Shantel Burnett
Warragul,Australia
Summary
Results-oriented manager with broad experience in team leadership, policy implementation and stakeholder management. Proven ability to drive system improvements and enhance performance, exemplified by leading the development of the 2025-26 statewide public health network outcomes framework. In-depth knowledge of the Victorian prevention system landscape and government processes. Committed to fostering collaboration and driving innovation for improved outcomes.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
Work History
MANAGER – Community and Public Health Division
Department of Health
05.2026 - Current
- Provide leadership, system stewardship and performance oversight of Victoria’s statewide chronic disease prevention programs.
- Shape and communicate a clear vision for immediate and longer-term quality improvements and program reform, ensuring investments deliver maximum value, measurable impacts, and alignment with contemporary best practice and broader system, legislative and policy reforms.
- Lead team planning, portfolio allocations to achieve branch strategic priorities and deliverables.
- Led development of the 2025-26 Statewide Public Health Network Outcomes Framework – Health Protection, and associated monitoring and reporting plans, tools and processes.
- Provide strategic leadership to strengthen data systems to better demonstrate impact of investment, and enable real-time program monitoring.
- Review of the VicHealth operating model, evaluation framework, and 24-28 Action Plan to strengthen oversight and alignment with the Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan (VPHWP) priorities and Outcomes framework.
- Led detailed analysis of VicHealth budget submissions, identifying opportunities to strengthen alignment of VicHealth investments & activities with the priorities of the VPHWP.
SENIOR ADVISOR - Prevention and Population Health
Department of Health
03.2017 - 02.2024
- Led the development and implementation of the South Division Population Health System Development Strategy.
- Identified and implemented strategies for population health system development, reform, and practice innovation.
- Supported the consolidation of prevention investments across two sub-regions for enhanced system efficiency and improved system performance.
- Designed and implemented three prevention grants programs, resulting in 24 prevention projects being delivered and implemented. A number of subsequent initiatives continue to deliver activities and impacts for communities well beyond the end date of initial project funding.
- Lead oversight of the Community Health-Health Promotion and Women’s Health Promotion portfolio, including management of investments across 58 organisations.
- Oversight of municipal health and wellbeing planning across 6 catchments, supporting planning, implementation and evaluation in line with the VPHWP priorities and Outcomes Framework; and ensuring legislative requirements were met.
- Managed stakeholder relationships, providing expert guidance and authoritative advice for policy development and program planning evaluation.
- Contribute to state-wide policy development and system governance improvement projects, including review of the state-wide health promotion program reporting and acquittal tools.
- Negotiated inclusion of higher performance targets in all Health Promotion funded agency plans.
- Co-designed and implemented six capability-building events for prevention sector, enhancing skills of practitioners and fostering cross-sector collaboration.
TEAM LEADER & SENIOR POLICY OFFICER - Policy and Reform
Department of Health
08.2020 - 03.2023
- Policy team leader for the Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan and Healthy Kids Healthy Futures (HKHF) including strategic support for governance structures, stakeholder engagement and evaluation.
- Lead state-wide settings-based childhood obesity prevention policy and reform.
- Proactively drove strategic collaboration across government and jurisdictions, with key state-wide peak bodies and across diverse sectors such as sporting peaks and the AFL.
- Oversaw key government investments in settings-based and place-based prevention, including flagship initiatives such as Achievement Program, Vic Kids Eat Well, Healthy Kids Advisors, and Healthy Loddon Campaspe.
- Initiated the review of, and led reform of the State-wide Achievement Program, resulting in accelerated traction on healthy eating in Children’s settings.
- Co-designed and launched the Vic Kids Eat Well initiative, including modelling and development of State-wide targets – a first for health promotion in Victoria. The Vic Kids Eat well program framework subsequently informed the development of impact measures for the Community Health-Health Promotion program – another first in policy for the program.
- Led oversight of the Healthy Kids Advisors initiative - an innovative flagship initiative of Healthy Kids Healthy Futures - supporting the development of an evaluation framework, plans, reporting structures, evaluation framework and protocols to support success of the initiative.
- Supported governance of Healthy Kids Healthy Futures, including development of the HKHF evaluation framework, and establishment and coordination of the HKHF Implementation committee.
- Supported Governance mechanisms of the VPHWP, including progress reporting and strategic guidance for the Interdepartmental Committee, and input into the development of the Outcomes Framework dashboard.
- Commissioned and completed a Lapsing Program Evaluation for the Healthy Loddon Campaspe initiative, with recommendations adopted into program design.
MANAGER REGIONAL SERVICES
Gippsland Primary Health Network
09.2020 - 06.2021
- Led design and implementation of workforce and quality improvement initiatives, enhancing service delivery across primary health portfolios.
- Led a high-performance team of 13 staff responsible for performance monitoring and quality improvement over multiple primary health portfolios.
