Kerryn Lester-Smith

Experience

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  Western Health

  Jan 2002 - Jan 2004

  Occupational Therapist

  Clinical Grade 1 RotationalAged Care, Acute, Orthopaedic, Community

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  Transport Accident Commission

  Apr 2006 - Apr 2011

  Apr 2006 - Mar 2007 (Support Coordinator)Major Injury Division• Managed services and entitlements in line with policy and legislation for a portfolio of 40 clients with severe/catastrophic injuries.Mar 2007 - Dec 2007Senior Support CoordinatorMajor Injury Division• Provided leadership and support to up to 15 Support Coordinators (claims managers) across three different teams in the management of clients with severe/catastrophic injuries. • Acted as Team Manager for two extended leave absences. Show less

  • Project Manager

    Jan 2007 - Apr 2011

  • Claims Manager

    Apr 2006 - Jan 2007
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  South Amercia

  Jan 2011 - Mar 2012

  Volunteer Program Advisor

  South America: supporting a series of projects, managing community engagement and project and program management. Community Eco-tourism project (Bolivia): Engaged community leaders to initiate a volunteer placement program for the development of a community-run eco-lodge located in a National Park and researched and initiated several ecological improvements to the tourism project.

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  Department of Human Services, Victoria, Australia

  Mar 2012 - Aug 2013

  Strategic Liaison Officer, Disability Services

  Key liaison role to the Barwon-South Western Region responsible for ensuring clients receive the most appropriate cross-program response. Facilitated effective working relationships and cross-program projects between the department, community organisations and service providers. Provided staff supervision and support to direct service practitioners.

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  Committee for Geelong

  Aug 2013 - Dec 2014

  Project Manager

  Leading, Educating, Advocating for Disability - LEAD Barwon was a project funded by the Victorian Government and implemented by the Committee for Geelong. The project team worked with a group of people with a disability, informal carers and family members of people with a disability, to build their capacity to speak about their personal experience of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).The project was a bespoke, innovative and responsive leadership and advocacy development model underpinning a communications advancement program. The project supported and enabled participants to generate a range of communication outputs in the form of multimodal collateral, media and art activities in order to provide people with a disability, their families and carers with a voice in shaping the NDIS. The project team I led was nominated and confirmed as a finalist in the Victorian Disability Sector Awards 2014 and further emphasised the project’s innovative position in the State. Show less

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  National Disability Insurance Agency

  Dec 2014 - Mar 2018

  Assistant Director

  Design and Inclusion Branch: led the facilitation and training in co-design methodology in complex service design. Also led teams across branches of Transition, Markets and Providers, Communications and Engagement and Partners in the Community.

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  WorkSafe Victoria

  Mar 2018 - Oct 2018

  Project Coordinator

  Health Strategy: Leading program improvement and internal process design and development across multiple health services.

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  The Gordon

  Oct 2018 - Jan 2020

  Director, NDIS Program

  Responsible for coordinating and managing sector-wide activities to support the Victorian TAFE Network's response to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), including:- Strategies for increasing inclusion and achievement of students with disability;- Strategies for increasing the inclusion of people with disability in the TAFE workforce; and - Strategic planning on the training response required to deliver the services funded by the NDIS.

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  Melbourne Polytechnic

  Jun 2020 - Aug 2022

  Director, Strategic Partnerships

  Developing and leading Melbourne Polytechnic’s strategic partnership program to establish, maintain,strengthen and evaluate high value, strategic partnerships that support the business objectives across identified growth industries. My focus is on identifying strategic alignments and complex challenges that broaden workforce development partnerships with industry and employers to improve student outcomes and economic activity in the community. I lead the strategic planning for each identified priority industry which are used in the product portfolio analysis. Show less

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  Barwon Water

  Aug 2022 - Sept 2023

  Circular Economy Business Lead

  In our current economy, we take materials from the Earth, make products from them, and eventually throw them away as waste – the process is linear. In a circular economy, by contrast, we stop waste being produced in the first place.

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  The Gordon

  Oct 2023 - Jul 2024

  Project Manager (Clean Economy Workforce Transition in the Advanced Manufacturing Industry)

  Identifying the future workforce skills and training needs of the clean economy sector through engagement with industry and students.

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  Barwon Water

  Nov 2023 - now

  Research And Development Specialist

  Collaborating with research institutions and industry partners to advance projects that align with Barwon Water's Strategy 2030, focusing on areas such as the circular economy and process improvements. Through these partnerships, a focus on bridging the gap between theory and practice, ensuring that skills and experience is generated to contribute meaningfully to the sector.I am also Deputy Program Manager IWN (Inteligent Water Networks) Circular Economy Program. The goal of this program is to transform the way we think about and use materials, fostering a culture of sustainability, promoting a mind-set shift away from ‘waste’ to beneficial resource re-use, fostering innovation, adopting new technologies and innovations through trials, and championing partnerships that can shape policy and put the best ideas into everyday practice. Show less

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  Deakin University

  Aug 2024 - now

  Coordinator, Sustainable Health and Environment Network (SHEN)

  Providing overall project management to the operation of the Sustainable Health and Environment Network (SHEN) in the delivery of core SHEN activities. The SHEN delivers research, education and partnerships relating to the overlapping themes of enabling a sustainable world and improving health and wellbeing, with priorities aligning to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).