Rebecca Veness: On breaking the mould

The start of a non-linear career

Growing up in a small Australian country town, Rebecca Veness wasn’t sure what she wanted to do when she grew up. Unlike other students in her high school year, she remembers not really fitting into a neat box.

“I'm not good at one particular thing, but I like to do lots of things and do them well.”

During high school, Rebecca discovered that she was both intellectual and athletic.

“They had awards at my school in year 12 that recognised students for being the best at science for instance, and I won the Shalhoub Prize, which was given to the person in that year group who was equally good at academics and sport.”

Despite her talents in AFL, hockey, and academic pursuits, Rebecca was at a loss about her future.

“My younger sister was hell-bent on veterinary studies. When I finished high school, I still didn't know what I wanted to do. But I really liked geography; that was my favourite subject.”

With firm encouragement from her mum, soon Rebecca found herself enrolled in a Bachelor of Environmental Management and headed to Sydney – but it didn’t turn out to be what she expected.  

“I just picked a degree that I thought sounded like geography. But I didn't really love it, and I wanted to drop out in my final year. I remember calling my mum and saying, ‘I can't do this anymore’. And she pulled out the old, ‘Rebecca Jane, you will do this. You're so far through this, you're not dropping out now’”. 

The country girl who made her mark in the big smoke

Not long after graduation, armed with a shiny new degree, Rebecca found herself in the nation’s capital in search of a job.

“At this stage, I had not worked in the corporate world. I worked casually in hospitality through university, and I thought, it was time for a grown-up job. In Canberra, there are an abundance of graduate jobs and so I started applying.” 

Rebecca’s first foray into the employment market was with the Department of Defence, stepping inside their environment team and it was a steep learning curve.

“I did my first rotation in the environment branch. Having studied a Bachelor of Environmental Management, everyone assumes that you want to work on environmental matters, whereas I discovered it wasn't really my cup of tea,” she recalls.   

“I don't really have a background in contamination, and I found myself writing reports and investigating contamination from munitions on Navy ships in the 1980s. I felt so lost.”

But little did Rebecca know that her life was about to change, all thanks to an astute mentor who suggested changing her next rotation to facilities infrastructure, still within Defence. 

“During my second rotation I stepped into one of the biggest Defence infrastructure projects at the time, which was to develop and deliver the facilities to support the new Joint Strike Fighter – they were the new jets that the Air Force had brought. This was around 2009, and I ended up staying in that role for almost three years, learning and absorbing everything that I could.”

Rebecca was involved in the procurement and design of facilities across 11 RAAF sites around Australia. This project required extensive stakeholder engagement and consultation both within and external to Defence, including the Department of the Environment and Energy, Directorate of Estate Engineering Policy, Capability and Sustainment Group and the Air Force Headquarters. 

Learning to adapt like a chameleon

The chameleon is a magical lizard hailing from Africa and Madagascar, which is renowned for being able to change skin colour and adapt to its background. Like its clever namesake, Rebecca too learnt to quickly adapt to a swiftly changing environment in the early days of her career, which enabled her to pick up multiple specialities.

“I was literally thrown in the deep end. But it really suited me because it gave me the opportunity to do a lot of different things and gave me exposure to design reports, procurement, contract management and risk management. These are things that you don't necessarily learn by studying,” she explains. 

Since taking the plunge, Rebecca has worked across multiple Defence projects including being embedded as the Project Manager Contract Administrator (PMCA) for the Defence Foam Transformation Agenda and the Defence Terrestrial Communications Network Facilities Project. The latter involved upgrades to ICT facilities and communications infrastructure at 294 sites around Australia. 

Rebecca’s project management experience also extends to government, infrastructure, aviation, and industrial roles and projects. One of those roles saw her spend three years working with an international design team delivering the Space Surveillance Telescope enclosure in Exmouth, Western Australia.  

Most recently, Rebecca has embraced another challenge in her career which has seen her step into the rich and colourful world of one of Australia’s most iconic art galleries, the National Gallery of Australia (NGA).

Art versus science

Since 2021, Rebecca has been the Project Director for the National Gallery of Australia’s Capital Works Program Management Office (PMO). As the conduit between RPS and the NGA, she’s been helping the Gallery triage and deliver a program of capital works intended to improve the much-loved cultural institution.

