Alison Francis

• Drafted persuasive grant applications securing funding for key policy initiatives and programs.
• Developed clear communication materials to convey complex policy concepts to diverse audiences.
• Managed multiple projects simultaneously, prioritizing tasks for timely completion of policy objectives.
• Established productive relationships with industry leaders, fostering partnerships that informed policymaking efforts.
• Streamlined internal processes for improved efficiency in policy development and execution.
• Liaised with government agencies and external partners to align policies with broader initiatives.
• Meticulously tracked emerging trends in order to incorporate new ideas into future policymaking endeavors.
• Designed an effective system for monitoring progress toward established goals improving overall accountability within the department.
• Collaborated with stakeholders to gather valuable input, ensuring policies were well-informed and comprehensive.
• Contributed to the formulation of strategic policies by providing expert advice and information to decisionmakers.
• Assessed potential risks associated with policy proposals, offering alternative solutions when needed.
• Enhanced policy implementation by conducting thorough research and analysis on various issues.
• Championed staff development opportunities empowering coworkers through continued education related to their respective field.
• Facilitated communication and relationship development between different stakeholders.
• Researched existing policies and procedures to gain firm understanding of current conditions.
• Identified, evaluated and developed solutions to remove roadblocks to change.
• Isolated research topics of interest and devised well-coordinated studies employing [Type] and [Type] techniques.

Policy Officer and Data Analyst providing high-quality research design, evaluation, and strategic advice to support project and partnership outcomes and strategic objectives in alignment with Commission and Security Group Portfolio goals to support workplace cultural reform for the Australian Defence Force (ADF), the Australian Border Force (ABF) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Key roles, responsibilities and applied skills include:

· Application of expertise and extensive experience in qualitative research design, qualitative research methodologies and analytical approaches to support Security Group project outcomes and broader strategic objectives of the portfolio, including:

· best practice social science research methodologies for ethical and trauma informed approaches to interviews, focus groups and workshops;

· providing advice on best practice research design, including the development of thematic approaches to structure research, evidence, analysis and reporting to align to the strategic objectives and expected research outcomes of the partnerships and Commission;

· providing advice on good practice survey design for Qualtrics, completing survey validation and testing of project surveys, and providing analyses of survey data to meet partnership project outcomes;

· providing advice to the Security Group (and informal training), the Positive Duty team, and the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission in the use of NVivo software to support objective and evidence-based research outcomes for qualitative research;

· Developing a qualitative research thematic framework that aligns to the Security Group areas of work to support the collation and management of the most recent and relevant research in gender equality, workplace discrimination, disability and accessibility, intersectionality, diversity and inclusion, human rights-based approaches, and best practice and emerging research in organisation design, change management and HR strategy relating to workforce cultural change;

· Providing monthly research alerts aligned to the Security Group areas of work (listed above), collated from academia (work and organisational studies), Defence and security agency journals and reports, public policy reports, NGO and community sector research, business (change management, organisation design and HR strategy) and industry; and,

· Providing expert advice to the Knowledge Management Unit team to collaboratively build a Research Management Hub to support the research objectives and outcomes of the partnership teams. The Research Hub stores the research identified in the monthly research alerts, and includes research completed by each of the partnership teams. The objective of the Research Hub is to build an interactive and collaborative library of research to support the research and strategic objectives of each of the partnership teams to ensure good practice and evidence-based approaches underpin their objectives.

· The Knowledge Sprint trial in Theory of Change for Security Group and Commission stakeholders. The role included:

§ Consultation with Security Group Directors and EL1s to ascertain interest and knowledge in Theory of Change methodologies and approaches

§ Developing a consultation findings report to inform a workshop for Security Group members to agree to the best application of Theory of Change across the portfolio.

§ The workshop outcomes and decisions resulted in Partnership-level Theories of Change developed to meet the strategic objectives of the partnership teams and training for all Security Group staff to apply Theory of Change and evaluation thinking to project-level outcomes.

· Applied excellent skills in stakeholder engagement, relationship management, monitoring and evaluation and collaboration and team building as Convenor of the Commission’s Evaluation Community of Practice to enable knowledge sharing, collaboration and capability building across the Commission in monitoring and evaluation.

· Design and delivery of tools and knowledge sharing trials to support the development of evidence bases, evaluation and performance objectives and capability and skills development of the Security Group to achieve partnership strategic objectives and meet core project outcomes.

· Applied excellent skills in stakeholder engagement and strategic planning to receive approval from Directors to design and develop a Research Alert system and Research Repository for the Security Group and Commission stakeholders. The design of the Research Alerts and Research Repository have been discussed with the Positive Duty team for potential trial across the Commission.

