1. Mel Gallagher – Curriculum Vitae
Contact details: M: 0275841061 E: Melissah.Gallagher@justice.govt.nz
Skills and Strengths
A talented leader with 16 years of leadership experience with a proven track record of successfully leading change across a
large scale organisation. Working operationally and strategically across a range of roles to deliver services that are aligned
with the Ministry strategy focussing on delivering the best customer experience possible, driving and embedding change
and achieving key results.
Customer focussed dynamic leader who thrives in a fast paced environment. Passionate about delivering a great customer
experience and focus on continuous improvement to support improved outcomes for the customer and business alike.
My experience and skills are in the following areas:
Summary of work history
Call Services Manager (2013 - present)
National leadership of the Centralised Calling Service (CCS) leading staff across two sites responsible for
delivering front line telephone services for the Ministry nationally on behalf of Higher and District Courts,
Special Jurisdictions and Family Justice.
Project Manager (2008 – 2013)
Lead scoping, schedule development, costing, design, associated benefits and implementation of 5 national
projects. Led the implementation of new service delivery models to ensure robust outcomes for customers and
the business. This included engaging with the Judiciary to obtain their agreement and support nationally.
District Collections Manager roles (2000 – 2008)
Ensuring teams at all sites functioned effectively, meeting both collective and individual performance goals
through appropriate mentoring, coaching and supervision. Provided effective performance management of
direct and indirect reports through clear expectations. Led the development and implementation of new
streamlined processes to ensure robust outcomes for customers and the business. Ensured compliance with
Ministry policy and was a lead in compliance audits nationally for Collections.
More information about these roles and the achievement highlights are included later in this document.

2. Selected Achievement Highlights
 Lead change and influenced culture change for the telephone channel across the Ministry. Ensuring
ministry leaders were ‘change ready’ and capable of leading large scale change with their teams as we
moved to our new telephone service delivery model. With a focus on making it easy for customers to
access justice and getting the right information the first time.
 Led a cross Ministry group including judicial media advisors, senior communications advisors, national
business managers to respond to media complaints about access to information in a timely manner. The
resulting solutions designed took advantage of using CCS telephone channel and its strength in being able
to give consistent quality information has eliminated complaints.
 Led the CPU internal exercise – with a focus on satisfying the judiciary, robust consistent national
processes were in place in the CPU for services they deliver on behalf of Higher and District Courts and
Special Jurisdictions, as well as delivering a CPU knowledge base as a single source of process information
for staff to use. This involved working closely with the Deputy Secretary to clarify scope and agree outputs.
It also involved obtaining agreement from the wider business units (HC, DC & SJ) that CPU are experts in
centralised processes and will own their processes.
 Redesign the operating rhythm of the CCS business line nationally, including communications strategy,
embedding coaching and quality, knowledge base enhancements all aligned to improving the customer
experience.
 Design and implementation of new quality standards nationally, alignment with new performance
development plans setting clear goals with the associated behaviours aligned with Ministry’s strategy,
vision and values and linking to coaching for high performance.
 Led design and implementation of new national jury administration team, national support services
model and national technical advisors for District Courts. With a focus on increased efficiency and
effectiveness and associated savings.
 Mentored and coached front line people leaders enabling them to lead front line staff to deliver high
standards of consistent customer service (quality quickly) in line with the national delivery model.
 Led the development and implementation of standard induction and training which focussed on having
new staff ‘ready to complete their full role’ on day one. Ensuring the new staff understood where they fit
in the wider Ministry and how their role contributes to justice services.
Professional experience – Ministry of Justice
Call Services Manager
(2013 – present)
National leadership of the Centralised Calling Service (CCS) leading staff across two sites responsible for delivering front line telephone services
for the Ministry nationally on behalf of Higher and District Courts, Special Jurisdictions and Family Justice. Accountable for the development and
delivery of the CCS work plan, ensuring outcomes are consistent with Collections national practices (where applicable) and the Ministry Strategy.
Working both operationally and strategically, providing leadership to front line people leaders and service design.
Facilitation of a work environment that is focussed on delivery of ‘quality services quickly’. Implementing wider Ministry initiatives into CCS.
Ensuring teams at all sites functioned effectively and met both collective and individual performance goals through appropriate mentoring and
coaching and supervision. Provide effective performance management of direct and indirect reports through clear expectations.
National Leadership, Strategic Vision and Customer Focus
Driving a customer focussed service culture at the front line and ensuring the customer is front of mind in the development of customer
processes, knowledge base content and training material development; working together with CCS and wider Collections, Courts and Special
Jurisdictions team to better serve our customer. Ongoing focus on service delivery and moved the service from consistently not performing to
consistently delivering an improved customer experience.

