7.30 AM

I wake up and make breakfast. The crisp Canberra weather greets me as I start my journey to work.

8.30 AM

I start the day with a read through of my emails. This provides an opportunity to quickly review and identify priorities for the day. My team falls under the umbrella of the Chief Financial Officer Division.

We receive a high volume of correspondence from a mix of other business areas, other government departments and agencies, as well as representatives from external businesses. All these stakeholders are involved in contract management and the procurement of goods and services.

8.45 AM

My supervisor and I go downstairs for one of our regular one-on-one catchups over a coffee. Here, we discuss how I’m progressing and what I’m excelling in. More importantly, they assist me in identifying some areas for improvement.

I also convey how I feel about my current workload and state I’m interested in pursuing some additional training and responsibilities.

9.00 AM

I liaise with business areas to identify their ICT requirements. Today, I scheduled a meeting with a business area as we’re working to define a comprehensive bill of materials needed in a new project.

These needs can be serviced through several different companies, so later on we’ll work together to review which response offers the best value for money to our agency. This ensures that we can assist the public in a transparent, effective and efficient manner.

We work through the documentation together, which involves various stages of drafting and refinement. This also involves using our internal financial systems to ensure every stage of the procurement is adequately documented and analysed.

10.00 AM

Our busiest period is the end of financial year, when a significant number of existing contracts are set to expire. However, we still have contracts that expire throughout the year.

I refer to a spreadsheet that details contracts due to expire over the coming months. I then send out notices to teams who work with the items involved in each contract, so that I can gauge whether these contractual offerings are required beyond the expiration date.

We’ll let the contract expire if they’ve been superseded or are no longer required. But if the business area advises we still need them, I need to consider:

• are extension options available?
• will we need to consider a different seller?
• will we need to increase the size of the contract?

11.00 AM

My section holds our weekly meeting. Here, we discuss our priorities and allocate upcoming work items. The communal nature of these meetings allows anyone to voice their opinions or concerns, and we work collaboratively to define solutions to complicated issues.

We have the option to work up to 2 days per week from home, with the only rule being that one of the office days must be on the day of our team meeting.

There are 9 people in the ICT Procurement section, which is further subdivided into several smaller teams headed by assistant directors. The section itself is overseen by a director.

12.00 PM

I head out for lunch with a fellow graduate at the shopping centre near our building. There are over 10 graduates that work in my building alone, providing us with ample opportunities to socialise during our breaks. When we don’t go out for breaks, our office kitchen has a nice view.

1.00 PM

The finance graduates and I have regular training tailored to our stream. Today, we’re having one of these sessions. Throughout the training we actively engage in the coursework provided by our facilitator.

The finance sessions incorporate several modules we complete by ourselves, which are complimented by the monthly training sessions. At the end of the year, we’ll receive a certification for completing these courses.

3.00 PM

I call a business to discuss how an ongoing procurement is progressing. My role involves a significant number of discussions with external stakeholders.

4.00 PM

I’m reviewing a set of invoices which have arrived. Firstly, I seek a delegate’s confirmation that these goods have arrived in an acceptable state. Secondly, I process this information within our internal financial system.

This ensures payments are sent to suppliers in a timely manner and that the goods are accurately matched to the correct general ledger. While some contracts include one-off deliveries, many are sophisticated and incorporate a variety of recurring goods and services. This necessitates active management, which I track for myself via spreadsheets.

5.00 PM

I log off for the day and get ready to go home. Our office is right by Lake Tuggeranong, so I enjoy a post-work walk around the lake.

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