Nilani Engunan
Constitution Hill,NSW
Summary
I am a visionary leader dedicated to aligning technical solutions with organisational objectives by delivering impactful, business-focused IT strategies and solutions. My leadership is grounded in fostering transparency and cultivating a culture of clear communication and collaborative engagement. I excel in the strategic planning and execution of technology roadmaps, driving performance optimisation, and transforming teams to ensure alignment with both departmental and government frameworks. With a purpose-driven approach, I guide teams in delivering practical, cost-effective IT solutions while fostering accountability and ownership. My commitment to risk management and governance ensures that legal, ethical, and public service obligations are met, while also promoting innovation and strategic decision-making. Over25 years of in the IT industry my experience spans sectors including Law Enforcement, Transport, Manufacturing, and Education, allowing me to provide nuanced, high-quality solutions that resonate across industries. Results-driven leader with strong background in strategic management and organizational growth. Skilled in developing and implementing effective business strategies, optimizing processes, and driving team performance. Known for adaptability, effective collaboration, and delivering measurable outcomes in dynamic environments. Strong communication and problem-solving abilities, coupled with focus on fostering productive and positive team culture.
Overview
27
27
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
A/Director, Strategy & Planning, Information Technology Directorate
Department of Education
05.2023 - Current
- This business unit leads strategic plans and initiatives to drive prioritisation of technology products whilst championing the development and implementation of the directorates strategic planning governance and reporting framework
- This unit has ownership of the department's Digital Strategy and its ongoing benefits management and realisation
- My primary responsibilities:
- Lead department’s IT strategic planning and prioritisation process to ensure the investment to enable departments strategic objectives from technology roadmaps into projects and programs are to deliver maximum value for the department
- Guide cross functional teams to ensure each functional area is delivering against the Digital Strategy and department objectives, ensuring clarity of purpose and scope for product development, infrastructure management, capability uplift
- Manage directorate’s risks and governance processes to enable the directorate to deliver its objectives within legal/statutory, public service and ethical obligations
- Drive and evaluate operational performance outcomes which contribute to the achievement of the division’s strategy and be accountable for providing detailed and reliable analysis to support strategic and dynamic decision-making to drive opportunities for innovation
- Achievements:
- Led the Stage1 implementation of the 'Revised Operating Model,' designed to enhance ITD's focus on stakeholder partnerships and elevate the visibility of core technology enterprise services
- Developed the first IT Scorecard, aimed at providing senior executives with insights into ITD's performance in alignment with departmental goals, while identifying opportunities for performance optimisation
- Implemented ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management system to enhance service delivery, tighter strategic alignment of digital initiatives and maximise value from investments
Acting Director, DAI
Data Analytics & Insights (DAI), CESE
12.2023 - Current
- DAI is the department’s data powerhouse within CESE, the directorate who forefronts advancing excellence in evidence, insights, and policy to support data-driven decision making, so every student learns, grows, and belongs in an equitable and outstanding education system
- This unit leads in collecting, storing, and transforming data, from multiple sources, into information and meaningful insights for use across Education and NSW
- My primary responsibilities:
- Responsible for a team of around50 staff leading and developing tactical plans and initiatives to develop in-depth data analytics and reports, dashboards and metric reporting prototype systems
- Foster team capability and agility so that team members can be independent subject matters experts, and when needed outposted across the department, to conduct data analysis and business recommendations for other divisions
- Achievements:
- Implement strategic plans and optimise operational performance with appropriate controls and processes across the division to ensure the department’s commitment to school improvement and other critical priorities to reflect Government, Cluster and department frameworks, policies, and guidelines
- Spearheading the development of DAI strategy to optimize product and service offerings in alignment with "Our Plan for NSW Education", "ESR Business Plan", "Data Strategy" and "Digital Strategy"
- Leading the definition of a Demand prioritisation framework to ensure DAI Data products and services are delivered based on department's strategic needs and operational requirements
