Polly Whakaari

NERA was an Industry Growth Centre led by a board of industry experts to lead cultural change in the energy resources sector focussing on:

• increasing collaboration and commercialisation
• improving international opportunities and market access
• enhancing management and workforce skills
• identifying opportunities for regulatory reform.

I served as the Company Secretary, reporting to the Board Chair, and as the Commercial and Strategy Manager, reporting to the CEO.

Company Secretary

• Responsible for maintaining the company's statutory books and managed all facets of the company's corporate governance and reporting.
• Scheduled and managed all Board and Members meetings including agendas, papers, minutes and circular resolutions.
• Organised and facilitated the induction and onboarding of new directors and managed the exit of retiring directors.
• Managed the sub-committee processes and documents including Risk and Audit Committee, Remuneration Committee and the Program Committee.

Strategy and Commercial Manager

• Worked with the Board of Directors, CEO and Executive Leadership Team to develop the 10 year sector strategy.
• Key liaison with the Federal Department of Industry, Science and Resources ensuring compliance with Commonwealth Funding Agreement requirements.
• Developed project and funding submissions to various Federal, State and Territory Governments.
• Led development of the annual business plan including financial forecasts and key performance indicators aligned with the requirements set out in the Commonwealth Funding Agreement.
• Developed and maintained company policies.
• Responsible for all company financial processes and reporting.
• Responsible for all IT and telecommunications services.
• Developed and managed the company performance management framework including annual performance reviews.
• Developed the company risk management framework and provided reporting to the Risk and Audit committee.
• Developed, managed and maintained the company contracts processes including service level agreements, grant agreements, project agreements, research agreement and consulting and service contracts.
• Managed the HR processes including recruitment, performance and exit processes.

In this role I led a team of business project managers and business analysts to improve client service while providing cost efficiencies for the business. With a number of transformational initiatives delivered in 2012, the program ensured quality and controls were embedded across the State Trustees business.

A secondment role reporting to the Managing Director responsible for the Corporate Operations functions of the organisation including, Procurement Management, Facilities Management, Corporate Legal, Quality Management, Compliance and Risk Management. The secondment was a short-term assignment while the organisation undertook a restructure of its executive team.

• Revamped the Project Management Office into the Business Transformation Office, overseeing a team of 13 project managers and business analysts tasked with executing 26 projects within a year.
• The Business Transformation Office reshaped the organisation's operating model, allowing for a more efficient, scalable, and responsive business.
• This transformation resulted in substantial cost savings of $4 million in the fiscal year 2012/2013, primarily derived from FTE savings through enhanced efficiencies and productivity improvements.

• Responsible for the formulation of the corporate strategic plan, guiding the entire process from development to submission of the Corporate Planning documents to the Board and Shareholders.
• Collaborated with various business divisions to support and contribute to the creation of their respective strategic plans.
• Enhanced monitoring and reporting processes related to annual corporate key performance indicators and strategies, aiming for increased accuracy and efficiency.
• Coordinated various corporate strategy functions, including quarterly review days, leadership team conferences, and Board presentations.
• Maintained a systematic monitoring and reporting framework to provide updates on the progress of key divisional strategies on a quarterly basis.

• Responsible for the corporate functions of the company including contributing to the effective leadership and direction of the organisation.
• Managed communication, HR, IT, finance, information management and customer services.
• Developed and coordinated the strategic business planning process including Board planning, management planning, team planning and individual performance and development planning.
• Prepared annual company budgets aligned to the strategic plan.
  

Provided internal business consultancy to improve internal capability in the areas of project management and business management.