VIC Public Sector Women in Leadership Masterclass
Take charge of the next phase of your career
This is a watershed moment in your career, and the skills and behaviours that you cultivate now will become the cornerstones of your senior leadership in the years to come. This intimate and engaging masterclass is designed to provide you with the crucial skills and behaviours to grow and scale your senior leadership for what comes next.
Specifically designed for women in public sector leadership roles from all jurisdictions, this highly engaging two day masterclass will give you key tools to thrive as a senior leader and set yourself up for success for the rest of your career.
Former Deputy Secretary Alex O’Mara will take you on a journey of lightbulb moments and strategically grow key skills so that you walk away refreshed, inspired and more confident in your leadership and the path ahead.
Why attend
The support and guidance of a former Deputy Secretary and experienced company director
Small group-based activity sessions to translate theory into practice
Walk away with a toolkit of concepts, tools and techniques that are time-tested by a seasoned executive leader
Build new connections and a local support network of like-minded peers from across the Public Service
Alex O’Mara (She/Her)
Former Group Deputy Secretary, DPIE & Director, Sustainable Solutions Advisory
Alex is an experienced Senior Executive, Board Director and advisor with over 20 years
of experience leading strategy, policy, organisational transformation and program
delivery across a range of sectors including environment, infrastructure, energy,
precincts, planning, culture, place and natural resource management.
Prior to undertaking a portfolio career, Alex was a Deputy Secretary in the NSW
Government for over 5 years, as the Group Deputy Secretary, Place Design and Public
Space and as Deputy Secretary Create NSW. Alex was also the Executive Director for
Resources and Industry Policy and led Government legal teams for over 7 years in
environmental and planning law.
Alex O’Mara (She/Her)
Alex is an experienced senior executive and leader who has worked across various sectors, including ESG, sustainability and natural resource management, planning, property, industry, infrastructure, building, design, culture and public space. Alex began her career in the private sector as a lawyer with Mallesons and has worked for both the NSW and Commonwealth Governments. Alex is now the Principal of Sustainable Solutions Advisory, which provides strategic advisory services relating to place, infrastructure, sustainability, ESG, leadership and business transformation.
Prior to this, as the Group Deputy Secretary of Place Design and Public Space in the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, she led 1,300 staff with an annual budget of $1.5b. Her remit was to reorient the planning system around people, place, and community. She also oversaw a $2.5b program of growth infrastructure and an annual investment of $400m in community programs. Alex led the Premier’s priorities to increase public space quality across NSW and plant one million trees across Greater Sydney.
Key benefits
Take your career by the horns & create a leadership impact plan
Learn how to be an authentic & collaborative leader with a customer focus
Grow your leadership presence & develop your personal brand
Get financially literate to effectively manage budgets
Learn strategies to facilitate effective listening & communication
Create a performance culture to deliver quality outcomes
Who will attend
Current and emerging women in leadership across all public sector jurisdictions in management & leadership roles such as:
- Managers
- Senior Officers
- Team Leaders
- Senior Advisors
- Senior Analysts
- Project Officers
- Assistant Directors
This masterclass is also relevant for other supervisors with broader leadership requirements
Agenda
Times are shown in AEST
Acknowledgement of Country, welcome, introduction & getting to know each other
Your leadership journey – where are you at & where could you be?
- Why leadership matters
- What does a good public sector leader look like?
- What kind of leader are you and what kind of leader could you be?
- Proactively building your leadership capability
Morning tea
Being an authentic leader & developing your leadership presence
- Learn how to lead authentically
- Acting ethically – how to hold your ground
- Operating as an inclusive leader
- Developing your confidence and presence as a leader
Having maximum impact in the workplace
- Enhancing resilience and productivity
- Agility and focus
- Looking after yourself – finding balance
Lunch
Communication, collaboration & finding your customer focus
- Finding common ground and looking for the win-win
- Creating trust and trusting environments
- Pivoting the way you work towards the customer
Developing your personal brand as a leader
- Why your personal brand matters and how to develop it
- Creating your leadership narrative
Afternoon tea
Creating your leadership impact plan
- Q&A and key takeaways
- Reflect and create individual leadership impact plan from modules
Close of Day One
Welcome & reflections on Day One
Taking your career by the horns & growing as a leader
- Understanding where you are now and what you need to do to get where you want to go
- Being proactive about seeking out new opportunities
- Seeing your career in context – finding the right balance in your life
- The importance of networks, mentors, coaches and feedback
Morning tea
How to lead a team to deliver quality outcomes
- Creating a performance culture
- How to lead for on-time, on-budget results and tools to get you there
- Effective project management
Managing for financial performance
- How to get financially literate
- Understanding budget concepts and proactive budget management
Lunch
Creating the right conditions for innovation & success in your team
- Creating a positive culture and the right conditions for innovation
- Balance and belonging – why diversity and inclusion matters
- Looking after the health and wellbeing of your team
- How to be successful in driving change
Afternoon tea
Finalising your leadership impact plan
- Extended Q&A and key takeaways
- Finalise your leadership impact plan
- Consolidating your learnings from the masterclass
- How to measure and monitor your progress
NB: On Day two we do a scenario exercise designed to build confidence by responding to a scenario in a safe space. Receive real time feedback and a chance to practise before you apply back in the real world.
Close of Masterclass
Location: Novotel Melbourne on Collins | 270 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Benefits of attending in-person: This is the perfect networking opportunity for leaders, in an environment that will set you up to build new connections and a support network of like-minded peers!
Food & catering requirements: Catering is provided at all in-person The Hatchery events. Dietary requirements and special needs are to be communicated to event organisers one week prior to the event commencing. Please identify yourself to The Hatchery staff upon arrival to ensure all your needs are met.
Dress code: The event dress code is Business casual.
Pricing
Save up until 28 March
+GST
Early bird pricing
Save $700
Save up until 17 April
+GST
Early bird pricing
Save $400
Save up until 23 May
+GST
Early bird pricing
Save $200
Standard pricing after early bird pricing
+GST
Take advantage of our group discounts
Groups of 5+ save 10%
Groups of 10+ save 20%
“This course was so valuable for me at this point in my career. It has given me the insight and tools to define my leadership style, ways to communicate better, what I need to focus on to be a better leader and influencer, and what direction I would like to go in. I also really enjoyed the collaborative aspect and learning from the other women in the course, and knowing I am not alone in this.”
Laura Richardson
Scientific Officer, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, June 2024
“An excellent coaching session where you learn from people with a variety of skills and experience what it means to them to be a leader and how they have (and now will) manage their career paths.”
Antoinette Perry
Assistant Director, Department of Finance, June 2024
“Such an engaging few days. Feeling empowered.”
Linda Manson
Senior Travel Advice and Administration Officer, Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority, June 2024