Parisa Zaman
South Hurstville,Australia
Summary
A Performance-driven and knowledgeable Program Manager with twelve years of experience across NSW and Queensland State Governments, with a strong passion for homelessness programs and budget management. I aim to lead a team that provides evidence-based financial planning and reporting to drive effective implementation of housing and homelessness programs, in alignment with the strategic objectives of Homes NSW.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
Work History
A/Manager
Homes NSW
06.2024 - Current
- Lead a team of four that manages the allocation of resources, budgets, projects, and staffing within the Strategy and Policy branch to achieve the strategic objectives of Homes NSW.
- Manage day-to-day transactions, forecasting, and reporting for S&P housing and homelessness budgets totaling $418 million per annum.
- Manage and report on new funding allocated for homelessness services under the State Budget for FY 2024/24.
- Establish new financial reporting processes for Homes NSW through a period of transition and structural change.
- Liaise with DCJ Finance Business Partners to develop and streamline reports for senior executives, including the preparation of slides for the Executive Leadership Team (ELT).
- Establish and maintain strong working relationships with various program managers across Homes NSW and DCJ.
- Identify budgetary issues, escalate them to senior executives, provide strategic advice, and propose innovative solutions to resolve any issues quickly and efficiently.
- Lead on the homelessness submission for the annual report of the Review of Government Services (RoGS) on the total expenditure on homelessness services in NSW.
- Provide urgent and strategic advice to senior executives on a range of documentation and correspondence, including budget estimates, questions on notices, meeting, and event briefs.
- Support direct reports, provide challenging and stimulating work with appropriate guidance for assigned tasks, and ensure opportunities are available for the professional development of staff.
A/Senior Program Officer
Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ)
05.2023 - 05.2024
- Managed the planning and approval process of the two year extension from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2026 for Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) and Homeless Youth Assistance Program (HYAP) contracts
- Led the development of two x strategic business cases for SHS and Supported Youth Accommodation for submission to NSW Treasury and the Expenditure Review Committee (ERC)
- The business cases sought additional funding to cover the budget deficit in forward years; and funding to expand existing youth homelessness services and trial new youth crisis accommodation models in NSW
- Engaged and liaised with Insight Partnership to develop an exploratory paper on local place-based planning and a Youth Action Plan
- Undertook preliminary research and data analysis to support the proposed recommissioning approach for homelessness services, explored options for dynamic and progressive reform over a period of five years
- Drafted Ministerial briefing notes to provide updates on SHS Recommissioning 2026 including the proposed approach, vision, underpinning principles, key focus areas for consultation, and options for procurement and implementation of system redesign
A/Manager
Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ)
10.2022 - 05.2023
- Led a team of two and managed negotiations for complex contracting matters directly with Community Housing Providers (CHP) and Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) for over thirty Community Housing Assistance Agreements (CHAA) and Human Services Agreements (HSA)
- Liaised with DCJ Legal and Procurement teams to revise contract terms which were often contrary to the original tender proposals and therefore contentious by nature, including adjustments for asset delivery timeframes, change of location and properties, client numbers and annual budget allocations
- In collaboration with Prudential Oversight, DCJ Legal and Procurement teams, and in consultation with DCJ District staff, drafted additional standard clauses for inclusion in the Human Services Agreement (HSA) to provide assurances for sub-contracted service providers
- These clauses were endorsed by the Chief Procurement Officer and approved by DCJ Legal
- Managed and tracked expenditure for Tranche 1 and 2 against the Core and Cluster Budget of $426.6m
A/Senior Program Officer
Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ)
08.2018 - 09.2022
- Program and budget management of Specialist Homelessness Services and complementary programs totalling over $240m per annum
- Implemented several improvements for developing and managing the homelessness budget in collaboration with DCJ Finance team
- Recently generated funding allocation for individual contracts for the recommissioning of homelessness services over a three-year period from 2021 to 2024, including multiple reproductions due to federal decisions on Equal Remuneration Order (ERO) and indexation
- Highly commended by senior management on the accuracy of these figures for the draft contracts
- Responded to urgent requests for budget information related to various homelessness programs and services for current and previous financial years
- These include requests from the Minister's Office on District-level comparisons, trend data for previous financial years, funding data for individual service providers, specific service packages for example, Domestic and Family Violence, Youth, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders etc
- Liaised with internal stakeholders including DCJ Districts, Strategic Finance and Partnerships to resolve issues as they arise
Policy Officer
Department of Communities and Justice
01.2018 - 08.2018
- Managed dataset for social housing tenants of approximately 112,000 households
- Analysed data to identify trends and opportunities to develop new initiatives to increase exits from social housing, identify and support opportunity cohorts and improve employment and education outcomes for current tenants
- Responded to requests for data from internal and external stakeholders, including senior management, Centrelink, Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC), Department of Education and IPART
- Provided input and advice on initiatives included in the cabinet submission and business case for Building Better Lives, the new social housing strategy
