NICOLE RICHARDSON

Company Overview

Alchemy Partners is a boutique consulting firm with offices in Sydney and Canberra that specialises in driving enterprise value through collaborative approaches. The company serves government agencies and private sector clients across financial services, travel and tourism, and retail industries.

Career Trajectory

Initially joined as Senior Manager with additional responsibilities as People & Culture Lead. Subsequently promoted to Director whilst continuing to spearhead people and culture initiatives.

People & Culture Achievements

• Performance Management Transformation: Redesigned and implemented a comprehensive performance management framework that enhanced employee development and organisational effectiveness.
• HR Technology Implementation: Led the successful deployment of Employment Hero to streamline HR processes including recruitment, onboarding, training, policy management, and performance evaluation.
• Cultural Transformation: Developed and championed the Employee Value Proposition by redefining company values, driving organisation-wide adoption, establishing regular employee engagement touchpoints, and orchestrating strategic team offsites.
• Recruitment Excellence: Enhanced recruitment practices with structured processes, including case study presentations to identify top talent.

Client Achievements

Allianz Transformation Program: Command Centre Lead & Transformation Management Office Lead

• Designed and established a Command Centre to support major Transformation Program Releases, creating a centralised, collaborative hub for program governance and execution.
• Conducted business performance risk workshops to identify key risks, develop robust metrics, and implement mitigating strategies.
• Facilitated multiple client workshops covering Command Centre operations, hypercare protocols, and learning & development enhancement initiatives.

Big Red Group Transformation Program: Change & Communications Lead

• Executed an organisation-wide listening tour, gathering insights to inform senior leadership recommendations and shape a comprehensive Change & Communications Strategy.
• Established a multi-tiered communication framework with targeted channels for different stakeholders, including CEO Updates, Leadership Team communications, Company newsletter section, Program Director bulletins, Program Showcases
• Delivered strategic value through detailed change impact assessments, RACI responsibility matrix workshops and organisational structure redesign proposals for executive consideration
• Strengthened organisational capabilities by conducting training needs analysis, creating a Sharepoint Training Hub with tailored learning resources, facilitating technology adoption through specialised "MarTech Week" workshops and organising Product & Technology Roadshows that effectively bridged technical and business stakeholder perspectives
  

Government Initiatives

• Department of Education: Led the design, organisation, and facilitation of nationwide workshops on the Unique Student Identifier initiative.
• Net Zero Forum: Served as Collaborative Designer for a high-impact one-day sustainability workshop.

Company Overview

Engaged Group partnered with businesses, schools, communities, and households to deliver meaningful, practical, and measurable change in inclusion, diversity, and sustainability.

Healthcare Sector

• Designed and implemented a tailored mentoring program for female doctors at Royal North Shore Hospital, addressing career advancement challenges and promoting gender equity in medical leadership
• Provided strategic counsel and operational support in the successful establishment of the RNSH Medical & Surgical Women's Society, creating a sustainable professional community for female healthcare practitioners

Professional Services

• Architected and deployed a comprehensive diversity and inclusion program for PwC Technology Consulting that transformed organisational culture across five strategic pillars: Fostering inclusive diversity practices; identifying and developing future leaders from diverse backgrounds; re-engineering recruitment processes to eliminate bias; extending diversity expertise to client engagements; creating consistently inclusive experiences across 200+ employees
• Designed and provided implementation consultation for an innovative cross-organisational female mentoring program, connecting participants across industry boundaries
• Established transformative organisational systems including: Bias-mitigating recruitment procedures
  Comprehensive flexible working arrangements
  Progressive professional development programs
  Systematic exit procedures that capture valuable insights
  

Sustainability Projects

• Conducted in-depth research for Pharmacare, delivering actionable recommendations and strategic advice for sustainable packaging solutions for a new product range
• Performed thorough sustainability reviews and developed targeted recommendations for diverse small businesses including restaurants, cafes, and educational institutions

Organisation Overview

The University of Sydney School of Health Sciences provides education and research in allied health disciplines including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, diagnostic radiography and exercise physiology. The School conducts research in areas such as disability and rehabilitation, heat and health, clinical imaging, sports science and physical activity, communication disorders and musculoskeletal health.

