Ambulance Victoria Case Study - Fisher Leadership

Ambulance Victoria

Creation of the Equality & Workplace Reform Division

The Project

In March 2022 a brand new Division was created within Ambulance Victoria in response to a Review undertaken by the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC). The Review contained a number of recommendations for making Ambulance Victoria a safer place for people to work and volunteer, and a more progressive and capable workplace where people thrive. The newly created Equality and Workplace Reform Division is headed by Executive Director, Simone Cusack, who has been seconded from VEOHRC. One of her first tasks was to build out a team of experts in diversity and inclusion, change management, organisational psychology and program monitoring and evaluation. This was a high profile exercise with high expectations around transparency, inclusion and due diligence and it meant a lot to the Fisher Leadership team that we were entrusted by Ambulance Victoria to support this critical work.

The Process

Fisher Leadership assembled a dedicated project team to support recruitment, executive search, leadership assessment and onboarding as well as provide robust project administration and management. Fisher Leadership developed a dedicated microsite to transparently share information with prospective candidates about the situational context, the various roles, the timelines and how to apply. The content created was compelling and was delivered in multiple formats – photo images, video messages and text copy. The microsite was received positively. In particular, the webinar on ‘Application Advice’, which provided support for the application process, CV development, the interview process and how assessments are used, was received very favourably. Conducted over two separate tranches, Fisher Leadership managed panel interviews for each role as well as reference checking, psychological assessments, required probity checks and offer negotiation.

The Outcome​

Eight months after the Fisher Leadership project team was briefed on the roles, 20 talented people have been appointed within the new Division. These individuals hail from a range of sectors including Higher Education, the private sector and Government. The appointees bring diverse backgrounds and experience as well as diverse and inclusive mindsets ensuring they will be strong role models for the broader organisation.

Congratulations to the new members of the Equality & Workplace Reform Division!

  1. Director Workplace Reform – Bonnie Loft
  2. Director Diversity & Inclusion – Wei-Fong Yee
  3. Program Lead, Workplace Reform – Andrew Prosser
  4. Program Lead, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander – Michelle Crilly
  5. Program Lead, Accessibility – Amber Smith
  6. Program Lead, Gender Equality – Alison Cheney
  7. Program Lead, Multicultural – Cherlyn Chia
  8. Lead Change Management – Diah Yoshida
  9. Organisational Psychologist – David Paterson
  10. Senior Data Analyst – Celestien Chan
  11. Senior Lead, Diversity & Inclusion – Joel Pearlman
  12. Senior Manager Monitoring & Evaluation – Jorja Millar
  13. Senior Policy & Research Manager – Tal Shmerling
  14. Senior Program Manager Implementation – Kate Evans and Claire Larkin
  15. Policy Specialist – Abhishek Easwaran
  16. Policy Specialist – Sharyn Coker
  17. Program Officer – Monitoring & Evaluation – Rachel Chapin
  18. Program Officer, Implementation – Sara McCarthy
  19. Coordinator, Equality Contact Officers – Claire Alexander
  20. Executive Assistant – Kinjal Kamdar

Additional Support

Given the volume of roles and importance of the project, a microsite for recruitment was created in close partnership with Ambulance Victoria. Aligned to the division’s purpose to drive equality, the microsite included:

  • an introductory video from the division leader (supplied by Ambulance Victoria),
  • a statement of commitment to be consciously inclusive throughout the recruitment process including a point of contact for accessibility provisions to be pursued,
  • a video recorded by June Parker, General Manager of Coaching and Transition at CLA, outlining the recruitment process and advice for preparing an application.


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