In this role, she’s played a vital part in establishing new systems and processes, while also improving existing ones and has led her team to provide the Gallery with a solid foundation of best-practice guidance for project planning and delivery for years to come. 

When Rebecca first walked through the renowned corridors of the Gallery, she couldn’t quite believe she would be working inside a building that was designed to be an expression of Australia’s national character.  

The NGA is a bold combination of the sculptural and the functional, and each day spent within those walls continues to be a pinch me moment for her.   

“If I need a break from my work, I can literally walk downstairs and walk to a gallery that holds a billion dollars’ worth of art and just sit there for five minutes and have a break. It’s such a unique experience. Not many people can do that in their day-to-day job.” 

“Even though I don't always take the time to appreciate it, when I do reflect on it, that's a pretty fun part of my current job,” she adds. 

Charting a new frontier

Venturing into this new art world initially left Rebecca feeling outside of her comfort zone. When she casts her mind back to her last real encounter with artistic creations it takes her all the way back to her early childhood.

“I was a pretty creative kid and loved to find ways to express myself. I loved to paint and draw, and often wondered if this was what I wanted to do when I grew up. I once even tried to sell our neighbour one of my paintings for $2, which in the early 90s felt like a million bucks.”

But Rebecca’s art ambitions as an artist were halted when her mum pulled her out of art class, insisting that she was simply ruining too many school uniforms with her ambitious painting endeavours.  

While Rebecca cut her teeth as a project manager working on Defence projects for over a decade, and managed complex projects, like runway upgrades and base redevelopments, this was a whole new experience.

“The first thing I noticed was the immediate language barrier. I didn’t speak art, and the gallery didn’t speak project management. However, I was able to draw on 15 years of project management experience working across various industries and projects to build us a successful path forward in delivering the Gallery’s ambitious program of capital works.”

“Unlike my previous role at Defence, where projects might involve closing a runway or taking a fleet of vehicles offline for months at a time, at the Gallery we were now having to navigate our work around the millions of people who visit, in a building that is open to the public 364 days a year.”

A day in the life of a project director

When asked to describe a typical day as a project director, Rebecca insists, ‘it’s impossible to do.”

“There are no two days that are the same; you just have to be flexible, be adaptable, be prepared for anything, and be a problem-solver. For instance, in my role at the Gallery, I might be told that we’ve got a VIP coming tomorrow and that we need to vacate our work site at short notice to provide a travel path and we just have to adapt to those sorts of requests.” 

“Generally, our day-to-day job is very much administrative based, but there's all those other things that go on top of that; the coordination, the relationships, the planning for strange and unusual requests such as accommodating a visit from the Australian Prime Minister. Or you might have a safety concern and you have to reprioritise your whole day to address and manage that.” 

Rebecca says the sorts of challenges that she deals with daily aren’t necessarily about art, just like they weren’t always about national security when she was working with Defence. 

“There are additional layers of complexity when working on Defence projects, especially security projects. More and more IT projects have that kind of security overlay, meaning projects are becoming more and more complex. But at RPS, we do it really well.” 

“We have a lot of experience within our team, and we're very good at sharing our knowledge and experience, so that we’re not having to start from scratch every time.” 

According to Rebecca, one of the main differentiators between working for Defence and working for the Gallery is the level of investment. 

“The funding pipeline for Defence is very different. They have certainty on their infrastructure pipeline, and they are one of the biggest recipients of funding from the Australian government – so you can do long-term planning. Whereas the arts sector is often under-invested in, especially depending on who the government of the day is, which means that you are much more reactive in the art space.”

“I've really enjoyed working in an area that is different to Defence. The Gallery is the first project that I've had ownership of from the beginning and I'll hopefully have some level of ownership until close to the end. It’s a real sense of achievement knowing how hard it was when we first started, but then we found our feet, grew the team, and delivered a successful outcome.”

Taking heed: lessons learned in PM

Rebecca describes her time at the Gallery as a very steep learning curve, both for herself and for RPS. But it was in her early days as a project manager that she learnt her biggest career lesson, which she now repeats as a mantra.

“Take advantage of every opportunity. You might find that you have taken a step in your career that is not quite right, however in doing this you’ve learnt something, and this will guide you in finding the thing you are passionate about.”

