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Get to Know Me
High-Performance Career Coach, Mentor and Key-note Speaker with 15 years experience in Leadership and Developing people. Nick has a curious, growth mindset with a thirst for knowledge and experimentation to enhance and create psychologically safe environments that inspire high performance.
A Bit About Me
Nick Colless-White
HIGH PERFORMANCE COACH
A talent management and talent retention specialist, strategic human resources expert and logistics professional with a wide range of skills and experience across leadership, coaching, project management, workforce development and systems engineering across domestic and international environments. Thriving in high-tempo situations with superior decision-making ability, strong business acumen and is proven to deliver results for people, organisations and capability. Strengths include interpersonal skills, research and analysis; business and systems analysis; strong judgement and resourcefulness; dynamic teamwork, and seamlessly adapting to changing environments or project scopes.
Curious, growth mindset with a thirst for knowledge and experimentation to enhance and create psychologically safe environments that inspire high performance. Passionate about talent and team expansion, prioritisation and personalising learning plans. Keynote Speaker for Clubs Queensland – Conflict resolution and the Air Force Leadership Exchange. Led numerous teams ranging from 5 to 45 people; work effectively within teams and independently.
Introduced and enhanced multiple technology solutions within the ADF to optimise processes, improve capability, strengthen quality management processes, and enable collaborative work practices. Critical thinking with strategic and tactical outlooks. Strong analytical skills are supported by a demonstrated ability to identify and exploit opportunities. Knowledge and understanding of numerous Legislative Acts, Government and Defence Policies, and other guiding doctrines. Can absorb large and complex systems and policies quickly and enhance skill sets required to adapt to technological and procedural change.
QUALIFICATIONS
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Certificate IV Workplace & Business Coaching 2020
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt 2019
Diploma of Organisational Coaching 2023
Masters in Strategic People Management (Current)
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Graduate – Australian Institute of Company Directors
Masters of Project Management (UNSW), 2022
Bachelor of Business (UNSW), 2011
International Coach Federation (ICF) Level 2 Coach
Experience
October 2021 - Present
January 2019 - February 2021
June 2020 - August 2020
October 2016 - October 2019
DEPUTY DIRECTOR – HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AIR FORCE – PERSONNEL BRANCH
In addition to being the Deputy Director for Human Resource Information Systems due to several staffing shortages, I am currently undertaking five roles: Executive Officer, Deputy Director Reform, Program Manager and Sustainment Manager. As part of this portfolio, I have also worked as the Acting Director (Group Captian) and led the Air Force-wide data remediation transformation to prepare and enhance personnel data for SAP integration. Responsible for managing a large and diverse workforce of 40 personnel with 20 unique specialties. In 12 months, I lead this Directorate to deliver efficiencies/savings of over 35 FTE (60,000 hours or $3M).
These savings were achieved through a combination of Process Optimisation and Robotic Process Automation. Further, I established a Data Remediation Team to enhance the Air Force’s ability to visualise and enrich its personnel data sets while remediating errors to best prepare the organisation to transition to SAP software.
PERSONNEL CAPABILITY OFFICER - NUMBER 36 SQUADRON AIRFORCE
Lead Personnel Capability for the most deployed unit in the ADF through what could be argued as the most challenging periods in recent memory due to COVID-19. I led an optimisation project to refine how the Operations, Human Resources and Administration Teams conducted business; this has enabled Personnel Capability staff and executive staff to reprioritise more than 23,500 hours and the equivalent salaries of over $470,000 of Personnel Capability resources over 12 months. This system successfully applies a live reporting model to facilitate a critical shift from administrative and transactional Human Resourcing to strategic and analytical Human Resourcing. I directly managed a $1.5M annual budget and was the custodian for the responsible expenditure of an operations budget of $10M. I was held up as the example of best practice for evolving the utilisation of the contingent workforce across all of the Air Force and promoting increased use of the Total Workforce System and its usability.
OFFICER IN CHARGE OF PERSONNEL CAPABILITY - REGIONAL PRESENCE DEPLOYMENT ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE
Personnel Capability lead for 150 personnel and a host of service aircraft deployed to the US territory of Guam to participate in Regional Presence Deployment in support of RIMPAC. The Air Task Unit is comprised of some of the service's most valuable and high-tech assets: F/A-18A Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, an E-7A Wedgetail and a KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport. This relationship-building training deployment was the first deployment conducted during the peak of COVID-19, and all processes were unprecedented and have since formed future doctrine for best practice. This successful deployment enhanced relationships, mutual respect, trust and a shared vision for a secure, open, prosperous and resilient Indo-Pacific. It worked alongside the Royal Australian Navy air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart to generate the overall air and sea picture.
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CAREER & TALENT MANAGER - DIRECTORATE OF PERSONNEL - PERSONNEL BRANCH AIR FORCE
Managed the postings, selections, promotions and strategic human resources for 300 Logistics Officers and Training System Officers and the approval delegation for 1,500 Chief, Supply and Movements personnel. As the youngest Career Manager in the last 50 years, I created three consecutive years of posting plots where zero personnel resigned due to my selection and recruitment decisions. I built the Air Force's first proof-of-concept prototype of HR Artificial Intelligence for the Air Force Headquarters Personnel Branch. This resulted in an academic collaboration with Plan Jericho and the University of Sydney and an investment of $500k to support my ideas and vision. As a subject matter expert for flexible and alternate working arrangements, I travelled to NSW, ACT, VIC and ADL to conduct workshops to equip better and educate Commanding Officers on how to effectively use the Total Workforce System that permits dynamic working environments to better encourage a flexible working environment. Throughout these endeavours, I also conducted leadership coaching and mentoring.
Courses & key skills
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International Coach Federation (ICF)
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Level 2 Coach
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Advanced Coaching Certification
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Coaching Culture Certification
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Trained in: PERFECT, WDEP, SMART, GROW, Reframing, Above/Below Line, Feedback Model, EARS, Needs analysis, Coaching through conflict, Coaching through change, Strengths-based coaching
Get in Touch
Address: Canberra, ACT