Simon Vrij

Director, Chief Financial Officer

Change, Portfolio and Program Management Coach and Consultant

MBA (Change and Program Management), Grad Dip. Business Studies

Simon is an experienced Change, Program, Project Management and Program Assurance professional, with proven business/commercial, communication, leadership and team working skills within challenging and politically sensitive environments.

Simon brings exceptional business, commercial, communication, leadership and team working skills to challenging and politically sensitive environments. With a background in Program and Change Management within retail and corporate banking, combined with leadership roles in the public, not for profit and private sectors, Simon has proven flexibility and demonstrated his capability to deliver real and sustained change and performance improvements across a wide range of organisations and disciplines.

A strong strategic consultancy background combined with an operations management background and board level experience in the public, not for profit and private sectors. Simon has worked successfully at executive board level (as Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer and Strategy/Program Director) across the UK public sector. Most notably Simon led, as the Interim Chief Operating Officer, the business turnaround of the failing government agency, the Rural Payments Agency, which had a turnover of £2.5bn and 4,500 staff. This demonstrated his significant business strategy, business and IT change, program, procurement, supplier management, contracting, negotiation and leadership skills, which he brings to his consulting and interim management work.

Simon is also an experienced Gateway Reviewer (the proven UK branded assurance methodology) in the UK and accredited in Australia. Simon has also consulted successfully in both Australia and Europe on strategy, program management, procurement, commercial negotiations, supplier management and contracting.

Simon is a genuine global worker having consulted successfully in the UK, Australia and mainland Europe. His subject matter expertise as been called upon to provide expert Program and Change Management evidence to both UK Parliament (Select Committees) and the Australian Senate.

Producing his ‘Review of the Events Surrounding the 2016 eCensus’ the author, Alistair MacGibbon (Special Adviser to the Prime Minister on Cyber Security), wrote of the earlier ‘Review of the 2016 Census ABS ICT capacity and capability’ written by a CAPDA Consulting team led by Simon the consultancy was “insightful of ABS culture and capability”.

Business Skills

• Strategic Planning
• Gateway Reviews
• Business Process Re-engineering
• Downsizing/Cost Reduction
• Portfolio Management
• Program Management
• Program Assurance
• Procurement
• Coaching and Mentoring
• Change Management
• Commercial Negotiation
• Commercial Contracting