Maryrose Bredhauer

What's your job about?

The Palladium Group is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of positive impact, working with corporations, governments, foundations, investors, communities and civil society to formulate strategies to implement solutions that generate lasting social, environmental and financial benefits. As an Analyst for the Asia-Pacific region, I support:

• The development of new business proposals,
• Project delivery,
• Research and analysis of relevant issues
• The development of Palladium’s knowledge resources

I spend most of my time supporting Business Development by developing and writing proposal templates, outlines and drafts for upcoming government tenders. Given the confidential nature of my work, I am unable to disclose specific details, but I can say that I spend a lot of time researching, reading tender documents, and staying up-to-date with business development opportunities in my region.

What's your background?

I was born in the Philippines, but my family moved to Australia when I was about 3 years old. I grew up in the Western suburbs of Brisbane.

It took me a while to figure out what kind of career I wanted to pursue. I spent quite a few years working in retail until I decided, at 22 years old, that I wanted to study something to do with sustainable development. My time studying my undergraduate at Melbourne Uni was a very formative time for me, as my world view and understanding of global issues broadened and deepened, and I was surrounded by likeminded people who wanted to make positive changes in the world. While I had always had an interest in international development, my passion to work in this sector was strengthened when I spent 2 months living in Nigeria working as an intern for one of Palladium’s (then GRM International) projects, during the summer holidays after completing my first year of my undergraduate studies. This was my first experience of development work ‘in-the-field’, and while I spent most of the time as an observer, often feeling out of my depth given that I only had one year of studies under my belt, it increased my awareness of the complexity of development work and fuelled my desire to learn as much as I could so that I could one day design and implement effective development projects. I was deeply touched by an eye-opening experience I had walking through an informal settlement (slum) in the coastal town of Calabar, an old slave port, which further fuelled my passion to help  disadvantaged populations of the world.

How did you get to your current job position and for how long have you being doing it already?

I have only been in my current position for 2 months now. After completing my Master’s in London, I moved back to Australia and settled in Sydney. At this time, Palladium’s University Professionals (UP) program was still being rolled-out in Australia, but I applied anyway in the hope that a position in the Sydney office might open up in the near future. In the meantime, I got a job working as a PA to the CEO of a health charity. After several months, my application with Palladium was pushed to the next stages, and after completing online abilities assessments and sitting an interview, I was offered my current position.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes of course! While it would of course be beneficial to have qualifications or experience in some form of development work, Palladium values diversity and appreciates the different skills and opinions that people from different backgrounds can bring.

To do my job you need to:

• Be adaptable – embrace and champion change, and use effective strategies to overcome barriers
• Have the ability to think critically – take innovative approaches to problem solving, and be able to identify cause and effect relationships for systematic solution building
• Have great interpersonal skills to foster positive relationships and collaborations with colleagues and clients
• Be self-aware and be able to reflect on your own learning in order to take actions to develop your own capabilities
• Be accountable, take responsibility and driven to deliver results
• Have a sense of business acumen – understand the interdependency of decisions and business drivers, client needs, and docus on delivering value to all stakeholders

What's the coolest thing about your job?

I love that I am working in my industry of interest and passion – international development. I enjoy research and analysis activities the most, as I’m able to use the knowledge and skills I learnt through my studies. I also love the culture of innovation and learning that Palladium has – staff are encouraged to think outside the box and to suggest/contribute towards positive changes within the company as well as within projects.

What are the limitations of your job?

At the moment, as I am in the process of organising a transfer to Palladium’s London office, the tasks that I can be assigned to need to be relatively short-term, and therefore are mostly to do with supporting upcoming bids. While I enjoy this work, I feel that my deeper passions lie with project delivery (design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation). I am hoping to get into a more technical role once in London, preferrably supporting project management activities and/or undertaking technical research.

Pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

If I could go back in time, I would probably tell myself to:

• Get a bit more work experience before undertaking a Master’s degree – I decided to do a Master’s degree after working only one year in international development (as an assistant to Palladium’s Economic Growth practice area in London), as the general consensus amongst most of my colleagues was that you needed a Master’s degree to get anywhere in the highly competitive industry. While I don’t regret doing my Master’s, having a few more years of work experience under my belt beforehand would have been beneficial, as most of the graduate programs or entry-level jobs I wanted to apply for after completing my Master’s required at least 2-3 years of relevant industry experience.
• Find the time to volunteer more – While I did a little bit of volunteering whilst at uni at local soup kitchens for the homeless, I had always wanted to do more but couldn’t seem to find the time. Volunteering is highly valued in the international development industry as it demonstrates a deeper commitment to your work (of helping people) as well as providing you with nuanced understandings of specialised areas as you experience similar issues that the industry is trying to address – poverty, homelessness, community development, etc.