3. Led the alignment of CCS with the new Collections operating model while ensuring delivery to customers was protected. This involved change
leadership and communication with key stakeholders (internal and external) to ensure a smooth transition.
Actively working collaboratively with a range of leaders from multiple service lines across the Ministry with a focus on delivering customer
focussed end to end services.
Designed and facilitated national leadership forum for CCS to ensure alignment with the direction and focus in the CCS work plan, Collections
and Ministry strategies and plans. Designed and facilitated national leadership forum for CCS and the Centralised Processing Unit to improve
connections, understand the co-dependency on each other, and identify opportunities to improve information flow and our customers’
experience.
Led CCS through 3 months of business continuity post the Wellington earthquake, with a focus on our people, our customer (having information
immediately for customers in the Wellington area about their matters to give assurance) and our business. Led the creation of a new operating
rhythm for our people, keeping our people connected as they were dispersed across multiple sites, focussed on keeping our customers informed
and the wider service lines across the Ministry. At the same time working with property and ICT to provision a new site. Change leadership to
transition staff to the new site and return to business as usual.
Service Innovation
Led the design and implementation into CCS:
 The Ministry’s new ‘Family Justice Service’ specifically the new national 0800 number. This involved working with Policy and Design to
ensure design work in CCS aligned with the other parts of the new service delivery model. Leading change within CCS to ensure staff
were ready to deliver this new customer channel.
 The Ministry’s new text messaging initiative in criminal and disputes jurisdictions where customers receive text reminders of
upcoming hearings. This involved change leadership with staff who were for the first time going to enter information into CMS.
 A new Ministry wide customer email channel for customers to interact with the Ministry. This involved design of the service and
associated adjustments to CCS operating model as well as leading the change both internally in CCS and more widely across Collections
and the Ministry to ensure understanding of how CCS would deliver this work.
Identified, led design and implementation of:
 New quality standards and system into CCS, supported by ongoing quality evaluations of individual staff performance aligning the
outcomes to regular staff coaching sessions and performance development plan. This has resulted in an improved customer experience
and staff with clear development plans.
Delivery of Operational Services and Drive Performance
Accomplished higher levels of engagement through open two way communication, coaching, training, introduction of skip level meetings and
working with individuals on specific goals to broaden their skills, knowledge and ability to look across more when making decisions. This resulted
in CCS having one of the highest engagement results in the Ministry and being invited by the National Manager, Special Jurisdictions to share our
CCS story with their people.
Improved the focus on our customer experience through regular 1:1’s, training and team huddles with targeted agendas which has resulted in a
culture shift of “customers are entitled to the best we can possibly given them” embedded in peoples thinking and approach to their work.
Team Leadership
Designed performance development plans for staff, setting goal statements, specifying critical behaviours and linked to Ministry’s strategy,
mission and vision.
Used the contact centre technology systems and information data to drive workflow nationally.
Used performance metrics, information gathered from skip level meetings and observations as coaching opportunities to build capability and
improve performance.
Created a sense of national unity, actively connected CCS with the national collections team as previously had been somewhat of a ‘hanger on’
through effective conversations and story telling the wider team understand CCS role and contribution.
Wider contribution to Collections and the Ministry
Led and sponsored a project to develop and implement a national process for the whole of Ministry of Justice to ‘effectively manage risk callers’
(those who were threatening to harm others or themselves). This involved me leading the development of a new design and engaging with and
leading senior managers across the organisation to agree to the proposed process and provide their visible support in implementing the process.
Developed the national communication strategy to support the implementation. The process is now in place and observations within CCS and
feedback from the wider Ministry confirms the process is successfully delivering improved management of risk callers.

4. Led the CPU internal exercise – with a focus on satisfying the judiciary robust processes were in place in the CPU for services they deliver on
behalf of Higher & District Courts and Special Jurisdictions as well as delivering a CPU knowledge base as a single source of process information
for staff to use. This involved working closely with the Deputy Secretary to clarify scope and agree outputs. It also involved obtaining agreement
from the wider business units (HC, DC & SJ) that CPU are experts in centralised processes and will own their processes. The outcomes included:
 A registry of all processes the CPU is accountable for.
 The judiciary endorsing the processes being used by the CPU.
 A comprehensive knowledge base to support one standardised process.
 A post implementation survey confirmed 84% of CPU staff said they can easily find information in the knowledge base and 96% say the
information is easy to read and understand.
A SME on knowledge base design, development and implementation, regularly sought out by others working in this space seeking my
experience. Was asked to scope ‘fixing’ the Collections knowledge base. I provided a range of options for Collections Senior Leadership team to
consider which included creating the opportunity to up skill our own people to ensure the ongoing maintenance of the knowledge base in BAU.
Project Manager
(2008 – 2013)
Lead scoping, schedule development, costing, design, associated benefits and implementation of 5 national projects. Led the development and
implementation of new service delivery models to ensure robust outcomes for customers and the business.
Centralised Services Projects
Transforming Court and Tribunal
Services Programme
Regional Services Delivery Project
Ministry of Justice
Auckland
Three work streams:
 National Call Centre for Courts and Tribunals
 National Jury Administration Processing
 National Support Services Model
Call Centre for greater Auckland Courts and
Tribunals
 Expansion to high volume courts nationally
 Introduction of High Court to the service
 Urgent resolution for telephone calls post the
Christchurch earthquake
Service Innovation
Led scoping a range of opportunities and associated benefits. Led the development of a proposal and subsequent successful implementation of
the Centralised Calling Service, the introduction of a call centre to manage front line customer enquiries for Higher and District Courts and Special
Jurisdictions.
This involved national change leadership to move to a new national service delivery model for telephone to deliver an improved customer
experience and associated benefits - remove work from courthouses and tribunals to allow staff in courthouses and tribunals to focus on core
activities of case management and contributing to improved time frames for outcomes for customers.
This required ‘making the case for change’ and obtaining the associated funding to Senior Managers across the Ministry.
Change leadership
National leadership of change to support a smooth transition to the new operating model. The approach involved using the strategies below to
support a successful change:
 Communication - telling a compelling story for change and creating two way dialogs.
 Alignment with the Ministry vision, strategy and values.
 Involve our people in the design.
 Focus on culture – what needed to move to effect the change we needed?
 Visualise the change for our people – What will new look like? How will that impact me?
 Setting goals for the new service and openly sharing outcomes with people.
 Align performance management to support the new model.
 Lookout for inconsistencies and address these promptly.
Led effective engagement with key stakeholders (e.g., Deputy Secretaries, General Managers, National Operational & Front line Managers and
the Judiciary) throughout the project, identifying the stakeholders, interest and influence and designing engagement to deliver positive outcomes
and seek support of stakeholders for the change.
Service Design
Nationally led design workshops with representatives from across the business, ensuring that robust design methodologies were applied and
process design principles were developed. Testing all outputs against the principles to ensure ‘best possible design outcomes’ were achieved.