· Application of excellent skills in Microsoft Suite to deliver high quality outputs for internal and external stakeholders, including for project management, workshop facilitation and report deliverables.

· Application of strong project management experience and skills to scope, design, resource, and deliver workforce culture reform projects to support Defence workforce cultural reform projects and ABF partnership performance monitoring and evaluation outcomes as project lead for the Defence Culture Blueprint Evaluation Project.

· Application of extensive experience in stakeholder engagement and relationship management across diverse sectors, including for Defence, to engage, collaborate, scope and build capability to meet diverse needs and interests in a professional and positive manner.

· Application of knowledge and experience in monitoring and evaluation to perform project evaluations and design Evaluation Frameworks for partnership performance measurement and monitoring and evaluation objectives (currently leading the scoping and design of the Defence Culture Blueprint Program Evaluation Framework and whole-of-Defence Culture Measurement Framework)

· Application of extensive experience in project management tools and methodologies to plan and project manage Defence Culture Blueprint monitoring and evaluation projects, including: Microsoft Project, Miro, SharePoint Project Planner and Microsoft Excel

· Applied skills and training in facilitation to conduct internal workshops to inform strategic planning of Security Group partnership teams.

· Applied excellent skills in written communication to develop and deliver briefs, reports, concept notes and advice to the Security Group Senior Advisor, Partnership Directors and external partners.

· Applied highly developed skills in research design and qualitative research methodologies to perform rigorous analyses of project team data.

· Applied highly developed skills in research design and qualitative research methodologies to conduct focus groups and interviews to support project teams outcomes and data collection relating to workforce diversity and inclusion.

· Applied highly developed skills in research design and qualitative research methodologies to provide advice and support to Security Group members in NVivo use, application for analyses and data management practices.

· Application of knowledge and training in culturally and trauma informed approaches, human rights-based approaches to project support for focus group delivery and research

· Applied extensive knowledge of and experience in human rights, including contemporary human rights and cultural reform priorities to provide advice to partnership teams on recent and relevant research to inform project and partnership outcomes.

The Evaluation Community of Practice (CoP), a Commission-wide community established to enable collaboration across the Commission to build knowledge of best practice approaches to MEL. Key roles, responsibilities and skills include:

· Presenting a pitch for the Evaluation CoP to the Director of Projects and Partnerships for endorsement of the concept.

· Convening the

Policy Advisor and Research Consultant providing high-quality research and evaluation outputs for the local, state and federal public sector, and NFP and industry clients. Key roles, responsibilities and applied skills include:

· Application of strong skills in quantitative research tools, including Qualtrics and Q to design and distribute surveys, collate and store data in line with ethical research guidelines and conduct analyses to provide insights and recommendations to clients.

· Application of high-quality qualitative skills including design and conducting of semi-structured interviews, focus groups, literature reviews, observation, and case studies.

· Application of advanced skills in Microsoft suite and PowerBI to design compelling reports, presentations, and data to translate complex research for research and client outcomes.

· Utilisation of advanced qualitative analysis skills to provide rational policy and operational judgements for planning and decision-making based on the available information and research.

· Application of excellent project management skills to help coordinate and undertake advanced research, evaluation and applied policy projects for government and non-government clients.

· Application of skills in project delivery and project management, including scoping of projects, management of contractors and completion of complex deliverables for clients

· Application of extensive stakeholder engagement skills to organise and facilitate stakeholder interviews, focus groups and workshops for clients.

· Contributes to positive and collaborative work environment by sharing skills and knowledge in organisation design, strategic workforce planning, change management and qualitative research skills to develop solutions for client briefs and wider continuous improvement initiatives for the wider Advisory branch.

· Application of consulting, research, and policy analysis skills to develop briefs and report deliverables for a range of clients, specific to client brief requirements, and inclusive of recommendations for public sector Evaluation Frameworks

· Application of extensive experience and skills in RFP responses and tender submissions for public, private and sector client opportunities.

· Ability to manage multiple client deliverables and projects simultaneously to competing and tight timeframes.

Research assistant and tutor for the Introduction to Sociology Unit delivered by the Department of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Sydney. Roles and responsibilities included:

· Designing and delivering tutorials for students, including the utilization of hybrid online and face to face teaching techniques to achieve high-level engagement and outcomes for students.

· Researching, collating, and presenting core research for each tutorial to enhance unit learning and meet examination outcomes for the student cohort.

· Marking, assessing, and grading examination papers and presentations and applying knowledge of diverse teaching methods to provide feedback and improve performance of students for the during of semester.

· Applying extensive knowledge of qualitative research techniques and sociological and human rights theory and practice to support students in preparation of examination.Gathered and organized information for research purposes.