One piece of advice Rebecca says she needs to follow herself is to step back and look at the bigger picture.   

“You get stuck in the day-to-day of your to-do-list, what's overdue, and what you haven't done yet. Sometimes you just need to step back and recognise your achievements. I think we often forget to do that because we're so busy doing the next thing. So, taking the time to reflect on what you've done and the impact that you're having is so important, and that's probably true in any job.” 

Her suggestion for those planning to enter the field of project management is not to reinvent the wheel. 

“You rarely need to create anything from scratch. Very rarely do we do something that's never been done before. So, it’s learning to use your time wisely. If you think, ‘I need to write a brief from scratch', you don't. Because someone else has already done that in the past. That would be my biggest piece of advice. Lean on the experts who have come before you. We have a lot to learn from each other.” 

The power of mentorship

Rebecca acknowledges that without her first mentor, her career could have chartered a different course.

“I valued my mentor’s input because she had done the graduate program about three or four years ahead of me. She knew where it could lead, and so it was good to have someone who had a similar experience, and I was able to learn from her.”

Rebecca continues to keep in contact with her mentor, albeit that mentorship has morphed into a client relationship nowadays.

“I don’t consider her my mentor anymore, but having that relationship is really valuable,” she spells out. 

To develop her skills even further, and to gain valuable insights from experienced leaders, Rebecca has continued to invest in mentorship.

“A couple of years ago, I was nominated to be part of an RPS mentor program, and at the time I thought I don’t have time for this and how will I benefit from a mentor from a different part of the business.”

“That mentor program ended around a year ago, but we still catch up once a month now. I find it valuable just to get different perspectives, especially as my mentor is outside my business line and my line management structure. It's good just to kind of have that support and guidance on all things.” 

A brave new world: the changing tide in PM

Since stepping inside the project management sector 15 years ago, Rebecca has not only grown immensely as a professional herself, but she’s also seen significant shifts within the industry. 

One trend that excites her is the increasing number of women joining the PM ranks.

“The biggest change is probably the number of women now in the industry,” she exclaims excitedly.  

“When I first started as a graduate, I was the only female in my team. My team were all men who all had very different career paths to me.”  

These days Rebecca says with the changes in gender balance, more females are also entering leadership positions too. 

“There’s a noticeable increase in the number of women in higher level roles, and my mentor was a great example of that.”

“Our Canberra office at RPS is close to a 50/50 split. The ratio of men versus women is tracking in the right direction, but I still think there's room to improve. But there's definitely more role models for me in the industry now, which is good.”   

A leader in the making

Rebecca has been recognised as an emerging leader herself at RPS. In 2023, she was one of three people across Australia nominated to participate in the Tetra Tech Leadership Academy which was run in the USA.

In the same year, Rebecca took to the stage at the inaugural Tetra Tech Asia Pacific Leadership Summit to deliver a Tech Talk and was one of only four people elected from 27,000 employees.

According to Rebecca, leadership is its own challenge.

“Leadership is not just something that you can read in a book and apply, even though there's lots of resources there to support you. You've got to kind of figure out what your leadership style is – and that'll change depending on the environment that you're in and the people that you are working with.”

“I know at the Gallery, because we're so isolated from the rest of the office, there's additional things that I put emphasis on to make sure that my team is really productive and happy.” 

Rebecca describes her approach to leadership as an “open leadership style.”

“I like to make sure that I am catching up regularly with everyone in my team, regardless of what level they are. I want to ensure that my team feel supported, and I try to always make time to be available to help them or talk to them or review things.”

To sharpen her leadership skills, next on the agenda for Rebecca is a 5-day intensive residential leadership program with the Melbourne Business School, where she will be living on campus.

“I'm excited and nervous. Apparently, it's going to be quite intense,” she admits with a smile. 

Following the career yellow brick road: the golden pathway

After 15 years of following career opportunities, Rebecca has been reflecting a lot lately.

“I'm still trying to figure out what I want do when I grow up,” she laughs.

“I like being open to opportunities and embracing challenges head on. Sometimes those challenges will be exactly what you need and sometimes they will spur you on to the next great thing.”

In summing up her career path so far, Rebecca says it’s been “lots of hard work, but it has been so rewarding. I’ve been really lucky with my experiences so far and I feel really fortunate for all the opportunities I’ve had at RPS”.