- Drafted the business case including estimation of costs for proposed projects and initiatives for social housing strategy
- Developed the program logic and evidence base to support the need for change and the need for the new strategy
- Drafted briefing notes, correspondence, meeting briefs, letters, discussion and research papers, minutes as required
Program Officer
Department of Communities and Justice (formerly FACS)
02.2017 - 12.2017
- Managed the homelessness budget for the financial year, monitored and tracked expenditure at Program Level Agreements (PLAs), liaise with Finance and Partnership to ensure accuracy and adjustments made as required
- Developed a model for funding allocation for the extension of the Youth Crisis Accommodation Enhancement (YCAE) within remaining budget for the year
- Supported the Senior Program Officer to undertake recontracting for SHS
- This included monitoring COMS information and data to ensure accuracy and confirming necessary documentation uploaded onto the system
- Oversaw the finalisation of the government properties list for homelessness services and resolve issues in consultation with relevant District staff and Community Housing and Pathways
- Developed a new 'Source of Truth' for the period 2017-2020 to include information on funding, client targets, properties, Joint Working Agreements, category for all homelessness programs and services
Program Officer
Department of Communities and Justice (former FACS)
07.2014 - 05.2016
- Designed and implemented the Homeless Youth Assistance Program (HYAP)
- Developed the Resource Allocation Model (RAM) for the distribution of funding under HYAP across FACS Districts in consultation with district staff and senior management and based on research and desktop analysis of data from the Australian Health and Welfare Institute (AIHW)
- Negotiated at officer level to resolve key issues relating to funding, contracting and general project management to ensure the roll-out of HYAP is on track
- Developed procurement documents including tender application form and help guide for tenderers, tender assessment guidelines for the select tender process for HYAP
- Oversaw tender panel formation and composition for all Districts and maintained the risk register as issues arise to ensure compliance, good practice and fairness to all tenderers
- Advised senior management on increasing funding levels for youth refuges based on financial and risk analysis of various options and consideration of the maximum liability to the Department
- Prepared budget bids for submission to Cabinet Expenditure Review Committee (ERC) and NSW Treasury as part of the Premier's Priority on reducing youth homelessness
Project Officer
Queensland Government Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services
02.2013 - 03.2014
- Managed the start-to-end process for Foster and Kinship Carer Assessment and Approvals
- Provided secretariat support to Foster Carer Panel for Brisbane Region
- Analysed data and prepared reports for senior management
Policy Officer
Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services (former Department of Communities)
02.2012 - 01.2013
- Managed a team of four accountants undertaking financial viability analysis across various units of the department and quality assured their reports
- Drafted final report for the Senior Leadership Team to inform of findings from the financial viability analysis, which identified NGOs facing extreme financial risk and consequences for the department as well as three organisations that were misusing departmental funds
- My report was used to provide supplementary funding and discontinue funding for one organisation
Graduate Officer
Queensland Government Department of Communities
02.2011 - 02.2012
- Lead the development and publication of a booklet and accompanying leaflet titled - "The Health and Community Services Industry - building a stronger economy and a fairer Queensland"
- Provided secretariat support to the Queensland Compact Governance Committee and its Workforce Sub-Committee; prepared agendas, meeting and discussion papers and minutes
- Collected and analysed evidence of implementation across the Department for an Independent Review of the Queensland Compact
- Web Content Coordinator - quality assured and published material on departmental websites
Education
Master of Economics - Economics with Distinction
University of New England
01.2012
Master of Economic Studies -
University of New England
01.2011
Bachelor of Commerce/ Bachelor of Science -
University of Otago
01.2008
Skills
- Program Management
- Procurement and contracting
- Budgeting & forecasting
- Financial Reporting
- Innovative Problem-Solving
- Staff development and management
References
- Ms Kim Campbell, A/Director, Homelessness Strategy and Innovation, Strategy & Policy, Homes NSW, 0419 532 880, kim.campbell@homes.nsw.gov.au
- Maria Sarelas, Manager, Strategy, Policy and Commissioning, Department of Communities and Justice, 02 8753 8639, maria.sarelas@dcj.nsw.gov.au
Timeline
A/Manager
Homes NSW
06.2024 - Current
A/Senior Program Officer
Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ)
05.2023 - 05.2024
A/Manager
Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ)
10.2022 - 05.2023
A/Senior Program Officer
Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ)
08.2018 - 09.2022
Policy Officer
Department of Communities and Justice
01.2018 - 08.2018
Program Officer
Department of Communities and Justice (formerly FACS)
02.2017 - 12.2017
Program Officer
Department of Communities and Justice (former FACS)
07.2014 - 05.2016
Project Officer
Queensland Government Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services
02.2013 - 03.2014
Policy Officer
Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services (former Department of Communities)
02.2012 - 01.2013
Graduate Officer
Queensland Government Department of Communities
02.2011 - 02.2012
Master of Economics - Economics with Distinction
University of New England
Master of Economic Studies -
University of New England
Bachelor of Commerce/ Bachelor of Science -
University of Otago
Similar Profiles
Melis DemirMelis Demir
Client Service Officer at Homes NSWClient Service Officer at Homes NSW
Louise PrasnickiLouise Prasnicki
Project Coordinator - Delivery North - Western at Homes NSWProject Coordinator - Delivery North - Western at Homes NSW
Caitlin AllportCaitlin Allport
Client Service Officer at Homes NSWClient Service Officer at Homes NSW
Raymond RoncaRaymond Ronca
Section Waiter at Manon BrasserieSection Waiter at Manon Brasserie
Sihomara YacolinoSihomara Yacolino
Sales Assistant at Office workSales Assistant at Office work