Vernona Rocco
Perth,WA
Summary
Dynamic project management professional with extensive experience at the Department of Communities, excelling in contract negotiation and stakeholder engagement. Proven track record in leading teams to successfully deliver multi-million dollar projects, optimizing processes, and enhancing operational efficiency. Recognized for strategic thinking and exceptional problem-solving skills, driving impactful results in complex environments.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Acting Senior Project Officer
Department of Communities
03.2025 - Current
- Mentoring a team of 10.
- Line manager for 2 project support officers.
- Training level 5 team members on site to complete a scope of work.
- Training level 5 team members to put a scope of work together and show them how to amend the scope to suit budget requirements.
- Keep staff up to date on current processes.
- Assist line manager with programs and staff including workloads and keeping staff on track to achieve the required delivery outcomes.
- Assist team members with contracts for external contractors.
- Assist staff and management of multi-million dollar tenders – including site visits – contract documents – Project bank Accounts (PBA) – Site Superintendent – contractor negotiations and project delivery.
- Assist management in creating and aligning team processes to ensure knowledge consistency.
- Reviewed project deliverables prior to submission to stakeholders for approval.
- Developed project plans and managed resources to ensure successful completion of projects.
- Maintained comprehensive records of all project activities using appropriate software tools.
- Ensured compliance with company policies as well as applicable laws and regulations.
- Assess current processes, identified areas of improvement and developed recommendations accordingly.
- Provided guidance and advice to team members on project management principles, processes and best practices.
- Negotiated contracts with vendors and suppliers in order to secure optimal pricing terms.
- Tracked expenses against budget allocations; provided updates on variances from expected costs.
- Facilitated regular meetings with stakeholders to ensure proper communication between teams involved in the project.
- Resolved conflicts among team members by providing guidance in accordance with established procedures.
- Coordinated with internal departments, external partners and other stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle.
- Kept project teams on-task with proactive control of budgets, schedules and scopes.
- Maintained close connection with project personnel to quickly identify and resolve problems.
- Supported meetings and project updates by collecting, arranging and distributing supporting materials.
- Play instrumental role in adjusting deliverables to address changes in requirements.
- Submit budget estimates, progress reports and cost tracking reports.
- Produced thorough, accurate and timely reports of project activities.
Level 7 Acting
Department of Communities
Perth, WA
03.2025 - Current
- Manager - Maintenance delivery & procurement Staff management including workload and HR requirements.
- Delegation of authority (DOA) assessment for financials including award and variations manually for external contract awards and via PMWeb inhouse application.
- Strategic planning – Programs – Projects – Staff.
- Mentoring a team of 7 – 10 on everything project related including internal processes – internal technical specifications and rules around projects as a whole.
- Attend management meetings.
- Report program and project data.
- Maintain multiple programs for 5 regions in Western Australia.
- Completed routine maintenance and repair.
- Provided excellent service and attention to customers when face-to-face or through phone conversations.
- Achieved cost-savings by developing functional solutions to problems.
- Completed day-to-day duties accurately and efficiently.
- Worked with cross-functional teams to achieve goals.
- Provided support and guidance to colleagues to maintain a collaborative work environment.
- Utilized various software and tools to streamline processes and optimize performance.
- Assisted with customer requests and answered questions to improve satisfaction.
- Contributed innovative ideas and solutions to enhance team performance and outcomes.
Acting Project Coordinator
Department of Communities
01.2005 - Current
- Preparation and Assessment of Maintenance Scope documents.
- Preparation, Assessment and Procurement of Bulk and singular Quoted works.
- Creation and Management of Maintenance Projects across Eleven regions for Multiple Stakeholders.
- Establish and maintain effective communication channels with the project teams, internal and external clients, stakeholders, and customers, via Phone, Email and in person.
- Data Analysis and Reporting for Internal and External stakeholders.
- Coordinates, collates, and works with project teams to analyse project documentation to provide comprehensive high-level reports on program and project status and processes to senior management – KPI reporting and management.
