences.
- Led and facilitated training programs for internal stakeholders and external suppliers, including development of user guides, quick reference materials and e-learning content.
- Proactively identified impacted stakeholder groups and tailored engagement strategies to manage risk and resistance.
- Facilitated design thinking and stakeholder workshops to define problem statements and validate business requirements.
- Built strong, trusted relationships with senior leaders across the Transport Cluster, supporting alignment, decision-making and effective change adoption.
Project Lead & Change Manager – Procurement Improvement & Major Projects
Sydney Trains
01.2019 - 09.2021
- Led complex procurement improvement and enterprise system initiatives within Sydney Trains, combining end-to-end project delivery with organisational change to improve operational performance, supplier outcomes and business adoption.
- Led and coordinated the end-to-end delivery of major procurement improvement projects, including project management, change management and communications for the implementation of the Aquipa system for Plant Hire Services.
- Delivered system rollout impacting Engineering Maintenance Branch end users and large supplier groups, ensuring effective adoption and operational readiness.
- Led delivery of the RCTI (Recipient Created Tax Invoice) integration to the ARIBA Network for Plant Hire Services, reducing supplier payment cycle times through a digital solution; finalist, Sydney Trains Excellence Awards (2019).
- Managed organisational change across 140 suppliers, multiple internal teams and 700+ business users, strengthening compliance, integrity and supply chain performance in line with Transport priorities.
- Delivered change management for a multi-agency Contingent Labour system implementation, including stakeholder engagement strategies, communications and business readiness planning.
- Led and coordinated change activities for major ARIBA system enhancements, partnering with multiple business units and developing tailored change and communication collateral.
- Designed and delivered training programs for internal stakeholders and external suppliers, including user guides, quick reference materials and e-learning content.
- Delivered process improvements through early engagement and data-driven analysis, enabling improved procurement pipeline planning and $1M cost avoidance.
- Activated and coached change agents across the business, supporting leaders and stakeholders to manage risk, embed new operating models and transition to a sustainable future state.
- Measured and reported change adoption and benefits realisation through reporting, analytics and controls, ensuring changes were embedded and transitioned effectively into BAU ownership.
Sourcing & Hire Manager – Strategic Procurement (Plant Hire Services)
Sydney Trains
01.2014 - 12.2018
- Led a strategic procurement and plant hire function supporting the Engineering and Maintenance Directorate, combining people leadership, commercial oversight and continuous improvement to deliver safe, reliable and value-for-money outcomes across the network.
- Led and developed a team of 11 sourcing and hire professionals, providing end-to-end procurement services for heavy plant and equipment across the network.
- Ensured the efficient, safe and cost-effective delivery of plant and equipment, supporting operational reliability and business continuity.
- Built strong senior stakeholder relationships across the Engineering & Maintenance Branch, contributing to business planning and strategic decision-making.
- Led continuous improvement initiatives to streamline sourcing, planning, receipting and payment processes, reducing cycle times and improving service delivery.
- Promoted innovation in plant hire sourcing models, expanding service offerings and strengthening long-term supplier engagements.
- Provided expert procurement advice and commercial guidance to business stakeholders, suppliers and internal teams.
- Led and supported system transitions including ARIBA, Plant Hire Allocation Tool and the transition to EQUIP (2017), ensuring business readiness and adoption.
- Facilitated stakeholder and design-thinking workshops to identify problem statements and validate business requirements.
- Organised and presented at panel supplier briefings, strengthening supplier engagement and performance.
- Supported fraud, corruption and safety investigations relating to contract and supplier compliance.
Analyst / SME – Plant Hire Services Improvement & Reform Project
RailCorp
01.2012 - 01.2014
- Provided subject-matter expertise across procurement reform and systems improvement initiatives, supporting process redesign, business change and system implementation for Plant Hire Services.
- Led the redesign and implementation of a streamlined RFx procurement process within the ARIBA sourcing module.
- Contributed to the development, review and sign-off of procurement strategies, policies and commercial agreements in partnership with Strategic Procurement and key suppliers.
- Delivered business change activities, including Dry Hire ARIBA training and docket verification training for approximately 1,000 frontline staff.
- Provided ongoing operational advice and support to Plant Hire Services teams to meet service targets during periods of change.
- Represented the business in User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and Systems Integration Testing (SIT) across multiple system implementations, supporting defect resolution and business readiness.
- Facilitated stakeholder workshops and working sessions to gather, validate and refine business requirements.
- Developed and maintained training and support materials, including user guides, quick reference guides and e-learning content.
Sourcing Officer – Plant Hire Services
RailCorp
01.2009 - 01.2012
- Supported the delivery of procurement and plant hire services for engineering teams, providing system, supplier and operational support within a high-volume, safety-critical environment.
- Delivered procurement services for plant and equipment using the ARIBA procurement system.
- Provided L1–L3 customer and system support to internal and external stakeholders.
- Prepared procurement documentation and supported supplier engagement activities.
- Maintained supplier and operator databases, ensuring accuracy and data integrity.
- Supported team operations through workload coordination, task allocation and issue escalation.
- Built and maintained strong relationships with key suppliers and internal stakeholders, delivering high levels of customer service.
- Developed and delivered staff training, communications and job aids to support consistent processes and capability uplift.
- Contributed to continuous improvement by updating internal procedures and operational documentation.
Skills
- Portfolio governance
- Program delivery
- Change management
- Executive advisory
- Continuous improvement
- Workshop facilitation
Certification
- 01/01/25, MSP Foundation (5th Edition) Certificate in Programme Management (PeopleCert)
- 01/01/24, P3O Foundation Certificate in Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices (PeopleCert)
- 01/01/21, ADKAR Change Management Certification (Prosci)
- 01/01/19, Six Sigma White & Yellow Belts
- 01/01/19, ICAC Corruption Prevention in Procurement
- 01/01/17, Drive It Leadership Program, Sydney Trains
- 01/01/15, Leading Team Success; Merit Selection; Problem Solving Fundamentals
- 01/01/14, Fundamentals of Project Management; Business Writing
References
Available upon request
Timeline
Portfolio Lead
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
11.2024 - Current
Strategic Delivery Lead
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
07.2023 - 11.2024
Change Manager – Enterprise Transformation
Transport for NSW
09.2021 - 04.2022
Project Lead & Change Manager – Procurement Improvement & Major Projects
Sydney Trains
01.2019 - 09.2021
Sourcing & Hire Manager – Strategic Procurement (Plant Hire Services)
Sydney Trains
01.2014 - 12.2018
Analyst / SME – Plant Hire Services Improvement & Reform Project
RailCorp
01.2012 - 01.2014
Sourcing Officer – Plant Hire Services
RailCorp
01.2009 - 01.2012