- Established financial management structure, achieving full budget expenditure and facilitating reclassification to Senior Manager.
PRINCIPAL COMMUNITY RECOVERY OFFICER
Department of Health and Human Services
03.2020 - 08.2020
- Provided evidence-based recommendations and managed design and delivery of community social recovery investments to strengthen local recovery efforts.
- Established public health processes swiftly to facilitate effective Covid-19 response.
- Developed 'Community-based Prevention Amid COVID-19: Scoping Opportunities For Action' discussion paper and presented webinar to enhance health promotion sector response during pandemic.
MANAGER POPULATION AND COMMUNITY HEALTH – Inner and Outer Gippsland
Department of Health
07.2018 - 02.2020
- Provided oversight and governance for prevention, aboriginal family violence, and community wellbeing investments, ensuring alignment with strategic goals.
- Led branch leadership and cultivated internal capabilities for population health, strengthening team expertise.
- Led a multidisciplinary team of 11 through a significant change process, developing effective working relationships, building individual capability to create a productive and positive team environment.
- Created a unit plan adopted by counterpart teams statewide, enhancing collaborative efforts.
PREVENTION COORDINATOR/FOOD SECURITY OFFICER
Central West Gippsland Primary Care Partnership
01.2015 - 01.2017
- Contributed to health and wellbeing planning across six local government catchments, enhancing community health initiatives.
- Facilitated the Baw Baw Food Security Coalition; and presented successes at the Australian Health Promotion Association 23rd National Conference.
- Co-designed an outcomes-focused collective impact approach with 40 community organisations to address food security through policy change and community led action, achieving an improvement in food security status among priority community groups.
- Influenced policy amendments and developments across all local government business units, addressing root causes of food insecurity.
HEALTH PROMOTION OFFICER
Latrobe Community Health Service
01.2014 - 01.2015
- Led design, implementation and evaluation of an innovative settings based social marketing campaign aimed at reducing sedentary time, and presented successes at the 3rd World Population Health Congress.
- Engaged 90% of early childhood settings in comprehensive oral health and healthy eating initiatives, enhancing community health in Wellington Shire.
- Designed and delivered school-based tobacco harm prevention initiatives for low-income adolescents, improving awareness and reducing tobacco use in Latrobe City area.
- Developed evaluation frameworks and data collection tools for health promotion projects, streamlining data collection and analysis for enhanced program effectiveness.
HEALTH PROMOTION OFFICER
Central Gippsland Health Service
01.2014 - 12.2014
HEALTH PROMOTION OFFICER (student placement)
Healthy Together Cardinia
01.2013 - 12.2013
Education
Bachelor of Health Science - public health policy, health promotion
Monash University
Melbourne, VIC01-2014
Skills
- Policy implementation
- Stakeholder management
- Team leadership
- System improvement
- Planning and organising
- Critical thinking
Affiliations
- Public Health Association of Australia
- Lowitja Institute
Professional Development
- Managing health budgets and financial plans, 2024
- World Health Summit Regional Meeting, 2024
- The Art of Influence, 2024
- Systems thinking for public servants, 2023
- Applying theory at systems, community and individual levels, 2023
- Build back fairer: Healthy and Equity for Children and young people, 2023
- Framing Health, 2023
- International Congress on Obesity, 2022
- Contract management, 2022
- Leadership beyond the theory, 2020
- Health Reimagined series, 2020
- Tools of the regulator, 2019
- Leadership training series, 2019
- 9th Public Sector Women in leadership Victoria summit, 2018
- 15th World Congress on Public Health, 2017
- Australian Health Promotion Association 23rd National Conference, 2016
- Systems thinking for planning and leadership, 2016
Timeline
MANAGER – Community and Public Health Division
Department of Health
05.2026 - Current
MANAGER REGIONAL SERVICES
Gippsland Primary Health Network
09.2020 - 06.2021
TEAM LEADER & SENIOR POLICY OFFICER - Policy and Reform
Department of Health
08.2020 - 03.2023
PRINCIPAL COMMUNITY RECOVERY OFFICER
Department of Health and Human Services
03.2020 - 08.2020
MANAGER POPULATION AND COMMUNITY HEALTH – Inner and Outer Gippsland
Department of Health
07.2018 - 02.2020
SENIOR ADVISOR - Prevention and Population Health
Department of Health
03.2017 - 02.2024
PREVENTION COORDINATOR/FOOD SECURITY OFFICER
Central West Gippsland Primary Care Partnership
01.2015 - 01.2017
HEALTH PROMOTION OFFICER
Latrobe Community Health Service
01.2014 - 01.2015
HEALTH PROMOTION OFFICER
Central Gippsland Health Service
01.2014 - 12.2014
HEALTH PROMOTION OFFICER (student placement)
Healthy Together Cardinia
01.2013 - 12.2013
Bachelor of Health Science - public health policy, health promotion
Monash University