5. Drive performance and delivery
Used project management tools to maintain an ongoing focus on project plan and timeline to ensure the project met the required schedule and
budget.
Led the development of robust design principles and quality process to ensure robust design solutions were delivered. Used the outputs from
the quality assessments of design work to inform feedback and coaching for project team members.
District Collections Manager roles
Ensuring teams at all sites functioned effectively and met both collective and individual performance goals through appropriate mentoring
and coaching and supervision. Provided effective performance management of direct reports and indirect reports through clear
expectations. Led the development and implementation of new streamlined processes to ensure robust outcomes for customers and the
business. Ensured compliance with Ministry policy and was a lead in compliance audits nationally for Collections.
2004-2005
District Collections Manager
Counties Manukau
(Manukau, Papakura and Pukekohe)
2000 – 2008
District Collections Manager
South Auckland Collections
Manukau
Leading staff across two sites to deliver services in three
areas.
Leading staff on one site delivering services for South Auckland and
ultimately Whangarei and Northland
Strategic Vision and Leadership
Led the implementation of a new operating model across 3 sites and delivering the required benefits. This involved change leadership
and communication with key stakeholders (internal and external) to ensure a smooth transition.
Service Innovation
Centralised fines enforcement for greater South Auckland as well as Whangarei and Northland areas into Manukau unit, which was later
adopted as a centralised national model for the Ministry.
Led a project / sponsor to develop and implement a standard approach to fines enforcement to make fines a credible sentence and
deliver cash collection targets for Northern Region, the approach was subsequently adopted nationally.
Led the design and implementation of a new national process and focus for managing collection of reparation resulting in victims
receiving money owed to them more quickly.
Led the stakeholder engagement and process design across government departments (Customs, Police and Immigration) during the
development of Collections of fines and reparation at airports. Led the implementation of this initiative at the largest international airport
in New Zealand.
Drive performance
Increased fines cash collected from $527k per month to $1.8M.
Created an agile workforce who could complete all tasks required in Collections (previous specialisation focus) therefore ensuring the
business could deliver all requirements regardless if staff took leave.
Developed and maintained effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders and facilitated joint initiatives /
publicity / enforcement campaigns with Police, MSD, Manukau, Papakura and Franklin District Councils. National stakeholder manager for
Collections with MSD.
Effective engagement with the judiciary to ensure workflow between Collections and the judiciary flowed smoothly in a timely manner.

6. Development
 360 leadership course – Ministry of Justice
 Coaching for performance – Stand Out Leadership
 Prince 2 Project Manager Practitioner – CC Learning
 ‘Leadership and Motivation’ - Dr. Lester Levy at Auckland University Business School
 Building Better Business Cases – The Enterprise Group / Arrowhead
 Insightful Manager – Ministry of Justice
 Dealing With unacceptable Employee Behaviour - SkillPath Training, Auckland
 Media Training - Cabix Communications
 Interviewing techniques – Kelly Services
 Managing Misconduct – Ministry of Justice
 Managing Poor Performance – Ministry of Justice
 Developing Effective Mentoring Relationships – New Zealand Mentoring Centre
 The Insightful Manager – Thought Partners
 Systems Thinking – New Zealand Institute of Management
 Time and Stress Management – Ministry of Justice
Extra Information
 I am a supporter of Riding for the Disabled, Autism New Zealand and the SPCA.
 I enjoy cooking, gardening, craft activity and reading.
 Full Drivers Licence
 NZ Citizen
References
 Jacquelyn Shannon, General Manager, mobile 027 7428991
email: Jacquelyn.Shannon@justice.govt.nz
 Shelley Hemi (current manager), Centralised Service Delivery Manager, mobile 027 2176326
email: Shelley.Hemi@justice.govt.nz