- Management of the planned Region Submission program schedule to ensure that the program is tracking on time and within scope.
- Create, Manage and Maintain multiple Projects through their stages from Procurement to Facilitation and then Completion and Payment.
- Ensure all documentation has been received from the Regions when requests come through, check that scopes of work have required information, so that Contractors can provide quotes, if permits are required obtain this information from the Region so Application can be lodged.
- Liaise with Regions, contractors, and Head Contractors during the course of Projects, such as but not limited to Variation requests, Extensions of time requests and Tenant Management.
- Input Project data into Project online so that the Regions can view current Projects and follow their progress.
- Mailbox Management, this is the core of communication between all stakeholders.
- Produce Status reports of Projects and Financials for Regions, Head Contractors, and Management.
- Conduct monthly Project meetings with Regional Offices and Head Contractors.
- Organise requirements and request support from the support officers.
- Communicate with customers and internal members regarding project details, including budget, estimates and timeline.
- Collaborate with field personnel to address and solve on-site issues, as needed.
- Read and interpret project specifications and requirements including engineer Documents and Building permits.
- Quality Assurance checks once work has been completed.
- Reconcile Invoices against the Purchase order for each project to have payment processed to close project.
- Successfully coordinated the procurement of bulk works and facilitated to completion, over 320 projects, managing milestones and contentious issues as they arose, while maintaining successful working relationships with all stakeholders, Internal, External and Regional.
- Successfully procured and facilitated several projects simultaneously that were Ministerial and ordered directly from the Minister of Housing.
- Successfully trained support staff in the assessment of scopes for the current region submission work and currently coordinating and supporting the support team to achieve the outcome required for the PAF team to successfully deliver these works in a time sensitive situation.
- I’ve received positive feedback that I’m methodical with my work and take great pride in the job at hand with an ability to complete requests in a timely manner.
Project Officer
Department of Communities
Perth, WA
03.2024 - Current
- As per below duties
- Coordinated communications between various stakeholders involved in the project lifecycle.
- Supported senior management in decision making activities related to ongoing projects.
- Conducted post-project reviews to identify areas for improvement in future initiatives.
- Prepared reports on the status of projects to stakeholders in a timely manner.
- Reviewed and monitored project deliverables for accuracy, completeness, and quality assurance.
- Maintained an up-to-date knowledge base of industry trends relating to assigned projects.
- Provided advice and guidance on best practice approaches for managing projects effectively.
- Contributed towards process improvement initiatives by providing suggestions on how existing processes could be improved upon.
- Organized and facilitated project team meetings, workshops, and other events to review progress against objectives.
- Participated actively in cross-functional working groups that focused on improving key processes across the organization.
- Negotiated contracts with external vendors or consultants where necessary for specific project requirements.
- Ensured compliance with relevant policies, procedures, standards, regulations and legislation related to projects.
- Updated project plans based on changing objectives, specifications, and staff availability.
- Maintained close connection with project personnel to quickly identify and resolve problems.
- Kept project and team on schedule by monitoring deadlines, milestones and performance.
- Produced thorough, accurate and timely reports of project activities.
Education
Certificate IV - Social Housing
Central TAFE
Certificate of Attendance - Professional Development Program – Staff Workshop
Certificate of Attendance - Professional Development Program – Human Resources and Change Champions Workshop
Certificate II - Business
Certificate III - Business Administration
Statement of Academic Record - Financial Services
Skills
- Microsoft Project and Office Suite
- Project management and scoping
- Contract negotiation and compliance
- Budget tracking and reporting
- Stakeholder engagement and relations
- Team leadership and mentoring
- Process improvement and optimization
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Documentation management and facilitation
- Data analysis and interpretation
- Effective verbal and written communication
- Problem solving and critical thinking
- Time management and prioritization
- Coordination and multitasking skills
- Attention to detail and accuracy
- Strategic thinking and decision-making
Certification
C class driver’s License, 3111439
Accomplishments
- Successfully coordinated the procurement of bulk works and facilitated to completion, over 320 projects, managing milestones and contentious issues as they arose, while maintaining successful working relationships with all stakeholders, Internal, External and Regional.
