Clare Ellul Email & Phone Number

Brisbane, Qld, Au

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

BDO is one of the world’s largest full-service advisory and accountancy organisations, with 12 Australian offices and a presence in more than 160 countries across the globe.In this role, I lead the Bids function for BDO in Australia.This includes responsibility for:- Managing the Bids team supporting our Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Sunshine Coast offices;- Leading the national bids community of practice across our Australian offices;- Driving collaboration to progressively achieve national consistency within, and continuous improvement of, BDO's Australian bid framework (processes, tools, templates, and training), including key projects and initiatives;- Enhancing Bids team and service line bid capability through awareness and adoption of the bid framework; - Oversight of highly significant bids; and- Providing subject matter expertise on relevant major projects led by other business areas and the Program Management Office.

I led the Bids function and team for our Brisbane and Sunshine Coast offices, supporting Partners and their teams across all service lines.This included responsibility for: - Managing the Bids team and coaching bids resources embedded within service lines;- End-to-end management of key local and national bids, working directly with Partners and senior leaders; - Enhancing and promoting the firm's bid framework;- Improving service line bid capability through training, templates and tools;- Whole-of-firm opportunity reporting (including win rates); and- Identifying and leading or contributing to various business enablement and continuous improvement projects, including those undertaken through the national bids community of practice across BDO’s Australian offices.

I jointly led the bids function for our Brisbane and Sunshine Coast offices, supporting Partners and their teams across all service lines.

Brisbane, Australia

I supported Partners and teams across all service lines in the Brisbane and Sunshine Coast offices, delivering end-to-end bid management. This included:- Project management from opportunity identification to post-submission review;- In-depth RFx analysis and response planning;- Engagement and collaboration with BDO Partners and their teams;- Generating compelling content in line with approved style;- Layout and design;- Editing and proofreading; and - Post-submission reviews.I also provided support to the Bids & Proposals Manager in improving team tools and processes, including content library development and win rate reporting.

As the Bank undertook a significant program of work implementing a new strategic IT partnership with HP, I was responsible for communications analysis, planning and delivery across all projects and streams, including non-technical and technical subject matter (for example, I led the training and communications planning and execution for the rollout of a new Service Desk system and user interface). I worked closely with Program and Change Management, IT Leadership, Human Resources and Corporate Affairs to ensure comprehensive, engaging communication to stakeholders at all levels of the organisation. In addition to my program role, I provided internal communications support to the Chief Information Officer for the broader transformation within Group IT.

I joined BOQ as part of the project team for the acquisition of Investec Bank Australia Ltd (now known as BOQ Specialist), and was responsible for change and communications analysis, planning, and seamless delivery, working closely with the leader of BOQ’s Organisational Change Management function. My role had a strong focus on stakeholder engagement and internal communications – both targeted and BOQ Group-wide – requiring close collaboration with the Internal Communications teams in BOQ and Investec.

I was originally asked to support the state-of-the-art Wireless In-flight Entertainment project as Communications Lead while continuing to perform my primary role as a Product Specialist for the airport environment. As a result of consistent high performance over a number of months, in August 2013 I was offered the opportunity to take on the newly-created Change and Communications Specialist role (a nine month secondment). In this role, I supported the Virgin Australia Product team (with a particular focus on In-flight Entertainment) through effective change management, communications planning, and stakeholder engagement. I managed a collaborative, cross-functional working group to deliver change management and communications outcomes that materially contributed to successful product implementation, the realisation of project/program objectives, and resulting business benefits. Responsibilities included:- Change management, including impact analysis;- Stakeholder engagement and relationship management;- Planning and execution of internal and external project and change communication; and- Communication for 'Business As Usual' product management.Achievements:- Development and effective delivery of the Project Communications Strategy, including the Stakeholder Management Plan and Customer Communications Plan.- Successful management of a collaborative, cross-functional communications working group that provided essential support to Virgin Australia’s roll-out of its new state-of-the-art Wireless In-flight Entertainment system, ensuring robust ongoing delivery of a fully integrated internal and external communications campaign that resulted in high levels of product awareness and engagement.- Development and execution of well-received internal communications material for a range of audiences, including executive-level reports and detailed briefing materials for customer-facing teams.

