Veena Herron

Coming from Central Queensland, I finished my degree in two and a half years, fast-tracking it so I could graduate mid-year. It was very intentional – I didn’t want to compete for a graduate job at the end of the year like everyone else. It worked and I secured a graduate role with Jacobs, an international engineering consultancy firm. From day one it was very hands on – I was sent down to the Gold Coast to work on a billion-dollar project in my first week! I started in internal communications, before working my way up into a community engagement role that was quite involved. It was an incredibly valuable learning experience for me in terms of stakeholder engagement.

As the project drew to an end, I was ready for a change. I happened to be driving past the Mater Hospitals while in Brisbane for a trip and saw a poster that they had outside of their building. They were opening a new mothers’ hospital building, and the creative was just beautiful—I loved it.

It felt like fate, because a while later a role in their internal communications team popped up. I got in touch immediately and shortly after joined their department as a Marketing Communications Officer. I was there for two years before taking maternity leave to have my daughter. At the end of that year, I decided to extend my leave to live overseas for a year.

When I came back to my role, it had quite naturally evolved, and I ended up working more on corporate communications, which I absolutely loved. I progressed into a senior position and was working on group-wide projects, strategy and executive communication. After being in that role for a few years, I saw an ad for the Communications Manager at Brisbane Girls Grammar School. The role seemed like a perfect fit for me, so I applied. I even remember a few colleagues at the time mentioning they’d seen the ad and actually thought of me. The School offered me the Communications Manager role, which I held for three years, until the Director role became vacant. I have been in the role of Director of Communications and Engagement for about three years (including a period of Acting).

I lead communications, events and engagement, and projects. What I enjoy most is the diversity of the role and the School’s overall commitment to excellence. The School has a very strong academic reputation, but it is something that as a professional department, we also aim for.

There are so many exciting moments, it’s hard to pick one. But one of the first was when I was at Mater, I won a national award for sustainability marketing. That was my first national award, and a project I was really passionate about.

you faced in your career?

Going on maternity leave was a challenging period in my career. Coming back to a role after having two years away—during which time I’d matured and changed as a person—was tricky at first. It was tough for me to reconcile, thinking about the what ifs. The positive was that everything I’d gained in my two years off I could apply to my job, and as a result, I began to work on quite challenging projects and expand my skills. There are always going to be challenges, and the biggest learning for me has been finding a way to leverage them positively—Will this make me better at my job? What can I learn from it? Of course, that perspective often doesn’t come immediately!

What would surprise people about your role?

That I’m not a teacher but I work at a school. I think with Communications, we do try to function behind the scenes, so not everyone understands exactly what it is we do. I know my father had no idea what my job was about!

What skills have served you well throughout your career?

Stakeholder engagement, for sure. Another one is being responsive, but not reactive. Communications and Events can often be high-pressure environments, so having the ability to be calm, and not reactive is really important.