Elyse Mcinerney Email & Phone Number

Saint Kilda, Vic, Au

Melbourne, Australia

As the STEP Project Lead, I led the design and implementation of an employment pathway and financial capability project for victim-survivors of family violence. This project works directly with women, gender diverse and non-binary people to provide a range of skills development and support to find sustainable and meaningful employment, while also working with employers to improve the accessibility and support of workplaces for people who have experienced violence.As a Workplace and Employment Advisor, I provided tailored support to businesses and workplaces on how to strengthen their approach to gender equality, including prevention and response to family violence. This work has included reviewing workplace family violence policies, supporting the development of guidance on responding to disclosure of family violence, and supporting the implementation of the Gender Equality Act.

As Program Manager - Pacific, I oversaw a dynamic portfolio of programs and partnerships with women's rights organisations in Fiji and Papua New Guinea. I also led on a range of regional and international advocacy initiatives, including a CEDAW advocacy workshop for rural women’s rights organisations in PNG and developing IWDA’s advocacy strategy for Beijing +25. I represented IWDA and accompanied IWDA's Pacific partners to regional conferences and international forums, including the 63rd Commission on the Status of Women and the UNESCAP Asia Pacific Regional Bejing +25 Review.

Melbourne, Australia

As Program Manager - Fiji, I was responsible for managing IWDA's Fiji portfolio. This primarily involved leading IWDA's contributions to the We Rise Coalition, a feminist coalition made of four dynamic women's rights organisations - Fiji Women's Rights Movement (FWRM), Diverse Voices and Action for Equality (DiVA), femLINKpacific and IWDA. This included leading on contract management (program design, MEL, reporting and as key focal point for DFAT) and acting as an internal partnership broker by leading on partnership reviews and strengthening existing processes to ensure they met the needs and values of the Coalition members.

Melbourne, Australia

As Award Manager for Save the Children Australia, I supported the grant management and implementation of a $9.5 million portfolio of development and humanitarian response programs in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. I coordinated program teams made up of in-country staff and technical advisors through out the project lifecycle, and supported country office staff with program implementation. This included supporting in-country staff to comply with grant requirements and SCA policies and procedures, as well as involved 2-3 month long deployments to both Country Offices to support program design, implementation and reporting.

Melbourne, Australia

As the Pacific Operations Coordinator, I acted as a liaison between the Save the Children Australia Head Office and Pacific Country Offices, overseeing all operational processes and policies. This included coordinating the provision of services by support functions in the Head Office (IT, HR, Risk, Safety & Security, Finance) for each Pacific Country Office and working with the operations staff in each Pacific Country Office to improve the efficiency of systems and processes. In this role, I also supported the recruitment, deployment and induction of expatriate staff to the Pacific, worked with Pacific Country Offices to monitor the Office Management Budgets, provided logistical support in the early stages of an emergency response in the Pacific and project managed specific operations capacity building initiatives across the Pacific.

Gaborone, Botswana

As Program Advisor, I was tasked with establishing and implementing a new Research and Training Department for Kagisano Society Women's Shelter (now the Botswana Gender Based Violence Prevention and Support Centre). The department aimed to develop trainings for service providers to increase their effectiveness in identifying and responding to cases of gender-based violence. This role included undertaking research to determine the feasibility of establishing a financially sustainable training program, developing a strategic plan for the department, developing a curriculum plan and writing training modules on gender based violence, initiating and maintaining partnerships with existing institutions and training organisations and leading the accreditation process for trainers and the organisation. During my time at KSWS, I also led the collaborative development of a Child Protection Policy.

As PNG Country Director, I led a team of partnership managers in overseeing Oaktree's Papua New Guinea portfolio. This included developing and maintaining relationships with implementing partners in Papua New Guinea, project managing (including design, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation) a $1.5 million portfolio, supervising partnership managers and managing relationships with external stakeholders in Australia and Papua New Guinea. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, I also gave input to high level decisions and Oaktree’s broader strategic direction.

As Development Education Director, I was responsible for educating 200+ volunteers at Oaktree on international development theory and overseas partnerships. It involved developing education materials, delivering interactive trainings, and acting as a liaison between Oaktree's International Engagement Team and the broader organisation.

Master Of Development Studies, Gender In Development (Papua New Guinea), H1

Bachelor Of Arts (Media And Communications), Media And International Relations