Leona White
Runciman,AUK
Summary
Kia ora tātou,
Ko Taranaki te maunga
Ko Mōhakatino te awa
Ko Pukearuhe te marae
Nō Taranaki ahau
Ko White tōku whānau
Ko Leona White tōku ingoa
Professional Summary
I am a compassionate, service-oriented leader with over 15 years of experience in people relations, team management, and interpersonal communication. I bring strong skills in problem solving, decision making, and conflict resolution. I am a strong advocate for creating and sustaining a culture of trust, where investing in people is recognised as the most valuable investment an organisation can make.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
Work History
Supervisor
Department of Conservation
10.2024 - Current
- Lead and support the team to deliver agreed work programmes and outcomes.
- Monitor delivery and performance, ensuring progress is logged, recorded, and reported accurately.
- Work collaboratively with Treaty partners to understand and support their aspirations and needs in relation to delivery.
- Engage actively with whānau, hapū, and iwi, fostering strong, culturally safe, and enduring relationships.
- Create and support opportunities for active participation in work programmes.
- Collaborate effectively across DOC teams and contribute meaningfully to cross-functional initiatives.
- Build and maintain effective relationships with key individuals, organisations, and sector stakeholders.
- Represent DOC and coordinate cross-agency initiatives within the area of responsibility.
- Deliver tasks in alignment with work plans, performance expectations, and assignments.
- Identify critical issues and risks, ensuring they are raised constructively and addressed in a timely manner.
- Manage knowledge and information to ensure it is accurate, secure, and accessible under appropriate protocols.
- Actively contribute to DOC’s strong safety culture by following health and safety systems, policies, and practices. guidelines
Kaiarahi Matua
Department of Conservation
07.2022 - Current
- Excellent interpersonal skills with a strong drive for results, demonstrated through building relationships that achieve mutual outcomes.
- Proven ability to quickly learn, apply, and use systems and processes within large business or government environments.
- Solid understanding of the iwi landscape in the Tāmaki region, with the ability to communicate and share this knowledge effectively.
- Demonstrated experience working with iwi, hapū, and whānau, with the ability to build and sustain strong, respectful relationships.
- Supporting the aspirations of our iwi partners.
- Support the operations manager to lead and manage the district’s operational relationship with Ngai Tai ki Tamaki, Ngati Paoa and Ngati Maru.
- Demonstrated the development of new and innovative relationships and partnerships with Treaty Partners.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND GRANTS MANAGER
Ronald McDonald House Charities New Zealand
04.2021 - Current
- The primary purpose of my role is to lead and manage the RMHC New Zealand grants process and applications, increasing conversion of applications, while ensuring RMHC New Zealand’s top of mind with trusts and donors. Increase brand recognition, advocacy and penetration in the cultural grants and philanthropic space, ensuring the effective representation of indigenous Māori and Pacific community organisations.
- Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with key current and prospective funders including Iwi, Community and Cultural Groups, Trusts, Local and Central Government.
- Identify and research new opportunities and initiatives to support RMHC New Zealand’s grant funding and sponsorship opportunities all within the community and corporate networks nationwide.
- Oversee the development and implementation and enhancement of RMHC New Zealand relationships with Māori and Pacific Community organisations in relation to grants and contracts protecting cultural integrity.
- Align business strategy and operations with community operations, including managing funding obligations, targets and team budget.
LIFE SKILLS CONTRACTOR
Auckland City Mission
04.2020 - 04.2021
- Used a case management framework and assessment tools to develop an individual Living & Life Skills support plan in collaboration with the residents. Include a range of interventions, but not limited to Health, nutrition & exercise, hygiene, budgeting & finance, positive parenting, respectful relationships, and real-world budgeting, finances, positive parenting, respectful relationships, and real-world young people’s engagement with support networks, employment/education and with the local community.
- Align MSD contract obligations with Auckland City Missions Life skills programme to increase residents and expected outcomes.
- Clear communication of young people’s living skills support plan to the Hostel Life case managers and ensure that all factors and available service within Auckland City Mission programs are able to support each young person with their living skills goal.
- Fostering an inclusive environment that encourages community engagement and participation. Taking an approach that is accepting and promotes understanding of differing life experiences and encourage connectivity with their own cultural needs.
EMPLOYMENT CASE MANAGER
Poly-Emp Employment and Advisory Service
10.2018 - 04.2020
- The purpose of my role was to work in partnership with the Employment Skills Courses currently facilitated by Unitec and Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) for students that were classified as intellectually disabled and /or lived with complex needs to enter further education, training or employment.
- Build partnerships with our people and support them to navigate their journey to employment. These include pre-employment skill development, confidence building, individualised career planning, facilitating workshops, sourcing potential employment opportunities, building employer relationships and ongoing in work career support.
- Ensuring current contractual requirements are met, as per our agreement with the Ministry of Social Development and identify future opportunities and funding streams in this space that further support our young people.
