Sascha Kelly
Kingston Park
Summary
As a Policy Officer with experience at the Commonwealth and State Government level, I confidently support and lead on policy, through a self-directed, strategic and collaborative approach. With a proven ability to achieve outcomes through motivated, strategic thinking, innovative problem-solving, I am passionate about driving better outcomes for enhancing the self-determination of First Nations people.
Overview
6
6
years of professional experience
Work History
NIAA, APS6, Strategic Policy Section
03.2024 - Current
A/EL1, Strategic Policy Section
National Indigenous Australians Agency
10.2024 - 01.2025
- In this role, I:
- Part of a small tiger team supporting the Remote Employment Branch to draft the New Remote Employment Services (NRES) Cabinet submission
- Involved drafting Cabinet submission front end and various supporting NPPs to identify future programs of work/funding to support the NRES
- Involved coordinating with other teams in the Branch to divide up work, develop a stakeholder engagement plan, implementation plan, and various impact analysis statements
- My role: In addition to co-drafting the Cab sub, I was the policy lead on drafting a number of NPPs directly for BM and GM review, noting we were working to very tight timeframes and with limited resources
- Identified there was a need to create more lines of communication within and across teams so I instituted daily “work in progress”15-minute catchups to share key information, wins and targets for the day ahead
- I also set up a shared OneNote to separate out various components of the Cab sub to be drafted e.g
- Risk assessment, impact assessments (e.g
- Regional Aus impacts, gender impacts, etc.) and to assign different team members to different tasks, identify stakeholders we needed to work with, as well as key timeframes to build in status updates and check in points to ensure we stayed on track
- Part of the drafting process was nominating policy/design/project/other leads from different teams so there would effectively be sub-groups to co-draft and work on various elements of the submission and associated work
- In doing so, I demonstrated leadership well above the APS6 level, reaching out to other leads within the agency and across the APS as well as outside of government, liaising with stakeholders to share documents, discuss ideas, share progress and keep work on track
- In doing so, I demonstrated my skill and acumen at drafting policy, taking on an increased level of leadership as the lead drafter on a number of components and engaging across the APS to ensure clear, consolidated input
- Also talking directly and regularly with BMs and the GM to ensure product was consistent with expectations
- In a short amount of time, I was able to get across a new, unfamiliar area of policy (remote employment), which is a priority area for our Minister and has a rich, if not complex history
- In addition, I applied my strategic thinking and policy development skills to understand the background and develop evidence-based policy that meets the needs of remote workers, communities, stakeholders and the government
- End result: Drafted a complete package with Cab sub and5-6 NPPs sent to the MO for clearance
- Package effectively went through in following months and RJED was launched in Dec2024
- Confirm NRES
- Our tiger team received recognition from the GM of the Remote Employment Group at the end of our time: We were so impressed with their technical Skills, ability to quickly jump in and understand complexity and work across a number of teams to get the design thinking put into the policy process
- But more importantly - are just great people with a positive attitude who just slotted straight in to make a meaningful contribution
Surge team – CtG
NIAA
04.2024 - 06.2024
- Part of the NIAA team leading drafting of the Joint Council response to the Productivity Commission review of the National Agreement (NIAA as the lead Commonwealth agency, working in collaboration with all other APS agencies and states and territories through various tiers of working groups)
- Included a PC response drafting group with reps from each state and territory, led by the NIAA (our team)
- Part of this was coordinating/consolidating Commonwealth input
- Also involved preparing annotated agendas, papers, summaries, timelines and consolidated input for each rec in the PC Review and presenting these at a PC Review workshop (these were led by the PPTO at PM&C)
- Mix of project management and administrative work to simultaneously coordinate large groups across and at different levels of government, feeding back input to create a transparent and collaborative working environment, while also drafting the JC response in parallel
- I.e