In this role, I was responsible for the development, delivery and ongoing management of ground products across the airline network. My key challenge involved engaging and influencing stakeholders across the business to deliver initiatives in line with strategic priorities.Achievements: led the collaborative design, development, and delivery of key initiatives within Virgin Australia’s Game Change Plan, including: - Sydney & Brisbane Premium Valet: opened in April 2011 and March 2012 respectively, these products have been very well received by the market with performance in line with business case expectations. Valet services are delivered by a third-party contractor; working in close partnership with this services supplier and key internal stakeholders, I managed the integrated delivery of multiple work streams to launch the product on-time and within budget. Among my specific accountabilities were contract negotiation; communications planning; and the training of third-party team members in the core aspects of our service promise, effectively inducting them into the Virgin Australia brand. - Priority Boarding: in May 2011 Virgin Australia became the first airline to deliver a dedicated Priority Boarding product to Australian domestic travellers. Designed and delivered in collaboration with the Ground Operations team, Priority Boarding has received significant praise and has directly influenced the improvement of guest satisfaction. - Communications: developed strong, effective relationships across a broad range of functional areas, including senior management; enhanced the Product department’s internal communications capability through the application of useful tools; worked closely with Marketing, Corporate Communications and other customer-facing teams to deliver effective integrated product communication; and contributed to the successful planning and execution of the communications program for the implementation of significant business changes.

In January 2013 Virgin Australia transitioned to the SabreSonic reservations platform, one of the most significant undertakings in the airline's history, and described by Hugh Jones, President of Sabre Airline Solutions as "one of our most complex".While retaining my role as Product Specialist, I was appointed as the representative for the Product and Service Experience departments in Virgin Australia's business planning for cutover. My work was varied, fast-paced and at times high-profile, requiring strong stakeholder engagement and relationship management, critical thinking and exceptional communication to senior management. Specific activities included:- Driving the collation of the Cutover Guest Experience Offering - the definition of the way in which various aspects of the booking and travelling guest experience would be impacted by and managed through the transition period - including facilitating cross-functional workshops to identify risks and issues and prompt decision making; providing customer-focused recommendations; drafting policies for Executive approval where recommendations had a material cost or revenue impact; and ensuring all stakeholders were informed of outcomes.- Working with the Service Experience teams (Lounges, Premium Guest Services and Guest Relations) to develop and execute their business activity plans for the transition.- Implementation and leadership of the Service Experience Coordination Centre, which served as the primary conduit for communication between the Virgin Australia Command Centre and the Service Experience teams during the transition period.- Contribution to the Cutover Working Group, the primary cross-functional forum for business planning and decision making for the transition.- Contribution to the work of the Cutover Communications Working Group, which developed and executed an integrated communications program across all customer-facing channels.

Leadership of the team accountable for Guest Contact Centre procedures, internal communication and knowledge management; representing the GCC in cross-functional change initiatives.Achievements: - Managed the project that successfully ensured departmental readiness for the implementation of a new reservations platform (NewSkies). This involved a high degree of problem solving and influence in order to achieve outcomes that protected the guest experience during a time of significant operational complexity. In addition to leading streams of work within the department, I contributed to business-wide commercial policy and external (customer) communication planning and implementation. - Led the Business Improvement team (four direct reports), supporting team members’ personal and professional development and maintaining a productive and caring environment.- Contributed to the success of a department with an incredibly strong culture of teamwork, engagement, resilience and recognition. My time in the GCC taught me invaluable lessons about how such a culture can be developed and maintained through effective communication.

Positions included:- Management Team Officer, Guest Contact Centre- Brand & Product Coordinator, Marketing- Marketing Assistant, Velocity Rewards. Achievements:As a graduate I had the unique opportunity to be exposed to a broad cross-section of the airline, and to be closely mentored in my personal and professional development. While my critical thinking skills and technical capability were evident at University, my time in the graduate program cemented my team working, adaptability, and personal awareness. Always open to constructive feedback, I established a focus on developing sophisticated interpersonal skills that continues today. Specific accountabilities:- Contributing to the strategic and operational development of the Guest Contact Centre by identifying potential communications initiatives, coordinating / managing initiatives within allocated portfolio, reporting on progress and closing off initiatives. - Assisting in brand operations, media and advertising functions, and product and service development operations.- Email campaign management, including campaign build and execution; development of associated website content; and reporting on results.- Coordination of larger marketing campaigns, including campaign design and execution; program partner review and sign-off processes; and management of marketing budgets.

Bachelor Of Business Management (Marketing) & Bachelor Of Arts (Media Studies, Drama)

• Dean's Honour Roll, School of Business, Economics and Law • Jessie Mary Vasey Memorial Prize, 2007 (Bachelor of Arts award.

Education record