Graduate Profile: Environmental Management

Jacqui Symonds was awards a Bachelor of Environmental Management and gained a position as Graduate Water Policy Officer, Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation.

Could you give us a brief description of what your position involves?

I gained a position in the Public Sector through the Government's Graduate Recruitment Program. I currently work as a Water Policy Officer in the Water Policy Division of the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation. I am undertaking the Government Practising Certificate during my 12 months as a graduate. Once this has been completed my position is ongoing.

I have a number of roles within the Division:

Executive Officer, Water Resources Council
This is my main role at work and takes up around 75% of my time.
The WRC is an advisory body to the Minister for Environment and Conservation, established under the Water Resources Act 1997. Its roles include:
- report on the implementation of the State Water Plan and Catchment Water Management Plans (as implemented by Catchment Water Management Boards) and how these plans achieve the object of the Water Resources Act, and recommend any changes to the Plan;
- advise the Minister about how Boards can better implement their plans and about Board membership;
- advise the Minister on water resource management to achieve the object of the WR Act.
My main role with the Council is as the Departmental liaison point. I organise their monthly meetings, including agenda papers and guest speakers, all correspondence between the Council (usually from the Presiding Member on behalf of members) and the Minister, budgets, sitting fees, communication with Catchment Water Management Boards, production of reports etc.
Currently I am organising a Conference for the WRC and Presiding Members of Catchment Water Management Boards on the 31st of October. This annual conference is for Boards, the Minister and the Department to discuss various water resource issues and to bring about outcomes/actions on these issues.

Water Policy Officer
This role involves assisting in the development of a strategy called WaterProofing Adelaide. It is a study into South Australia’s water resources to identify opportunities to improve our water quality and maximise economic development opportunities. The primary objective of the project is to assess options that would deliver reductions in the existing water supply sources in the metropolitan area by up to 25 per cent by 2050.
My main role in the project so far has been to coordinate meetings for the project's Steering Committee, and the collection of information for chapters in the initial background document. This has involved liaison with other Departmental employees, the Bureau of Meteorology, SA Water and other organisations to gain this information.
My other role in the Water Policy Division is to coordinate the Parliamentary Briefing notes, which cover water resource issues that our division is accountable for. These briefings are used by the Minister in Parliament to answer questions about particular issues.

As a graduate I must also undertake the workshops and assessments needed to complete the Government Practising Certificate. These cover various aspects of working in Government including ethical and legislative responsibilities, project management, career management, customer services, application of policies, OHS&W and working in the organisation.

Have the skills you developed at university been an important part of your job? (Have you, or are you planning to undertake further study?)

The knowledge I have gained, particularly in the water resources field, has been important in my work. General environmental and economic knowledge has also been important. My time management and project management skills have come in particularly useful, especially as I am undertaking a lot of project/administrative work which relies on excellent time management. At this stage I am not planning to undertake further university study, however I plan to undertake various skill development courses at work. In the future I will need to update my knowledge and skills, which may require me to return to university, probably part-time.

With your experiences in securing employment what advice would you give to students who are in their first, second, and final year of study?

Make sure you get out there and get some work experience during your breaks, particularly towards the end of your degree when you will be beginning to think about employment. This experience is essential for you to get a job - your degree alone is not enough.

Get involved in extra curricular activities that are relevant to your field of study (eg community groups, university clubs etc) or that develop your teamwork/organisational/time management skills.

Particularly in the environmental field, I have found that undertaking Honours gives you that extra advantage when applying for positions. It shows you can successfully undertake project management and it really improves your time management skills. It also gives you the advantage of being able to specialise in an area of study which, if you want to pursue that as a career, will definitely assist you in achieving this goal. It also gives you excellent contacts elsewhere than at university, as you are required to liaise with different people to find the information you need.

How did you go about finding graduate employment?

Kept my eye on the usual sources.
Applied for the governmentt graduate recruitment program and kept updating my details (I failed to get into it after my undergrad degree).
Also through part time work and other contacts such as people in my degree and in the field.

Can you briefly describe the application process relevant to your position?

Applied initially to program. Had to provide personal details, resume, academic results etc. Also had to fill out "position specification" which was quite general but I targeted it at the two Govt depts I wanted to work for. Had to update my details after the first year of recruitment. Once my application had got through I sat for an interview which was done by a panel of 4 people. Then got accepted.

What did you do to prepare for the interview? What sorts of questions were you asked?

- read up on the organisation I was going to work for
- made sure I had fully addressed the criteria
- rehearsed some of the answers I would give to particular questions - which I brainstormed
- wrote down what experience/situations I had been in

Most questions were relating to experience I had in particular areas such as project management or time management - had to give examples. (eg what would you do if...how would you go about...give us an example of how you .....). Questions relating to my thesis and how I went about managing it.