• Wrote research papers, reports, reviews, and summaries regarding [Area of expertise].
• Collaborated with interdisciplinary teams to conduct comprehensive studies and generate valuable insights.
• Performed research into study topics to increase knowledge and to provide valuable contributions.

Project Support Officer/Policy Analyst engaged to assist Sydney Policy Lab to provide expert policy advice for Australia’s Mental Health Think Tank (The Matilda Centre, University of Sydney). The project required a rapid review and analysis of the policy landscape relating to the impacts of COVID-19 on mental health in Australia. Key responsibilities included:

• Utilisation of excellent stakeholder engagement skills required to collaborate with senior leadership and research leads for The Matilda Centre and Sydney Policy Lab to produce a high-level report on research findings.
• A rapid review of policy reports, inquiries, grey literature and public commentary about the mental health and wellbeing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• A rapid review of government plans, strategies and budgets implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Expert analysis and recommendations based on the policy landscape relating to COVID-19 and mental health in Australia. Analyses provided insights for the following sectors and demographics: housing, homelessness, employment, unemployment and impacts on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
• Designing and delivering (in collaboration with a multidisciplinary research team) a final report COVID-19 and Australia’s Mental Health (2021), published publicly by Australia’s Mental Health Think Tank.Kept senior management well-informed by preparing and presenting project status reports.
• Developed and deepened relationships with key stakeholders.
• Facilitated successful project outcomes by maintaining open lines of communication among team members, stakeholders, and senior management.
• Developed and monitored project schedules, budgets and objectives for successful completion.

Project Support Officer/Policy Analyst engaged to assist Sydney Policy Lab to provide expert policy advice for Australia’s Mental Health Think Tank (The Matilda Centre, University of Sydney). The project required a rapid review and analysis of the policy landscape relating to the impacts of COVID-19 on mental health in Australia. Key responsibilities included:

• Utilisation of excellent stakeholder engagement skills required to collaborate with senior leadership and research leads for The Matilda Centre and Sydney Policy Lab to produce a high-level report on research findings.
• A rapid review of policy reports, inquiries, grey literature and public commentary about the mental health and wellbeing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• A rapid review of government plans, strategies and budgets implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Expert analysis and recommendations based on the policy landscape relating to COVID-19 and mental health in Australia. Analyses provided insights for the following sectors and demographics: housing, homelessness, employment, unemployment and impacts on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
• Designing and delivering (in collaboration with a multidisciplinary research team) a final report COVID-19 and Australia’s Mental Health (2021), published publicly by Australia’s Mental Health Think Tank.

Employment Facilitator for the Illawarra region, focusing on delivering government programs to reach employment outcomes in the region. Key responsibilities included:

• Management of a government funded program across the Illawarra region in order to successfully monitor and track project implementation to ensure service delivery supports the complex needs of clients.
• Management of three regional client sites to reach challenging education and employment targets, funding goals and government departmental requirements for the contract.
• Establishing regional Working Groups and representing service providers in government forums to solve complex regional issues through collaborative stakeholder engagement in government and non-government sectors.
• Utilised extensive experience in private and public sector consulting to engage public and community sector stakeholders to meet contract outcomes for the region.
• Responsible for coordinating performance, reporting activities and data analysis for the contract to meet government requirements and ensure best practice service delivery.
• Applied extensive experience working with multicultural team and communities to engage diverse stakeholders to achieve program outcomes.Assisted clients in overcoming barriers to employment by addressing concerns related to transportation, childcare, or other personal issues affecting their ability to work.
• Strengthened relationships with local employers by organizing networking events and promoting available resources.
• Facilitated training in-person and via webinar to drive fantastic employee experience.
• Evaluated program effectiveness using data analysis, identifying areas for improvement and implementing necessary changes.
• Facilitated collaboration between clients and employers through effective communication and relationship-building efforts.
• Consulted with business leaders and HR business partners to identify true performance needs.
• Maximized client success by staying current on labor market trends, industry developments, and emerging opportunities.
• Streamlined client intake process to quickly identify needs and provide targeted assistance for faster results.
• Developed strong partnerships among various community organizations that helped bridge gaps between employers looking for skilled workers.

Senior consultant for People Advisory Services, with experience in large-scale transformation in organization design, operating model review, change management and strategic workforce planning in the private sector and for Government and Public Sector reform, and private sector initiatives. Key roles and responsibilities included:

• Mentored junior consultants, helping them enhance their skills and contribute more effectively to projects.Delivered high-quality solutions for clients through comprehensive research and analysis of industry trends.
• Developed innovative strategies to address complex business challenges, resulting in increased profitability for clients.
• Presented findings and recommendations to executive-level stakeholders, effectively communicating key insights and action plans.