- Successfully procured and facilitated several projects simultaneously that were Ministerial and ordered directly from the Minister of Housing.
- Successfully trained support staff in the assessment of scopes for the current region submission work and currently coordinating and supporting the support team to achieve the outcome required for the PAF team to successfully deliver these works in a time sensitive situation.
- Received positive feedback that I’m methodical with my work and take great pride in the job at hand with an ability to complete requests in a timely manner.
Related Training And Short Courses
- Human Resources and Change Champions Workshop.
- Conflict Management.
- Change Management.
- Managing Challenging Behaviour.
- Aboriginal Cultural Awareness.
- White card Construction Industry.
- Record Keeping Awareness.
- Working with Complex and Demanding Clients.
- Accommodations Managers Maintenance.
- Business Classification Scheme.
- Freedom of Information and Information Requests.
- Original Decision Making.
- Accountable and Ethical Decision Making.
- Professional Development Program.
- Participate in OHS processes.
- Mental Health First Aid.
References
- Ben Arielli, benjamin.arielli@communities.wa.gov.au, Acting Manager Maintenance Delivery and Procurement, Department of Communities - Housing, 0862775592
- Haley Billingham, haley.billingham@communities.wa.gov.au, Manager Maintenance Delivery and Procurement, Department of Communities - Housing, 0862775461
Competencies And Skills
- Proficient in Microsoft Project Online.
- Microsoft Word, Excel & Outlook.
- Verbal and written communication.
- Problem Solving skills.
- Planning, time management and coordination.
- Communicates and influences effectively.
- Experience in Tender consensus panel scoring process and assessing requirements.
- Experience of External Tender process and requirements.
- Negotiation skills.
- Understanding of guidelines, policies and procedures employed by the Department of Communities.
- Working constructively within a team environment and making a positive contribution and recognising and acknowledging diversity within the workplace.
- Comprehensive knowledge of the Housing maintenance and repairs database system Habitat.
- Objective Digital record keeping.
- Haggis Mapping system.
- SharePoint.
- Data research, analysis, and interpretation.
- Team player.
- Attention to Detail.
- Ability to prioritise tasks while meeting multiple demands simultaneously, ensuring accuracy and highest level of care.
Acting Opportunities
- Acting Manager - maintenance delivery & procurement, Level 7, Department of Communities, 01/01/05, Current
- Acting Senior project officer - maintenance delivery & procurement, Level 6, Department of Communities
- Acting Project officer - maintenance delivery & procurement, Level 5, Department of Communities
- Acting Project Coordinator, Procurement & Facilitation, Level 5, Department of Communities
- Acting Support Officer Tender Procurement Community Construction and Development, Level 4, Department of Communities
- Acting Area Manager, Department of Housing Busselton, Level 5
- Acting Housing Services Team Leader, Department of Housing Bunbury, Level 5
- Acting Housing Services Officer, Department of Housing Busselton + Bunbury, Level 3
- Acting Senior Customer Service Officer, Department of Housing Bunbury, Level 3
- Acting Regional Maintenance Officer, Department of Housing Bunbury, Level 3
Languages
English
Professional
Timeline
Acting Senior Project Officer
Department of Communities
03.2025 - Current
Level 7 Acting
Department of Communities
03.2025 - Current
Project Officer
Department of Communities
03.2024 - Current
Acting Project Coordinator
Department of Communities
01.2005 - Current
Certificate IV - Social Housing
Central TAFE
Certificate of Attendance - Professional Development Program – Staff Workshop
Certificate of Attendance - Professional Development Program – Human Resources and Change Champions Workshop
Certificate II - Business
Certificate III - Business Administration
Statement of Academic Record - Financial Services
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