Acciona is a global leader in the construction, development and management of infrastructure, water and renewable energy projects. My role within Acciona involves assisting with a range of human resource generalist activities whilst also providing HR advice and support to divisional managers and staff.
A typical working day usually involves bouncing off emails with colleagues/ managers, supporting the administrative side of recruitment activities undertaken by our Recruitment Lead and using our HR system, Workday, to complete general HR administrative tasks. Other days may include meetings around a youth engagement strategy and the formulation of spreadsheets to analyse aspects of the business including the uptake of flexible working arrangements and other strategic tasks ACCIONA wants to improve and focus on. Every day/week is different as I adapt to what is required from managers, colleagues and my team.
During the week, I also visit and work from one of our project sites/ offices including Westconnex and Western Sydney Airport. This is a great opportunity to see the project works and interact with the ACCIONA team working on the project.
From an industry perspective, once I had completed University, I started applying for graduate roles in various industries which did not include construction. Excited to start my career, I just didn’t know much about the construction industry or how HR performs its role in it. Now that I have entered construction, I continually advocate for people in different industries to join whether that be in a functional role or as a career change performing the actual construction works. An example of this is where we’ve had a former physio join the safety team in an injury management and well-being role. The role won’t necessarily be as ‘hands-on’ in terms of treatment style but rather the ‘hands-on’ nature comes from overseeing the management and implementation of employee wellbeing and injury management initiatives, processes, and procedures across ACCIONA. This will be something new and different for the successful applicant but shows that skills can be transferrable to different roles within construction!
I was born and raised in Wollongong, New South Wales. During high school, I quickly started to know how much I enjoyed business/ legal studies which led me quickly to decide to do a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Wollongong, majoring in HR and minoring in Business Law.
One of the most enjoyable parts of my university experience was when I had the opportunity to travel to Singapore and Malaysia for one of my university subjects. It was here where I was able to engage with industry professionals and complete seminars which provided a newfound understanding of the commercial operating environment in each country which was engaging and insightful.
After completing University, I was fortunate enough to gain a HR Coordinator job at a large hospitality venue on the South Coast. I was supported and mentored greatly by the senior leadership there who taught me the foundations of job management and how to deal with HR specific tasks. I loved my time there but always knew I wanted to move my career to Sydney and continue to progress. This led me to apply for various graduate roles and after a phone screen, interview and psychometric testing, I was fortunate enough to join the ACCIONA Graduate Program in January 2022!
Absolutely! Whilst my university degree and the supporting literature that was required to complete my degree was extremely valuable, teaching me many skills which I can bring to the workplace,
HR itself isn’t solved and managed through copious amounts of reading. HR is about building relationships, empowering leaders, and supporting people physically, mentally, and emotionally to be able to succeed in a safe work environment. HR involves administrative tasks, strategic solutions but most importantly an open communication style where you can balance both the organisation’s interests with employees. If this sounds like something you would enjoy, then HR may be the career for you!
My favourite thing about my job is my team. My team have all come from a construction/mining background so for me to enter a new industry they can impart their learnt experience and advice to me. I am also able to work with people like Emma Hassett who continues to drive change in the diversity and inclusion space within the construction industry particularly around encouraging more females to enter the industry. I really enjoy working on the strategy side and being able to speak with Emma and work on a strategic plan around how ACCIONA can attract, develop, and retain people particularly youth is pretty cool.
Another ‘cool’ part of being in construction is that the industry possesses a ‘winning’ mentality. To be able to win a 2-billion-dollar project you must bid/tender and hope that the 24 + weeks the bid team have formulated the winning plan for the projected works. I am also surrounded by incredibly intelligent people who can visualise and construct e.g a 2-billion-dollar tunnel that will benefit the way people travel in Sydney.
I believe my responsibility will grow as I continue to also grow and develop in my role/career. Fortunately, as I am in the Corporate Office, I don’t have to work weekends but understand this may be a requirement for employees on project sites.
Hours can be quite long in the construction industry, but there are flexible working arrangements that help maintain a work-life balance.