Samuel Paul Cocker

Business Administration Officer

• Financial/procurement maintenance of purchase orders, invoice requisitions and invoice investigation
• Preparing and organising agendas and minutes to archive proceedings, liaising with internal and external stakeholders such as NSW Department of Planning.
• Managing documents and data stored in Council's record management software (ECM) and TechOne.
• Coordinating and preparing public meetings, including arranging sound technicians, catering, security and venue booking.
• Creating and maintaining budget spreadsheets using Microsoft Excel for teams and projects.
• Coordinating internal meetings, agenda and minutes.
• Coordinating Local Planning Panels and arranging relevant documents, reports, agenda and minutes.
• Aiding colleagues such as Strategic Planners and Department Managers with Council corporate enterprise systems and Microsoft Excel
• Maintaining enquiries, applications and customer complaints liaising with department officers to allocate CRMs and communicate effectively with members of the public.
• Conducting investigations of outstanding invoices or financial discrepancies.
• Working on major administrative projects such as reconciling Council system data against State Government data, such as Council's LEP heritage listings and NSW Heritage Inventory.
• Collaborating with colleagues on projects, including providing administrative support.
• Creating and maintaining detailed administrative processes and procedures to drive efficiency and accuracy.
• Establishing administrative work procedures and duty/task tracking spreadsheets to track staff's daily tasks.
• Organising and maintaining job applications and interviews with candidates using Council's people management software Scout, sending e-mails advising of shortlisting and outcomes.
• Providing effective customer service to members of the public enquiring with Council regarding Planning enquiries.
• Preparing major mail-out of Council notification letters by post and e-mail regarding Planning matters such as Planning Proposals, DCP and LEP amendments.
• Facilitating timely delivery of special projects to meet organizational and departmental objectives.
• Maintaining group mailbox and tasks allocating to the relevant officer.

Acting Executive Assistant to Director Planning (Secondment March 2024 - Current)

• Managing a diverse array of administrative tasks to enable the Director to focus on higher-level responsibilities.
• Maintaining strict confidentiality handling sensitive information and safeguarding private data.
• Developing presentations for the Director using advanced PowerPoint skills, resulting in visually engaging content that conveyed key messages effectively.
• Providing high level support during meetings with internal and external stakeholders by preparing agendas, taking minutes, and distributing follow-up materials to attendees.
• Managing Director's calendar, scheduling appointments, and prioritising activities and meetings to maintain and increase productivity.
• Corresponding with Councillors on the behalf of the Director.
• Providing high level support to manage Councillor and Mayoral requests.
• Liaising with internal stakeholders, fostering strong relationships between the Director and direct reporting officers and managers.
• Screening calls and emails and responding accordingly to support executive correspondence.
• Processing expenses and reimbursements for executive team and senior management group.
• Drafting and preparing executive letters, e-mails and briefing notes on the behalf of the Director.
• Collaborating with senior management to initiate new projects and assist in various processes.
• Coordinating onboarding and offboarding support for new officers reporting to the Director.

• Role in administration management of all Fire Safety accounts (licenses) with Council using key software such as TechOne and Content Manager, and Microsoft Word & Excel.
• Responsibility in assessment and auditing of all critical Fire Safety statements submitted to Council with the inclusion of final determination of statements, sending determination letters to members of the public with clear guidelines and communication for any amendments required involving deadlines.
• Assessment and auditing of Final Occupation Certificates for Fire Safety related documents and certificates to record all essential data for a site or building for future assessment and auditing.
• Responsibility in processing and sending Council letters for key Council communication regarding Fire Safety such as Renewal Letters and Reminder Letters.
• Key administration support and communication with technical officers in Council (notably Council's Fire Safety Coordinator) with the inclusion of refining documents and e-mails to members of the public and providing communication of all relevant requirements and the forwarding of formal advice to members of the public.
• Providing formal communication to members of the public regarding Fire Safety with advice in accordance with the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021.
• Responsibility in decision making; forwarding any non-compliant or suspicious documents, statements and records to Council's Fire Safety Coordinator for regulatory action.
• Responsibility in organising and updating all Fire Safety accounts with Council, including administrative modification to conditions and requirements, contact information, follow up of all outstanding records and documents, and opening and closing of Fire Safety accounts.
• Debt recovery; following up on unpaid Council fees via formal communication with e-mails, letters and phone calls to members of the public, and forwarding any outstanding unpaid accounts to Council's accounts department for further action should there be no progress with payment settlement.

• Key leadership role in customer service and sales in a competitive environment; delivering gold standard experience to all customers to achieve the greatest outcome for both parties, with the inclusion of strategic sales skills.
• Management in creating and reaching sales targets for business by a week-to-date, month-to-date and year-to-date setting with the inclusion of key performance indicators (KPIs) at a personal, team and store level, to achieve annual profitable growth for a healthy financial contribution to the business.
• Management of all staff operations, duties and day-to-day movements.
• People management and employee relations; managing the relationship between direct reporting employees and the company, including conflict resolution, high level communication, managing workplace conduct and ensuring a positive, safe workplace environment.
• Management in hiring and training; training in sales strategies to meet key targets and expectations, training in menswear styling for formal and smart-casual fashion, training in operations such as stock operations, store presentation and administrative duties.
• Training management; training staff for managerial positions, or providing developmental support to other Store Managers within the business.
• Management in administration; pay management, rostering, wage spending, business data reports and documenting of all operational requirements; inventory reconciliation, record keeping, transaction auditing and all banking with the use of large databases.
• Management in operations; product/stock management, store equipment orders, merchandise orders, stock processing and loss prevention ensuring all stock is kept in best saleable condition, stocktakes and strategies for preventing shop theft.
• Management in "visual merchandising"; managing the creation of floor plans and the display of stock to create a successful business outcome in line with company expectations, and to create a commercially customer friendly environment.
• Collaboration with Senior/Executive Management such as Brand National Manager, Brand General Managers and brand's buyers and visual merchandising managers as a senior Store Manager.
• Collaboration with other Store Managers to provide training, operational support and people management.
• Responsibility in risk management; management of making all store business decisions based on customer satisfaction, business turnover and expenditure, including decision making under duress.
• Responsibility in store security, including opening and closing of store, security in cash and sensitive data of the business and staff members.

• Managed merchandising standards and maintained consistency across stores for commercial presentation
• Helped stores adapt spaces to accommodate merchandise within spatial constraints and inventory storage availability
• Corresponded with Visual Merchandising State Manager & National Coordinator
• Innovated and simplified planograms and merchandising strategies to improve processes and results
• Created layouts of merchandise and store fixtures to assist in the financial performance of stores
• Wrote merchandising guidelines for new product launch kits to keep teams on same page and effective
• Communicated visual merchandising information and standards via in-store training and regular meetings
• Improved field teams' sales by coaching on merchandising techniques

• Supervision and management of up to 20 team members.
• Training and development of team members in POS systems, cash handling, customer service and customer satisfaction
• Management of staff rostering and duties.
• Administration management.
• Leadership in customer satisfaction, including customer enquiries, complaints and general service.
• Management of risk decisions such as high value stock returns from customers.
• Monitored team's performance and the providing of feedback.
• Responsibilities of all cash and cash handling while on duty.
• Responsibilities in the operations of all check-out points of the store.