Career Trajectory

Progressed from Operations Manager to Faculty Manager to Policy & Strategic Planning Manager, demonstrating increasing responsibility within the academic institution.

Policy & Strategic Planning Manager

• Oversaw Faculty governance processes while providing strategic planning and policy advice to the Dean
• Developed and monitored the Faculty's strategic plan and managed key Dean's Unit initiatives
• Established Faculty Procedures for Research Centres, aligning their operations with Faculty strategy and University Policy
• Enhanced Dean's Unit work practices, improving response times and streamlining management processes
• Drafted high-quality speeches and reports for the Dean's key addresses and presentations

Faculty Manager

• Led the Faculty's non-academic portfolio (80+ staff) supporting 300+ academics and 5,000 students
• Oversaw diverse service portfolios including marketing & communications, learning & teaching support, research and Research Higher Degree support, student administration, work integrated learning support, facilities management, Executive support and printing services
• Achieved 10% reduction in Faculty headcount while maintaining service standards
• Implemented change management plan for key portfolio, resolving Union disputes and reducing headcount
• Generated $250,000+ in rental cost savings through strategic infrastructure review
• Improved Faculty facilities to enhance student learning and social environments

Operations Manager

• Improved Faculty operational performance through process re-engineering and effective management
• Implemented systems to enhance service delivery including Staff Intranet, clinical placement database, and CRM
• Restructured Facilities and Service Portfolios, achieving 50% headcount reduction while maintaining service quality

• Led performance measurement initiative to enhance value transfer methodologies and processes across Westpac
• Designed and facilitated project workshops and developed materials for cross-functional Working Groups
• Created and implemented project plans, status reports, communications strategies, and stakeholder engagement materials
• Contributed to end of financial year reporting, including chairing Steering Committee meetings, managing escalations, reviewing ASX announcements, and implementing the Post-Implementation Review (PIR)

• Led performance measurement workstream for Basel II Pillar 2 implementation at Westpac, managing a team of 5 and reporting directly to Head of Business Performance and Program Director
• Collaborated with finance and credit teams across Business Units to evaluate implementation of risk-adjusted metrics (ROAE, economic profit) in decision-making processes
• Developed comprehensive Business Unit frameworks and summary reports for APRA regulatory submission, working closely with subject matter experts
• Provided internal thought leadership in compliance KPIs, operational risk software evaluation, and anti-money laundering (AML) training development

Company Overview

Lawlex provided specialized governance, risk and compliance software for financial services before being acquired by SAI Global, a company that embeds compliance and quality assurance into organizations to enhance operational efficiency, product quality, and workplace safety.

Career Trajectory

Joined Lawlex as Project Manager, advanced to Client Relationship Manager, and was promoted to Consulting Manager before SAI Global's acquisition of Lawlex.

Consulting Manager

• Led consulting and client relationship teams across Melbourne and Sydney, including consultants, relationship managers and helpdesk operators
• Achieved consulting services revenue targets through existing client expansion and new business development
• Developed comprehensive consulting methodology, including strategic resource allocation framework and service offerings portfolio
• Managed multiple concurrent client engagements, ensuring quality delivery, cost efficiency and high client satisfaction
• Provided pre-sales technical support including business requirements analysis, proposal development, tender responses and solution pilots

Project Manager

• Successfully delivered Lawlex solution implementations for financial services clients, meeting time and budget constraints
• Developed specialized consulting documentation to support client implementations while expanding the company's intellectual property
• Coordinated across consulting, technical and sales teams to ensure seamless delivery of integrated products and services

Client Relationship Manager

• Managed key client portfolio, ensuring satisfaction with Lawlex risk and compliance solutions
• Built strategic client relationships and identified new business stakeholders to enhance understanding of client needs and value opportunities
• Advised clients on optimizing utilization of Lawlex products by aligning solutions with their business processes
• Leveraged client business insights to influence product development and service enhancements

Diverse Professional Engagements spanning permanent, consulting, and contract roles:

• Standards Australia: Developed specialised research and training materials to support Australia's peak standards organisation
• Challenger Financial Services: Delivered business analysis and project management services for this leading investment management firm
• Institute of Art & Law: Managed office operations and coordinated international conferences focusing on art law
• BHM Nevard Roland: Served as Recruitment Consultant specialising in professional placements