- Served on the Education Disability Board for Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT), to advocate and raise awareness, shift attitudes and social norms, and provide the right engagement story to our Māori and Pacific communities that highlight their voice as a collective.
- Managed teams that encouraged collaboration and teamwork. Empower the story of success and recognise their value and contributions. Identify strengths and apply these talents to success. Offer opportunities that strengthens their learning and motivates them.
SCHOOL ADVISOR CONTRACTOR
Service IQ
05.2018 - 10.2018
- The main purpose of my contract was to open doors for students to achieve successful outcomes through education, training and employment. I worked with students from low decile schools, hospitality and retail service.
- Bridged the gap between employment expectations and the goals of our young people. Supporting and guiding through the benefits of professional networking to open real employment opportunities.
- Successfully engaged with all Courthouse Store Managers, Z station owners and Jet Park Hotel Group General Manager, in my contracted area, to facilitate students from local secondary schools. Filled positions for the rest of the year school terms.
- Open the programmes to all students of learning abilities and worked with the students to achieve successful outcomes.
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE FIELD AGENT
Ministry of Justice
11.2011 - 10.2018
- Initial primary focus of my role was to have a strategic focus on the collection and enforcement of fines, reparation and child debts in accordance to legislative guidelines to achieve set outcomes. Success in my practice, gave opportunity to evolve my role by becoming a trainer/facilitator.
- Negotiate payment arrangements in compliance with Summary Proceedings Act 1957 managing active warrants, managing prompt payment with minimal risk to meet the key performance indicators.
- An active listener, strong team player and confident communicator, driven with an empathetic but firm approach. The ability to remain focused and deal with difficult issues and in a calm and constructive manner. Able to quickly pick up multiple systems on various platforms, clearly articulate and explain the active warrants and achieve set target.
- Driven by positive customer service and engagement, created opportunities to travel nationally to coach/mentor new recruits, implement operational change and conduct performance assessments.
- Professional development opportunity with the victim advisory team. Developed specialist knowledge, skills and experience to make a major contribution to assisting victims of crime through the court process. Keep victims updated on the progress of their case and help them participate effectively in the Criminal Justice System.
- National recruiter, facilitator and trainer
SENIOR CORRECTIONAL OFFICER
Department of Corrections - Auckland Region Women's Correctional Facility
03.2006 - 11.2011
- My primary role as a Senior Corrections Officer was to manage and influence offenders to make the right choices. The right action at the right time and ensure offenders are not towards an offence-free lifestyle. Focus my team on our mission of, “Rehabilitation & Reintegration”. Utilizing end-to-end case management that empowers and supports the values of change.
- Effectively manage initial assessment and identification of prisoner needs, and develop and enable outstanding safety, and wellbeing outcomes through a people-based continuous improvement operating model of plan, do, learn and improve.
- Served on the ARWCF Māori Womens Committee, with fellow officers, local iwi and kaumatua, offenders and offender whanau to support the development and implement Bianga-based programmes and ensure we had mainstream programmes that were accessible and responsive to Māori.
- Managed by being a mindful leader, to cultivate a culture of consciousness in our units. Demonstrating empathy by being fair and kind—despite differences of opinion, having an open attitude by approaching tough situations—from conversations to decision-making—with an attitude of acceptance. Being grounded kept me present, calm, and self-aware and demonstrating resilience when faced with challenges.
- National recruiter, facilitator and trainer
Education
Diploma, BEST Pacific Institute of Education - Leadership and Management strand
BEST Pacific Institute of Education
01.2010
Bachelor, Te WHARE WANANGA O AWANUIARANGI - Bachelor of Humanities
Te WHARE WANANGA O AWANUIARANGI
01-2023
Skills
- Communication Skills
- Problem-Solving
- Project Management
- Negotiation
- Training and mentoring
- Goal oriented
- Staff management
- Employee motivation
- Staff development
- Team building
- Operations management
- Adaptability
Timeline
Supervisor
Department of Conservation
10.2024 - Current
Kaiarahi Matua
Department of Conservation
07.2022 - Current
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND GRANTS MANAGER
Ronald McDonald House Charities New Zealand
04.2021 - Current
LIFE SKILLS CONTRACTOR
Auckland City Mission
04.2020 - 04.2021
EMPLOYMENT CASE MANAGER
Poly-Emp Employment and Advisory Service
10.2018 - 04.2020
SCHOOL ADVISOR CONTRACTOR
Service IQ
05.2018 - 10.2018
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE FIELD AGENT
Ministry of Justice
11.2011 - 10.2018
SENIOR CORRECTIONAL OFFICER
Department of Corrections - Auckland Region Women's Correctional Facility
03.2006 - 11.2011
Diploma, BEST Pacific Institute of Education - Leadership and Management strand
BEST Pacific Institute of Education
Bachelor, Te WHARE WANANGA O AWANUIARANGI - Bachelor of Humanities
Te WHARE WANANGA O AWANUIARANGI
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