ABOUT ME

A little bit about me.
Cath Jones

“I support tech organisations in creating equitable cultures and fostering belonging”

I spent four years working as a software engineer for some of Australia's most ambitious startup founders before pivoting into a People Operations role. Now I am an experienced People Operations Manager for tech startups and scale-ups. I am excited about creating people-centred employee experiences by adapting product management techniques. Adept in developing policies and procedure based on data-driven insights that improve employee productivity and retention.

Email

cath@bitgirl101.com

"Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position." —Brian Tracy

EMPLOYMENT

Work experience.
People Operations Manager - Buildkite- 2018 - 2020

Reporting directly to the CEO and later the Head of People I was responsible for delivering upon the company's people operations needs including hiring, employer branding compensation structures, onboarding, policy development, equity and belonging and company events. I developed our employer brand and managed the project for the delivery of our careers site. I created a hiring process that allowed us to provide a positive candidate experience and minimise biases that resulted in us fostering an engaged and diverse talent pool. I assisted with onboarding team members remotely across APAC, EMEA and North America and developed an understanding of the complexities of international HR. I have created performance management frameworks, as well as learning and development opportunities. I developed policies and procedures based on industry best practices and legislative requirements to drive engagement and employee retention. I have helped to coach team members on interviewing and conflict resolution as well as coaching on asynchronous communication and remote work.

Contract Digital Marketing Manager - Bitgenics- 2017 — 2018

As a part-time digital marketing manager at Bitgenics, I was responsible for engaging with our users and building brand and product awareness. I managed our social media content strategy across Twitter Facebook and Linkedin and doubled our Twitter followers in 6 months by analysing data points and adjusting our strategy accordingly. I also implemented Google tag manager in our single page React site to gain a better understanding of our user's behaviour and to drive continuous improvements to our site.

Delivery Manager - Expert360- 2017

As a delivery manager, I worked with multidisciplinary teams as a servant leader to improve and support agile practices at all levels of the organisation. I helped guide our ways of working, career leaders, learning and development, hiring and technical onboarding. I helped the company achieve a successful 13 Million series B raise in July 2017 by improving and supporting agile practices in our delivery teams.

Software Developer - Digital Transformation Agency- 2015 - 2016

As a software developer at the Digital Transformation Office, I assisted with quickly scaling our engineering team by working alongside our Head of Engineering and HR. I conducted technical interviews and assisted with onboarding engineers. I helped foster a culture of learning and sharing through organising Guilds of practice. Outside of this, I worked to prototype complex applications rapidly based on user needs. After validating and quickly iterating on our prototype, I have created usable, semantic and accessible front end interfaces while working in cross-functional agile teams.

Contract Developer - Airtasker - 2015

As a short term contractor at Airtasker, I assisted with the rebranding of their website in 2015. This project involved working on an existing React.js application to restructure the layout and write new maintainable style sheets. Working alongside the creative director and Design team, I quickly interpreted and implemented modular and responsive designs to meet a tight launch deadline.

Head of Operations - Fame & Partners - 2015

As Head of Operations, I was responsible for the day-to-day and strategic operations of the business. This included defining staff KPI's, performance measures and management as well as managing commercial arrangements with 3rd party vendors for infrastructure and tooling. I assisted with providing the product team with consumer-based insights into evolving requirements to help guide the development process. In this role, I have gained experience in selecting, setting up, defining, documenting and communicating supporting toolsets in line with established support processes. I have worked independently and under tight deadlines, to determine priorities, analyse data and quickly respond when faced with new and complex tasks.

"As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others."" —Bill Gates

EDUCATION

My Academic Career.
Macquarie University- Bachelor of Commerce and Arts 2024

I am currently completing my Bachelor's Degree part-time with a major in HR and Gender Studies. I am focusing on the economics of discrimination as well as organisational psychology, strategic HR, change management, workplace relations and international HR.

Academy XI - User Experience Design 2016 - 2017

I undertook this course to develop my understanding of user research and how to build great products by engaging with your target audience. I learnt how to conduct and analyse research, as well as how to create persuasive designs and run usability testing sessions.

OTEN - Advanced Diploma of Project Management 2015 - 2016

I completed this online course to gain a better understanding of project management and the product lifecycle. I learnt how to estimate timelines, budgets and allocate resources and have since put the practices of managing change and risk into effect.

Ultimo TAFE - Diploma of Website Technologies 2012 - 2013

Throughout this course, I learnt how to design and build databases and integrate them into websites. We worked alongside real-world clients to establish their needs, recommend and implement technical solutions to solve business problems. This course gave me my foundational skills in programming using PHP, SQL, jQuery, HTML and CSS. I also gained an understanding of project management and basic industry business practices.

OTEN- Certificate IV Marketing 2012

To better understand the business decisions behind development work, I took an online Marketing course during which I learnt about communicating the value of products, market segmentation and consumer behaviour. Since my completion of this course, I can work in close collaboration with all aspects of a business to better define and drive objectives.

NSI TAFE- Certificate IV Multimedia Design 2012

During this course, I improved upon my technical skills in Photoshop and Illustrator while adding skills in video editing, photography, 3D modelling, animation and interface design. My Final project 'A Disney Nightmare' incorporated 3D modelling, animation, videography and soundscapes and won me the High Achiever Award. It was also featured at the Manly Art Gallery and Museum.

"Data beats opinions." - Anonymous

SKILLS

What I can bring to your company.
Communication
Leadership
Project Management
Relationship Management
Employee Recruitment & Retention
Business Process Improvement
Policy and Process Management
HR Compliance
Coaching & Mentoring
Elixir
Ruby on Rails
SASS

“The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership." —Harvey Firestone