Most relevant projects included:

Department of Health (2018)

Health analyst for the Department of Health, engaged to identify the skills required for a new taskforce to implement the strategy and vision for the National Cancer Screening Register. Responsibilities included:

• Consolidation and presentation of research for business development and proposals relating to the public health sector.
• Utilisation of knowledge of public health agencies and government department to drive stakeholder engagement and management across public and private sectors to reach high-level outcomes in a results driven environment.

· Application of continuous improvement and strategic problem-solving methodologies to develop rapid current and future state analyses of workforce skills, ensuring that the right skillsets to deliver and manage the varied aspects of the Cancer Policy and Services Branch and the National Screening Taskforce were met.

Department of Defence (2016-18)

Project lead and data analyst for the Department of Defence, applying operational, organisation design and strategic workforce planning experience to implement recommendations from the Defence White Paper (2016) for the Navy Health Workforce. Key responsibilities for the role included, but is not limited to:

• Application of project management methodologies to develop and implement project plans aligned to stakeholder expectations and deliverable outcomes.
• Utilising excellent stakeholder engagement skills to collate workforce data of the Navy Health workforce and provide current state quantitative analyses of diverse health related skillsets of the workforce.
• Utilising Performance Improvement, Organisation Design and Strategic Workforce Planning methodologies to present future state analyses and recommendations.
• Applying consistent technical excellence and compelling presentation of data to senior leadership and key stakeholders throughout the engagement.
• Establishing and maintaining diverse stakeholder relationships at senior government level.
• Establishing and leading steering committee meetings, workshops and working groups for the duration of the project.
• Delivering quantitative data analysis of labour market trends, civilian health workforce statistics and client workforce data.
• Outcomes included the successful delivery of a report of the Navy Health Workforce to 2030 to Chief of Navy, presenting recommendations for the workforce in meeting future operational capability.

Research Assistant for a research project funded by the Australian Research Council titled ‘The human side of energy security.’ The research focused on the complexity of balancing political, economic, social and environmental goals to achieve energy security. Key responsibilities included:

· Providing an extensive literature review of energy security in the field of business and work and organisational studies, utilising University research databases and excellent research skills to complete the task accurately and efficiently.

· Utilising excellent qualitative research analysis skills and knowledge of NVivo coding program to code interview and research data as the first stage of analysis.

· Providing detailed and accurate knowledge of social science research methodologies as a framework for completing a thematic analysis of coded data.

· Providing a written report of data analysis results and patterns to conclude the project.Performed statistical, qualitative, and quantitative analysis.

• Participated actively in regular meetings with fellow researchers to discuss project updates, challenges faced, and lessons learned during ongoing activities.
• Organized research materials, maintaining a well-ordered workspace conducive to productivity.
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Contributed to successful delivery of the discussion paper Beyond Operation Sovereign Borders: A Long-Term Asylum Policy for Australia. The paper informed a high-level roundtable held at Parliament House, Canberra in July 2014. The roundtable comprised of 35 senior policy makers, politicians and commentators to open dialogue and consider alternative asylum seeker policy options in Australia. Key responsibilities included:

· Successfully worked in collaboration with CPD staff and relevant stakeholders to construct the framework for the discussion paper, research project plan, and stakeholder communication plan to keep stakeholders informed and ensure on-time delivery of research outcomes.

· Utilised excellent stakeholder engagement and interpersonal skills to liaise with Research Fellows, Academics, the CEO and other relevant stakeholders to inform the research project structure and intended outcomes of the discussion paper.

· Leveraged from excellent technology, systems and applications skills and experience to effectively manage and update content on the CPD Refugee Policy website ‘Refugee Facts’, an online media resource established to clarify misperceptions regarding asylum seeker issues and policy within Australia.

· Applied excellent human rights and social science research skills to successfully research, monitor and document legislative precedents and changes in relation to asylum seeker policy and refugee and human rights law in Australia.

· Applied excellent written communication skills to prepare evidence based funding grant proposals to secure funding for the ‘Refugee Facts’ web site.

· Effectively sourced digital online content including Australian asylum seeker policy related academic articles, opinion pieces, media releases and updates to inform the content uploaded onto the ‘Refugee Facts’ website and support the CPD strategic objectives to improve public awareness of asylum policy.

· Successfully represented CPD and ‘Refugee Facts’ at meetings, events and public discussions relating to asylum seeker policy within Australia to improve public awareness and outcomes for asylum seekers.

• Conducted thorough literature reviews to identify gaps in knowledge and inform future research directions.
• Developed research proposals, identified research objectives and created research plans.
• Synthesized data and wrote detailed reports to present research findings to stakeholders.
• Identified sources of funding to prepare research proposals and submit funding applications.
• Collaborated with leadership team to identify relevant questions and determine best methods of collection.