Business Development Manager
PSC (New Zealand)
From July 2004 – May 2007 I lived in NZ. I joined PSC in April of 2005, after spending time travelling NZ & working in administrative roles. PSC is a non-profit organisation with a staff complement of over 1,500. The main focus of PSC is the provision of housing, health care & support to older people. Initially employed to develop & manage the provision of Supported Independent Living Services, within 6 months the Business Development Manager role was created & offered to me in recognition of the skills & abilities I had demonstrated. These included:
- an intuitively strong analytical approach to problem solving & business development including preparation of business cases to a high standard, highlighting opportunities, risk & risk management, financial projections & implementation plans;
- identification of unmet needs & market opportunities, undertaking focused research into potential projects & the development of financially viable & operable solutions;
- developing project plans with key milestones & resourcing implications for each project undertaken; ensuring that services are delivered to specification, on time & to budget.
Whilst in this role one of my key achievements was the development of the Supported Independent Living Partnership with a district council. This partnership & service delivery model was the first of its kind in New Zealand & provided a solution to the management of the council’s pensioner housing stock, which had previously been operating at a deficit with low occupancy levels & poor tenant engagement. The model removed the time-consuming tenancy management responsibility from the council & centred on offering a much-needed support & socialisation service to the often-isolated tenants. The result was increased occupancy levels from 70% to 98%.
The projects success was achieved through:
- effectively consulting with local government & presenting to council to achieve a unanimously positive response then successfully negotiating contracts & SLAs;
- consulting with current & potential tenants, to ensure that the service offered met the needs of the client group while providing a financially sustainable model;
- providing gateway opportunities for access to other services offered by partner organisations & raising the profile of PSC through media & reputation.
