Lily Galway

Pact Group is a leading service provider for people with intellectual disabilities, and people experiencing or recovering from mental illness.

I manage a forensic mental health residential service. I am the line manager for five Support Workers. Together, we support individuals to transition from a ward environment to a residential service, with an ultimate goal of community reintegration. I am also a part of the companies' on-call team, providing remote support to support staff based in services across the country.

As a Service Manager, key aspects of my role include:

• Coordinating the delivery of day-to-day services to clients in a cost-effective and efficient manner, while ensuring contractual obligations are met. This also involves front-line duties of caring for the people we support.
• Demonstrating organisational leadership through role modeling, inspiring a shared vision, and challenging staff to try out new and innovative ways to do their work, while working within policies and procedures.
• Developing and coordinating the implementation of client plans, including working collaboratively with others to deliver on specified client goals.
• Service development and quality assurance. This involves ensuring that workplace policies and procedures are adhered to, and collaborating with others to identify workplace development and training opportunities.
• Building and maintaining effective relationships with clients, their whanau, support staff, managers, and external stakeholders.
• Recruitment and training of new staff.
• Managing the performance of support staff. This includes demonstrating confidence in their abilities, celebrating their accomplishments, and facilitating development and learning.
• Risk and behavior management.

When I first started working for Pact group, I was employed as a Community Support Worker. I started working in residential service with individuals with intellectual disabilities. I later took on the role of a Permanent-Flexible Community Support Worker. This role entailed working full-time across all Dunedin mental health services, with no fixed roster. I was primarily covering for staff who were on leave or open vacancies. Given that Pact has a variety of mental health services, each serving individuals with different needs, this role was extremely varied. Key aspects of this role included:

• Supporting individuals with activities of daily living, including tending to personal hygiene, medication, and appointments.
• Monitoring client progress and reporting changes to the team.
• Maintaining accurate records of client interactions and services provided.
• Providing emotional support and encouragement.
• Assisting clients in developing life skills and independent living abilities.
• Developing positive relationships with clients while maintaining professional boundaries.
• Developing individualized plans for clients and monitored progress towards goals.

Parcels Restaurant is located within the prestigious Distinction Hotel. Key aspects of my role included:

• Working mix of breakfast, dinner and split shifts.
• Taking orders, preparing and serving beverages and clearing tables. I also maintained a presence throughout meals to assist guests with additional food and beverage requests.
• Managing settings, including the arrangement of cutlery and glassware.

Acquisitions is chain gift store with multiple locations throughout New Zealand. Key aspects of my role included:

• Organising merchandise displays to enhance product visibility and accessibility.
• Processing transactions using cash registers, credit card machine and a POS system.
• Managing inventory levels by restocking shelves.
• Assisting customers with product selection, answering queries and providing advice.