Tania Marelic

Key Scope (project, workforce and business management for the Executive)

Workforce & Business Management:

• Created, managed, and executed business cases and business plans to communicate goals, align resourcing and achieve business objectives.
• Collaborate with Senior Leaders to shape culture and staff experience across the business to drive positive change.
• Collaborated with corporate HR to recruit talent and implement workforce strategies to maintain a diverse, high-performing workforce.
• Improved operational workflows by identifying areas of inefficiency and implementing appropriate solutions.
• Championed implementation and change management in support of Asset Management implementation and alignment with Treasury Policy (TPP19-07).
• Drove audit reporting and recommendation implementation.
• Drove policy development and review on operational issues and organisational HR reforms.

Project and Contract Management

• Supported engagements and contract negotiations by reviewing and analysing proposals, ensuring initial and subsequent proposals comply with Buy.nsw guidelines, Scheme rules & internal procurement limits.
• Established clear performance metrics for tracking project success, enabling informed decision-making throughout the process.
• Mentored new staff in best practice for effective change management processes and techniques across projects.
• Championed continuous improvement initiatives to enhance productivity, reduce costs, and elevate overall project quality.
• Facilitated knowledge sharing among team members to enable efficient problem-solving during critical project phases.
• Secured necessary resources for project execution, including budget approval, personnel assignments and equipment procurement.
• Drafted, reviewed and revised contracts for accuracy and completeness.
• Tracked contract milestones and updated stakeholders to facilitate project progress.
• Monitored incoming contracts and service agreements for correct pricing and information.
• Developed strong ethical relationships with clients and vendors.

• Seconded as part of an interim management team to stabilise the business unit and maintain BAU due to disrupted management arrangements.
• Managed employee relations issues professionally, resolving conflicts efficiently while maintaining confidentiality.
• Collaborated with executive leadership to align HR initiatives with organisational culture, current in-flight projects and objectives.
• Spearheaded process improvement efforts leading to greater efficiencies in daily operations.
• Managed team, driving productivity and reducing process lags by training staff in best practices and procedures.
• Facilitated strong relationships between management and employees through open communication channels, promoting a positive work environment.
• Collaborated with corporate HR to recruit and reduce vacancy rates ahead of operational season.
• Championed a culture of professionalism and learning promoting continuous professional development and growth opportunities.
• Streamlined communication channels through Teams, SharePoint and MS Planner to foster collaboration, improve access to information and drive accountability.
• Discovered and resolved complex employee issues that affected management and business decisions.

• Managed sales and contracted staff in line with company culture and ensured employees complied with company policies and procedures.
• Established employment contracts and maintained companies regulatory compliance.
• Empowered employees to take ownership of their responsibilities, leading to increased accountability and improved performance outcomes.
• Conducted regular performance reviews, identifying positive performance and areas for improvement and developing action plans to address them.
• Managed inventory and supply chain operations to achieve timely and accurate delivery of goods and services.
• Set and monitored team KPIs and targets against baselines.

• Established the structure of the incoming Deputy Commissioner's Office, built the business case for resourcing, formalised the budget and recruited team members.
• Set workplans and performance expectations for the team, monitoring progress towards goals and providing constructive feedback as needed.
• Empowered team members by delegating responsibilities according to individual strengths and areas of expertise.
• Managed conflict resolution among team members, fostering a positive and collaborative work environment.
• Collaborated with other department leaders to establish communication avenues and hierarchy and ensure alignment across teams.
• Maintained an inclusive and diverse team culture, promoting respect and understanding among all members.
• Developed procurement strategies and managed resource and contract administration supporting key projects across the business units under the Deputy Commissioner's portfolio.

• As part of an ICT realignment, re-designed role descriptions to align with the new Public Service Commission's ICT Career Pathways Framework (ITIL).
• Manage a centralised business unit function encompassing recruitment and workforce management, asset lifecycle management, procurement and invoicing practices and HR processes for ICT.
• Managed the Operational and Capital budgets and annual bidding process for ICT.
• Developed and championed compliance with and tracked annual progress towards alignment to Digital NSW's Cyber Security Policy and other internal Audit frameworks working closely with external vendors and the Audit Office NSW.
• Increased overall team productivity by fostering a positive work environment and providing effective leadership through business planning and reporting frameworks aligned to the organisations strategic plan.
• Improved operational workflows by identifying areas of inefficiency and implementing appropriate solutions.

• Managed, implemented and continuously improved corporate and business planning and reporting processes and practices.
• Collaborated with Senior Executive’s and key stakeholders to establish and enable clear and concise reporting of organisational objectives aligned to the organisations Corporate Plan.
• Researched changes in risk, business continuity and policy environment to ensure corporate matters effecting the strategic direction of the organisation were effectively monitored and reported.
• Provide guidance to team members when undertaking activities requiring a sectional approach so that outcomes were achieved within established timeframes.
  
  

• Supported the Executive Director on a range of sensitive and confidential HR and strategic issues, including maintaining situational awareness of
  issues.
• Drafted routine and sensitive correspondence for the Executive Director.
• Coordinated business plans to ensure corporate planning, risk and legislative compliance requirements were aligned.
• Coordinated the compilation of budget bids and monitored quarterly spend trends.
• Assisted in developing and reviewing relevant policies and programs to improve culture, performance and service delivery.

Key Achievements

o Coordinated the biennial NSW RFS Leadership Forum with over 160 attendees both senior staff and volunteer leaders.

o Survey champion role for the NSW Public Sector Commission People Matter Employee Survey and development of action plans.

o Ambassador role for the NSW Premier Public Sector Awards program

Seconded as part of a small highly trusted team of four professionals to assist with the work associated with Operation Vika. An external investigation conducted by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

Operational Vika was a significant event for the NSW RFS and it was imperative that our response to ICAC was highly professional, timely and addressed all the complexities that arose during the inquiry and investigation, leading up to the public hearing. My role included:

• working collaboratively to manage the high-volume workloads of highly sensitive material within extremely strict competing deadlines.
• extracting and analying data from a diverse range of sources to enable immediate responses to questions on notice during the public hearing.
• maintaining accurate and concise records and chronological event timelines.

• Provision of high-level HR services to support activities such as cultural change management, case management, dispute resolution and performance management.
• Developed and implemented HR related policy, processes and standards to ensure compliance with relevant legislation.
• Researched and analysed emerging HR trends to guide strategic planning of HR projects.
• Project managed a variety of HR initiatives to improve efficiency of HR management practices.

Key Achievements

• Commenced the development of a Service wide qualifications database collating and recording over 5,000 qualification certificates from members and monitoring trends in the memberships formal qualification levels in alignment with their role descriptions.
• Developed and coordinated the Volunteer to Career (V2C) program to assist volunteer members apply for aagency roles.
• Established a Professional Development Committee (PDC) and associated policy and procedures to ensure equity in accessibility to training and development programs.
• Aligned with TAFE NSW to implement a formal recognition of prior learning program enabling over 45 female members to obtain a Cert III or IV in Business Administration. This led to more structured programs at Diploma and Advanced Diploma level to be made available across the organisation, delivered by block release.
• Developed comprehensive Organisational Charts (still being used in their original design today).
• Assisted with the initial implementation of new HRIS (SAP HR) via temporary assignment to the SAP HR team prior to the go-live of the Employee Self Service (ESS), Manager Self Service (MSS) and Volunteer Management (VM) portals.