Jade Harris: Team Leader, Brimbank
A modern story
I’m the Environmental Health Team Leader at Brimbank Council. Now that my kids are older, I work full time but prior to this I was the Team Leader at Mitchell Shire Council working part time. What I love about Kernow is that I have been given the flexibility to spend time with my kids without missing out on career opportunities and interesting and challenging work. In fact, I was promoted into the role of Team Leader at Mitchell whilst working part-time!
My flexible arrangements worked because I had the tools to support working remotely and I had the support of my employer. Kernow really
supports work-life balance and flexibility. They don’t just say it, Kernow does it. The story of my career progression with Kernow is testament to this!
I started at Kernow as a graduate, moved to an EHO role and then on to Team Leader. During this time, I also had a family. I haven’t felt that I’ve been devoid of opportunities because I am a female, or that I have a family.
Since becoming a Team leader I’ve undergone leadership training to keep developing and so that I can best give to my team and the community in
which I work. The management team has helped me find my strengths and I’ve been able to build my skills so that I am a confident team leader.
Rebecca Wisdom: Kernow Immunisation Nurse Coordinator
Challenging work within a supportive and flexible environment
Starting out as a general paediatric nurse and subsequent ICU paediatric nurse after obtaining my nursing degree in 1997, I found that I needed a ‘sea change’ and obtained my Immunisation Nurse qualifications. In 2010 I was successful in becoming the Immunisation Coordinator for a large local council. Needing to find an immunisation service closer to home for a better work-life balance, I started out with Kernow as a casual immunisation nurse happily enough and was quickly approached to take on a new opportunity of being the Immunisation Nurse Coordinator for the 4 immunisation services Kernow runs.
While the role of being an immunisation nurse and coordinator is essentially the same as when working for council, working with the Kernow team is a completely different experience. I no longer feel ‘stuck’ within the bureaucracy of council politics and instead I am reinvigorated to come to work every day to give more than 100% of myself to the role, team, and service.
One of the best things about working for Kernow is the complexity and breadth of the role. The opportunity to manage a very large immunisation service across 4 sites, which includes a large nursing and administration team, while challenging at times has also been very rewarding. The knowledge, skills, and diversity of the team to provide a best practice immunisation service goes above and beyond any expectations.
Working with Kernow is a rewarding experience. The support given by the senior management team to develop, learn and take on new opportunities is above what I have experienced in other positions.
Kernow actively promotes social activities to help break up the day to day routines and foster a very enjoyable work environment. Their work-life balance approach to providing services goes above the norm and facilitates a much happier workplace.
Rupa Gordon: Snr EHO, Regional Clients and
Brimbank.
Opportunities beyond the ‘day to day’
The thing I like most about working for Kernow is the diversity of work and the opportunity to work in different areas of environmental health.
In my senior EHO role I am responsible for Kernow’s regional clients in the North and West of the state. This is a growing area for Kernow. Our regional clients are generally smaller in size but the issues are no less
complex! In my day to day work, I mainly deal with food safety, health and nuisance issues and I am in charge of the tobacco portfolio for my team. But opportunities go beyond the “day to day” at Kernow. Kernow has a positive attitude to learning and development and we each have formal development plans. Over the years I have undertaken various training courses from OHS to Emergency Management Training.
There are also opportunities to develop through short term secondments. In 2016 I completed a short term secondment at Alpine Shire. This experience provided me with many new and diverse learning opportunities including private water supplies, onsite domestic wastewater systems and caravan park inspections – to name a few! The experience has been instrumental to my professional development.
Opportunities for short term secondments such as these do come up regularly with Kernow and it is a great way to experience something new and acquire some new skills and experience along the way.
Kernow is a professional environment, but also a homely one. Kernow is a great company to work for, they help you to grow professionally within a company with lots of opportunities!
Samin Hate: EHO – City of Casey
An Easy Transition into the Industry through Kernow
I have a background in the food industry as I was previously a chef, as a result, it was an easy transition into the role as an EHO. When completing my university course, there was no IBL possibility so I completed a voluntary position which provided me with great exposure.
Ajeet informed me about Kernow and the opportunities available. Initially I was slightly apprehensive about joining a health department run by company rather than Council itself but when I joined, the team was very welcoming and I feel like I am part of a family. My work is enjoyable and it feels good to be at work. I have the opportunity to learn new skills, be involved in project work and I also get to show off my cookery skills at Kulture Klub events!
Kathy Nichols: Kernow Operations Manager
Best Practice within a culture that supports Learning and Development and Flexibility
At Kernow, we strive towards “best practice”, not only in our industry, but with our staff and our culture. Our staff have great opportunities to increase their knowledge through diverse portfolios of work, genuine development opportunities and collaboration with other teams through Kernow wide initiatives and projects.