- Formulated a comprehensive succession plan for DAI, to establish the new team structure in alignment to DAI value proposition to the organisation, proposing in significant savings of $3 million over a two-year period while maintaining service quality
- Leading and driving the 'Reporting & Insights’ Program which aims to declutter the current Scout Reports and deliver products targeting specific user needs using relevant data with clearly defined insights
- Established an "Innovation Hub" to cultivate a culture of continuous improvement among Data Engineers and Technical Advocates, driving the delivery of cutting-edge solutions
- Presently, leading efforts to trial Co-Pilot for PowerBI, enhancing data visualization capabilities for end users
- Orchestrating seamless collaboration between ITD, Dare, and DAI teams to devise the Edulake transition roadmap
- This collaborative effort streamlined focus and facilitated the development of comprehensive plan for building the curated data layer in Edulake, aligning with NAPLAN report suite requirements and ensuring smooth data migration.Also resulted a Edulake transition template to be adopted for each data domain migration
Business Relationship Manager, DAI
Business Relationship Manager, DAI
01.2022 - 11.2023
- My primary responsibilities:
- Partner with business units (Schools/Corporate) to deliver data Products and Services aligned to business needs and ensure delivery is aligned to strategic objectives
- Manage incoming demand (Demand shaping) for Products & Services by prioritizing the requests using RICE model focusing on reach and impact of request
- Responsible for the directorate’s stakeholder management with non-government schools and external agencies to ensure DoE/interagency needs are addressed in a timely manner
- Trusted advisor to provide advise related to department’s strategic goals and impact on Data Products and Services, at senior executive forums
- Manage the Business team of8 members (Business Analysts, Change Manager, Data Modeller, Relationship Officer), inclusive of mentoring, performance review and staff wellbeing
- Achievements:
- Implemented Demand Prioritisation Framework adopting the RICE model for Data Analytics Products and Services focusing on business reach and impact of request
- Planned and lead the delivery roadmap for NAPLAN2023 Scout Reports to ensure NAPLAN insights with the new proficiency standards levels are accurately provided to end users
- Key member of re-shaping the Data Analytics team in2022 under the newly appointed Director by rearranging the team structure to work productively in a more open, inclusive, friendly environment
- Established and chaired technical working group with NESA and non-gov school agencies
- Instrumental team member in defining the Data Maturity Assessment and Data Strategy led by Data Reform in2022/23
Product Manager, Integration Solution Architect, ITD
Product Manager, Integration Solution Architect, ITD
11.2018 - 12.2021
- Digital Integration ITD enables IT solutions to achieve specific business outcomes with the use of integration products and services, to facilitate the exchange of data between different systems and applications
- My primary responsibilities:
- ‘End to end’ management of Enterprise Integration Services products (of assigned Portfolios)
- Manage incoming demand for integration services requests
- Responsible for integration solution designs and architectural advice for projects implementing integration solutions
- Mentoring architects on solution architecture best practices
- Voting Member of the Integration Design Authority, Member of NSW Government Integration Network community
- Achievements:
- Delivered Enterprise Integration Services Catalogue and key data integration projects such as Domain data services enabling access to critical data within specific business domains
- Established Data Sharing Governance process to ensure Data Owners endorsement of data integration services ensuring data integration services are carried out with the necessary permissions and safeguards
- Delivered Student Administration Integration Services roadmap (2021) consolidating and aligning all integration products to ensure they are delivered to customer needs and eliminate solo services and technical debt across the organization
- Enterprise Integration Strategy (2019 &2021)- Delivered the strategy a two-year roadmap to facilitate the department to to capture real-world business events as they happen in systems and maintain data consistency between various systems
- Enterprise Integration Principles & Patterns (2020) – Revised department’s integration principles and patterns
- Student Management Applications Strategy and3-year roadmap (2021) – Contributor and working group member for defining Student Management Applications3-year roadmap by providing the integration strategy components in alignment to this roadmap
A/General Manager (Director) Strategy & Architecture/ Enterprise Architect (Jul’13 – Oct’18), Solution Architect (Apr’11 – Jun’13)
NSW Police Force (NSWPF)
04.2011 - 10.2018
- Architecture &Planning, ST&P is responsible for leading and governing the roadmap of systems and technologies used in NSWPF