- Meant reviewing and synthesising information quickly while also consulting and discussing across gov
- Example: Liaising directly with other APS agencies and teams to identify existing work/work underway or planned which would help address recs in the PC review, or what further work could be undertaken to address
- Involved identifying contacts, meeting regularly, incorporating input into draft
Policy Officer (APS6 substantive), Strategic Policy Section
NIAA
10.2022 - 03.2024
- Work in a culturally safe manner, with commitment to furthering my cultural capability
- Provide sound policy advice and analysis and make evidence-based decisions aligned to the organisational operating environment
- Draft Cabinet submissions, ministerial briefs, legislative bids, and other documents through a collaborative approach
- Support my team to deliver on Branch and Group outcomes and to overcome challenges
- Liaise with stakeholders and build relationships across the APS network and with national office
- Balance priorities to effectively prioritise tasks, delivering critical work assignments alongside BAU needs
Senior Policy Officer (ASO6), Road Safety Policy and Projects
South Australian Department for Infrastructure and Transport
08.2021 - 01.2022
- Worked across an array of policy issues at the state level, including a complex legislative reform agenda;
- Drafted Cabinet submissions, ministerial briefs, and issues papers;
- Supervised a graduate team member;
- Honed analytical and research skills, by drafting legislative documents, interpreting and applying legislation; and
- Demonstrated strong interpersonal skills, building relationships across Government and with external stakeholders
Content Writer for the Student Health and Wellbeing student-led blog
The University of Adelaide
03.2019 - 07.2021
- Produced3-6 short/long-form blog posts per week, working to tight timelines to ensure efficient an consistent output;
- Collaborated with colleagues to ensure a streamlined approach and consistent tone;
- Undertook research, analysis and occasional interviews with experts to ensure content was informed and accurate, under tight timeframes
Assistant Facilitator for stakeholder engagement workshops
Baptist Care SA
07.2019 - 08.2019
- For a new health and wellbeing centre for people experiencing homelessness
Education
Graduate Certificate - Place-based Policy
University of Canberra
01.2024
Graduate Diploma - Legal Practice
Law Society of South Australia
01.2022
Bachelor of Laws - undefined
University of Adelaide
01.2019
Bachelor of Arts - English
University of Adelaide
01.2018
Skills
- Committed to creating a culturally safe, sensitive and inclusive workplace, particularly through holding space for views of First Nations colleagues
- Strong oral and verbal communication, with an ability to draft Cabinet submissions, legislative bids, ministerial and senior executive briefings, and keynote addresses
- Sound understanding of Cabinet processes, able to provide strategic input and analysis and draft input to key documents and supporting materials
- High level analytical and research skills, able to regularly provide evidence-based advice
- Collaborative worker, eager and able to understand and recognise the needs of others to achieve goals
- Quick learner, able to surge across teams/policy taskforces into different Branches/Groups and pick-up subject matter knowledge quickly, applying a strategic approach to deliver on work
- Proven ability to build trusting and collaborative relationships with colleagues and stakeholders
- Demonstrated ability to take initiative, and respond and adapt to change with enthusiasm
Training
- First Nations Leadership and Allyship Summit2023
- Successful recipient via application to attend3-day summit
- Gained practical skills to empower sense of leadership and a richer understanding of how to be a better First Nations ally
Timeline
A/EL1, Strategic Policy Section
National Indigenous Australians Agency
10.2024 - 01.2025
Surge team – CtG
NIAA
04.2024 - 06.2024
NIAA, APS6, Strategic Policy Section
03.2024 - Current
Policy Officer (APS6 substantive), Strategic Policy Section
NIAA
10.2022 - 03.2024
Senior Policy Officer (ASO6), Road Safety Policy and Projects
South Australian Department for Infrastructure and Transport
08.2021 - 01.2022
Assistant Facilitator for stakeholder engagement workshops
Baptist Care SA
07.2019 - 08.2019
Content Writer for the Student Health and Wellbeing student-led blog
The University of Adelaide
03.2019 - 07.2021
Graduate Diploma - Legal Practice
Law Society of South Australia
Bachelor of Laws - undefined
University of Adelaide
Bachelor of Arts - English
University of Adelaide
Graduate Certificate - Place-based Policy
University of Canberra
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