111. Portfolio career: An alternative path to C-level jobs - with Julia Cookson.

career advancement career planning immigration & ex-pats job hunting leadership portfolio career women's career Dec 06, 2021
The Job Hunting Podcast Episode 111

 

Julia Cookson has extensive experience in health and community support services, having worked in the broader sector for over 18 years.  She began her executive career in a national genomics facility at an exciting point in time when next-gen technology reshaped medical discovery.  It was this experience that sparked her passion for health services. Since she has held Executive roles in NFPs across aged and disability care,  mental health, and family violence, leading their transformation through the raft of reforms. She has represented aged care businesses at the Royal Commission and been intimately involved in the Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce and senate inquiries into Family Violence. 

Julia has always been ambitious for her career and deliberately looked for ways to expand her HR expertise to become CEO-ready. This is how she landed in the land of interim executive roles.

Through a mix of interim executive assignments and permanent roles, consultancy, board, and advisory positions, she has expanded her expertise to include Governance, Strategy, Finance, Risk, Brand, and Digital to diversify her knowledge base. With her contacts and with the help of brokers such as Donna Burr, she deliberately moves between interim executive work and permanent executive roles. She combines this with other revenue streams in her portfolio, including non-executive directorships and Advisory work

While interim assignments have broadened Julia’s network and exposed her to new ways of thinking and different sectors, permanent roles allow her to consolidate her know-how in a specific sector. 

Listen to this episode to learn what made Julia start her portfolio career, how she gets interim management jobs and other income-generating opportunities, and her advice for executives willing to give it a go.

Timestamps:

00:53 - Julia’s unusual and unique strengths

10:06 - What made Julia start her portfolio career

16:56 - How Julia gets interim management jobs and other income-generating opportunities

21:47 - Julia’s advice for executives willing to try a portfolio career?

35:19 - What’s next for Julia?

Links Mentioned

About our Guest

Julia has extensive experience in health and community support services, having worked in the broader sector for 18+ years.  She began her executive career in a national genomics facility at an exciting point in time when next-gen technology reshaped medical discovery.  It was this experience that sparked her passion for health services. Since she has held Executive roles in NFPs across aged and disability care,  mental health, and family violence, leading their transformation through the raft of reforms, she has represented aged care businesses at the Royal Commission and been intimately involved in the Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce and senate inquiries into Family Violence.  Julia became a Director on Lorne Community Health’s Board during a period of rapid growth in that business and is now Chair of Finance and Audit for Connect Health. Her early career as an HR specialist focused on guiding the people side of large-scale programs repositioning businesses. She always had her eye on becoming a CEO and so has deliberately sought ways to expand her expertise to become CEO-ready: Governance, Strategy,  Finance, Risk, brand, and digital to diversify her knowledge base to shape the customer experience, business improvement, and growth strategies. She deliberately moves between interim executive work and permanent executive roles and combines this with other revenue streams in her portfolio; Directorships and Advisory work. Interim assignments broaden her networks and exposure to new ways of thinking in different sectors, and permanent roles allow her to consolidate her know-how into a sector. She deliberately looks for organizations with complex problems to solve in disruptive markets and lots of ambiguity. The different streams of her portfolio give her exposure to businesses at various stages in their growth cycle and business maturity, from scaling up to ensuring sustainability and a pathway to recovery where funding is reduced. This is truly a 360-degree perspective.

She is passionate about strengthening the organizations she works with, ensuring the voice of the customer is heard at the Board level. Her inclusive style shapes the decision-making process, improves innovation, and enables the creation of a healthy and purposeful culture.

Julia’s LinkedIn profile

Are you new to The Job Hunting Podcast? 

Hello, I’m Renata Bernarde, the Host of The Job Hunting Podcast. I’m also an executive coach, job hunting expert, and career strategist. I teach corporate, non-profit, and public professionals the steps and frameworks to help them find great jobs, change, and advance their careers with confidence and less stress. 

If you are 1) an ambitious professional who is keen to develop a robust career plan, 2) looking to find your next job or promotion, or 3) you want to keep a finger on the pulse of the job market so that when you are ready, and an opportunity arises, you can hit the ground running – then this podcast is for you. In addition to The Job Hunting Podcast, I have developed a range of courses and services for professionals in career or job transition. And, of course, I also coach private clients. 

So there is no excuse – I’m determined to help you! I want you to feel empowered, nail your next job, and have the career you want.

Enjoy the episode, and ciao for now!

 

Renata Bernarde | Job Hunting Expert

[email protected]

www.renatabernarde.com

I cannot recommend it highly enough.

To my friends and colleagues who are currently job hunting, this podcast is for you. Renata Bernarde and her stellar line up of guests very generously share their perspective, advice, behind-the-scene secrets, tips, and anecdotes. "It's called The Job Hunting Podcast (it is what it says on the tin!) Guests include Anita Ziemer, Michelle Redfern, Mohit Bhargava. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Run. Don't Walk." - LinkedIn post shared by Amber Knight.

We listened, and we both got jobs!

"I am writing to let you know that I got a job. I found The Job Hunting Podcast because a friend of mine recommended it, and he also was successful in his job search. Your podcast tips and chats with guests helped me prepare for my job interview. My new position is a gateway to the organization and will allow me to grow as a professional. Thank you for the incredible work you do! We listened to your episodes and assimilated all the learnings." - Listener from New Zealand.

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