- It is also responsible for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Strategy and Enterprise Architecture of the organization
- The Project Management Office (PMO) is a parallel team to A&P under ST&P
- My primary responsibilities are:
- Portfolio Owner and Trusted Advisor for OPP Program (COPS Modernization Program), Forensic Services Group and external agency Australian Crime and Intelligence Commission (ACIC)
- Enterprise Architect for delivering architectural strategies and standards for the Organization
- Design Council Member to ensure architectural governance on ICT changes
- Achievements:
- NSWPF Foundation Enterprise Architecture (2013) - Member of the core Enterprise Architecture implementation team
- I was responsible for defining the Business Anchor Model and5-year Strategic Application Roadmap
- Mobile Policing Strategy (2014) - Delivered the Strategy and5-year roadmap together with a fellow Enterprise Architect which defines the Mobility needs for NSWPF
- Currently the18 capabilities proposed by this strategy is currently in implementation
- Foundation Information Architecture (2015) – Lead this implementation which defines the information assets of NSWPF and the governance process for effective control of information assets to yield optimum business value
- Mobile Reference Architecture (2016) - Delivered this reference architecture together with an Mobility Technical Expert, which established best practices and standards for Mobility
- NSWPF Digital Integration Strategy (2017) – Delivered this strategy a two-year roadmap which will facilitate NSWPF adopting a Hybrid Integration Platform to support bimodal integration
- Integration Reference Architecture (2017) Currently developing this reference architecture which will establish best practices and standards for Digital Integration
- 5-year Application & Technology Strategic Roadmaps - Annual refresh of Strategic Technology & Application Roadmap
Senior Business Analyst
Senior Business Analyst, Roads & Maritime Services (RMS), Project Services Group, IM&IT
01.2010 - 03.2011
- Project - Direct Delivery of Special Number Plates
- The objective of this project is introducing the ability for a customer to order a special number plate for direct delivery
- This involves business processes around the RTA, manufacturer, courier, and Customer
- My primary role was to lead a group of Business analysts to define requirements, conduct impact analysis and user acceptance testing of this project
Business Analyst
NSW Police Force (NSWPF)
08.2008 - 08.2009
- Key Projects - VIEW Program (This program delivered the multimedia system for NSWPF)
- The CCTV project's objective is to provide a spatially enabled (using MapInfo) register (via the intranet) of both public and private CCTV system locations that will allow Police officers to easily search and locate potential sources of video evidence available across the organisation
- PICS CS Project’s objective was to enhance the capability of Crimes Stoppers website to receive digital imagery
- This project also involved updating CMMS to allow attaching digital images received through the Crime Stoppers website crime reports to COPS information reports
- My primary role was to define requirements across various levels of stake holders, conduct impact analysis and user acceptance testing, manage change management activities including end user training and post implementation review of this project
Business Analyst
Business Analyst, Traffic Systems Branch, Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA), NSW
09.2007 - 07.2008
- Key Project – SCATS (Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System) Enhancements
- SCATS is a computer-based area traffic signal control system
- It is a complete system of hardware, software and control philosophy
- It operates in real-time, adjusting signal timing throughout the system in response to variations in traffic demand and system capacity
- My primary role was to define the business requirements, conduct gap analysis, manage change requests, develop test plans data migration activities and post implementation support
Senior Business Analyst
Senior Business Analyst Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) Head office, NSW
03.2006 - 02.2007
- Key Project - Use case survey for DRIVES system
- This project was defined to deliver a full use case survey of the existing system DRIVES (DRIver and VEhicle System - the computer system used to record driver licence and vehicle registration information) functionality
- The deliverable of this project is to publish the functional Architecture of DRIVES in DOORS (Requirements Management Tool) as use case models, use case specifications and business processes (using activity diagrams)
- My primary role was to lead the use case survey by prioritizing by business function area of use cases delivery, reviewing and finalising Subject Matter Experts’ use case documentation (use case specifications, business process models and UML activity diagrams) of DRIVES functionality, mentor and team with business analysis skills
Business Analyst
Business Analyst, Harvey Norman Head Office, Sydney
11.2004 - 02.2006
