Laura Close

from Graduate Management Trainee (McDonald's) to Director, Digital Economy Program Office

I lead the team that oversees the delivery of Queensland's Digital Economy Strategy, ensuring projects are set up for success

Industry

Technology and Digital

Company

Department of Customer Services, Open Data and Small and Family Business

Job Level

Senior

Ask me about

Working in a digital role without being technically minded
The importance of transferrable skills
Moving across the world, to a place where I knew no one
How to manage the work/personal life juggle

About me

International Experience

I was brought up in a household with a French dad and Scottish mum and was always interested in the European Union, which I ended up studying at university. While I was at uni, I joined a graduate management training program and ran a McDonald’s restaurant for 2 years. I was more interested in public service so, when I saw a role with the European Commission come up I applied and ended up working as a media and political reporting officer.

My husband and I decided to move to Australia for “an adventure” and I joined Queensland Government in a contact centre, then landed a 4-week secondment supporting the Director of the project management team. That short-term move turned into 5 years and eventually led to moving to other government departments to work on larger scale digital project teams.

I moved into a leadership role once my children were both in school. I love empowering my teams and helping them to grow and learn. I want each person in my team to know there are no silly questions, and that they can suggest new ways of doing things and working together to achieve the goals we have set together. I am the least technical person out there, so it’s hilarious that I now work in IT. But the most important part of my role is the relationships with the subject matter experts.

About my role

Flexible
Observant
Optimistic
Trusting
Understanding

My team aims to improve delivery outcomes for the initiatives being delivered as part of the digital economy strategy action plan. We are responsible for tracking the delivery of initiatives and outcomes of the projects, and ensuring they are aligned to evolving digital technology and the needs of Queenslanders. We provide people with support in methodologies and frameworks. We look at performance and benefit identification and measurement - to ensure that projects are delivery quality investment outcomes. We also manage the program governance and provide reporting on progress and their contributions to Queensland's strategic priorities.

Master of Arts (MA Hons) in European Union Studies and French
Certificate IV in Project Management
Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices (P3O®) Practitioner Certification

Subjects

Biology
English
General Mathematics (Maths A)
Languages
Legal Studies

Awards

Awards for politics (modern studies) and languages

Hobbies

Beach adventures
Cooking
Reading
Running
Volunteering

Pets

2 Dog

15 year old me!!

“It's ok to not know what you want to be when you grow up. And it's ok to not have all the answers - no one else has them all either even if it seems like they do! Nothing is permanent and if the path isn't working for you, choose another fork in the road and see where it takes you!”

My career journey

Curious to know how I got here? Here’s a snapshot of my career pathway.

Left uni and ran a McDonald's restaurant
Landed a role with the European Commission
Moved to Australia from Scotland
Joined Queensland Government
Initially joined the IT project team for a 4-week contract, which evolved into a 5-years

My typical day

My employer

The Department of Customer Services, Open Data and Small and Family Business leads and drives a more digitally enabled and responsive government, while facilitating simple and effective access to services for all Queenslanders. We provide digital, strategic and service delivery leadership and capability to enable more responsive services across the Queensland Government.