Fiona specialises in the optimisation and alignment of shared value, corporate social responsibility and social licence for large-scale (mega) projects with a focus on jobs decision-making.
Historically, jobs decision-making for large-scale mining and oil and gas (resource) projects has failed to give sufficient weight to the project’s social context. Fiona's thesis investigates why this is the case, presents the business rationale for institutionalising fuller consideration of the social context in jobs decision-making, and explores the practicalities of how this can be achieved. The study used a grounded theory methodology, informed by institutional theory, and drew on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with industry practitioners and a case study from Papua New Guinea. The thesis presents a ‘Towards Best Practice Framework’ for improving company practice that companies can customise and use from the project design phase onwards.
Fiona has 20 years’ mining industry, government and consulting social performance leadership experience in Australia, Papua New Guinea, the South Pacific, South-East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. She specialises in the establishment of strategies to realise shared value from resource projects as well as building governance frameworks to deliver corporate social responsibility and social licence expectations. In a recent role, Fiona led the social performance function for a tier one mining company in Queensland, Australia and was responsible for community and indigenous relations, human rights, sustainability, risk and assurance, community development and public policy and managed a AUD 20 million annual budget.
Industry
Practical experience in permanent company roles for tier one and mid-tier resource companies as well as consulting to international development organisations, complemented by positions in state and local government.