- Key Project - Microsoft Great Plains (ERP Package) Implementation
- This project was focused on implementing Microsoft Great Plains for the Commercial, Subsidiary and Affiliate companies of the Harvey Norman group (considered non-retail focused)
Business Analyst
Business Analyst, ERG Group, Sydney
08.2003 - 10.2004
- Key Project - Sydney Integrated Ticketing System for NSW Government
- This project is to install and operate an integrated smart card based ticketing system for the entire Greater Sydney commuter transport network
- This project looks at the concepts of CRM, ERP, Financial back end, Front end devices etc
Business Analyst
Business Analyst, Lumley Insurance Technology Ltd, Sydney
06.2003 - 07.2003
- Key Project - Enhancing internal insurance systems
- This project was about studying the existing system, talk to various system users and find out what is lacking in the existing system and modify the system to meet users’ expectations
Analyst Programmer
John Keels Computer Services Ltd (JKCS), Sri Lanka Emirates Airlines, United Arab Emirates (Dubai)
03.1998 - 03.2003
- A strong domain expertise, delivering cutting edge solutions to the airline, shipping, banking, finance, manufacturing, retail, leisure and telecommunication industries, employs300 employees and serve companies in UK, Scandinavia, The Middle East , South Asia and Japan
Education
First Class Honours, Bachelor - Computing and Information Systems
Manchester University
01.2001
Skills
- Standards/Frameworks /Methodologies
- Product Management, BRMP, TOGAF, Waterfall, RUP, Agile, BABOK, UML, BABOK, BPMN, XP, OO Analysis & Design, Prince2, DevOps, CI/CD
- Tools
- IServer,Enterprise Architect, System Architect, DOORS, Rational Suite (RequisitePro, Rose, Test Manager, Clear Quest), JIRA, Oracle Designer6i, MS Project, MS Visio, Confluence, JIRA, DevOps
- Application Development
- Oracle Developer2000/6/6i, SQL, Pro
- C, FoxPro, D Base III, Java, VB6, SQL forms3, VBA for MS Word, MS Excel and MS Access, Crystal Reports Oracle MS Access97/2000, SQL Server, Power BI, Azure Ecosystem
Certification
- Azure Data Architect- In progress (2023)
- Business Relationship Management Professional (2023)
- Product Management (General Assembly) (2021)
- Agile Methodology (PM Partners) (2021)
- Women in Leadership (UNSWAGSM) (2020)
- TOGAF9 Certified level (2014)
- Oracle Certified Professional, Oracle Corporation. (Developer6i) (2001)
Training
- 2024 NSW leadership Academy Executive Essentials
- 2024 Gartner Data Analytics Summit
- 2023 Mini MBA, Australian Institute of Management
- 2023 Gartner Data Analytics Summit
- 2019 Gartner Application Architecture, Development & Integration Summit
- 2018 Mastering Solution Architecture
- 2017 Gartner Application Architecture, Development & Integration Summit
- 2017 API Workshop, Mulesoft
- 2016 Gartner Application Architecture, Development & Integration Summit
- 2016 Applied Leadership, NSWPF
- 2016 Merit Selection Techniques, NSWPF
- 2015 IT Root Cause Analysis, Thinking Dimensions, Australia
- 2014 Assertive Communication Skills, NSWPF
- 2013 Discover Information Architecture, Enterprise Architects, Australia
- 2013 Discover Business Architecture, Enterprise Architects, Australia
- 2013 Agile Business Analyst, Software Education, Australia
- 2012 Business Process Modelling, Software Education, Australia
- 2012 Building a Business Case, Cityplan Services, Australia
- 2011 Advanced Business Analysis, Software Education, Australia
- 2009 UML with Enterprise Architect, Sparx, Australia
Affiliations
- O’Reilly Subscription
- Associations of Enterprise Architects (AEA)
- AWS Product School
- Australian Computer Society
- Women in Data, California
Timeline
Acting Director, DAI
Data Analytics & Insights (DAI), CESE
12.2023 - Current
A/Director, Strategy & Planning, Information Technology Directorate
Department of Education
05.2023 - Current
Business Relationship Manager, DAI
Business Relationship Manager, DAI
01.2022 - 11.2023
Product Manager, Integration Solution Architect, ITD
Product Manager, Integration Solution Architect, ITD
11.2018 - 12.2021
A/General Manager (Director) Strategy & Architecture/ Enterprise Architect (Jul’13 – Oct’18), Solution Architect (Apr’11 – Jun’13)
NSW Police Force (NSWPF)
04.2011 - 10.2018
Senior Business Analyst
Senior Business Analyst, Roads & Maritime Services (RMS), Project Services Group, IM&IT
01.2010 - 03.2011
Business Analyst
NSW Police Force (NSWPF)
08.2008 - 08.2009
Business Analyst
Business Analyst, Traffic Systems Branch, Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA), NSW
09.2007 - 07.2008
Senior Business Analyst
Senior Business Analyst Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) Head office, NSW
03.2006 - 02.2007
Business Analyst
Business Analyst, Harvey Norman Head Office, Sydney
11.2004 - 02.2006
Business Analyst
Business Analyst, ERG Group, Sydney
08.2003 - 10.2004
Business Analyst
Business Analyst, Lumley Insurance Technology Ltd, Sydney
06.2003 - 07.2003
Analyst Programmer
John Keels Computer Services Ltd (JKCS), Sri Lanka Emirates Airlines, United Arab Emirates (Dubai)
03.1998 - 03.2003
First Class Honours, Bachelor - Computing and Information Systems
Manchester University
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