Kernow is regularly exploring beyond the boundaries, looking at new areas of growth and constantly working to make positive changes for the Environmental Health profession as a whole. With that comes opportunities for staff. Our staff have formal development plans and opportunities to learn and grow through new initiatives, training, secondments and project work.
As Operations Manager, my involvement in developing and implementing a variety of projects and initiatives across all Kernow sites allows me to collaborate with different teams. I am also able to share my knowledge and experiences and help guide EHO’s towards the goal of “best practice” within the industry.
What I like best about Kernow, is that all this can be achieved within a culture that supports flexibility.
Kernow has provided me with a fantastic opportunity to pursue my career aspirations within the environmental health profession, whilst at the same time raising a young family.
I started on a part time basis as an EHO (and new mum) 14 years ago and over the years moved into a senior EHO role and then Operations Manager, responsible for all of Kernow’s operations. In this role, I also became part of the Senior Management Team.
For a senior professional, I still feel challenged every day. My current role ensures my days are action packed and filled with involvement in all areas of environmental health issues. My Kernow journey has many highlights and examples where I have been able to expand beyond day to day functions and be exposed to a range of diverse opportunities, the most memorable being the opportunity to travel to Dubai as a representative of Kernow to present at the Dubai International Food Safety Conference in 2015.
Whilst Kernow staff work hard and are always busy, we are also good at organising social events and making time to have fun together. Our Kulture Klub does a great job of organising company events and it great to be able to come together and relax with a fantastic group of ‘like-minded’ colleagues at different times of the year. One highlight is the annual themed Kernow Kristmas Party. A lot of effort has gone into some of the costumes over the years, including the year “New York” was the theme. On my part, a quick trip to the beach to gather seaweed for my Titanic costume truly showed the devotion I have to my job!
Helen Powell: EHO – City of Casey
Kernow provides something I have not found elsewhere
I enjoy working with people who are open to new ideas and who foster an environment of contribution and involvement in the planning of not only our day to day work but also in the growth of the business and in particular its expansion into other related areas and projects.
I have been an EHO for over 25 years and have worked at many different sites and for private industry, local government and state government during that time. Kernow provides something I haven’t found elsewhere in that they offer EHO’s a chance to become involved in other streams within the company such as RIAMS where I have been encouraged to contribute to the content of the system and also in recruitment and training projects.
At Kernow I have been reinvigorated and feel supported enough to look into developing my skills in areas adjacent to my EHO work and even completely separate to it. They allow you to choose if you wish to become involved in other work or you can continue to work in the traditional EHO role and advance that area of your skills by taking on greater responsibilities and gaining experience in all aspects of the role.
Kernow have a number of sites where they hold contracts which is helpful to employees looking to expand their experience in rural or regional work or vice-versa. The different sites are all involved in the project work which provides a much larger base of EHO’s to discuss issues and ideas with and collaboration between the sites is encouraged and is growing.
I started at Kernow as a casual and have worked part time around my growing family. They have a family first policy and are very supportive. As long you are prepared to put in the effort you will be rewarded witha very flexible workplace with supportive and accommodating managers.
Megan Black: Environmental Health Administrative Assistant – Cardinia Shire Council
A great place to be 🙂
I feel very lucky to be working as an administration officer at Kernow. It has been three years since I first started with the company. Kernow was my first introduction into the workings of Local Government and the environmental health industry. There has been so much to learn along the way but it is truly satisfying!
I often say my job here is to know a bit about a lot! Honestly, I didn’t understand how diverse this role was going to be until the day I started but I love it. On a daily basis I can be talking to a mum about her child’s immunisation history and then the next call could be from a property owner wanting their septic tank plans and next I’m speaking to someone who is reporting a case of food poisoning from a local restaurant. It’s not all standard office/desk work either. Kernow specialises in delivering immunisation services across its sites and for me this means attending infant and secondary school sessions away from the office, recording and uploading data, keeping statistics, meeting with other Councils and liaising with nurses, parents with babies, school representatives and students.
The Kernow team really care about their people. I love that even as an administration staff member I am still included in various projects and feel like my interests and input are valued with career development options available. Great place to be! 🙂
Geoffrey Lang’at: EHO – Strathbogie and Mitchell Shire Councils
Opportunities to use my international skills and experience
I completed a Master of Public Health and worked in Kenya for over 13 years in two different positions both under the Ministry of Health and the Department of Environmental Health. After arriving in Australia as an Environmental Health Professional with international experience, I completed an accredited course prior to continuing my role as an Environmental Health Officer here.
I started working with Kernow at Mitchell Shire Council and under my team leader, Jade, I have developed increased knowledge in all areas particularly in relation to onsite wastewater disposal. I now work across two rural sites, Mitchell and Strathbogie. I enjoy my role as an EHO and I look forward to going to work!
Kernow provided me with the opportunity to use my international experience and skills and to further my dream career of making a difference in the community by improving the health standards. Kernow is like a professional family that caters to both social and professional development.