Come behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation (DOC).
Today we profile Alice Phillips, Knowledge and Information Management Advisor in Wellington.
At work…
Kākā encounter
Some things I do in my job include:
We have recently moved all DOC staff over to our new document management system. I have been travelling to offices around New Zealand to help deliver training and support for this.
This helps achieve DOC’s vision by:
Information is a primary asset to DOC and we use it to inform all aspects of the work that we do. Making sure people are able to manage documents ensures that information will continue to be accessible, not just for current DOC staff but those who will join us in the future.
The best bit about my job is:
Being a detective and getting that one piece of information that allows me to resolve an issue for someone.
The funniest DOC moment I’ve had so far is:
It’s hard to say – my team is actually hilarious. Every day is full of funny moments!
My friend Julie and I met up in Oslo when she was living there
On a personal note…
The song that always cheers me up is:
‘More than a Feeling’ by Boston.
If I could trade places with any other person for a week—famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional—it would be:
Doctor Who. I would just travel throughout time and space as a pan-dimensional tourist. I would get around the one week stipulation by repeatedly going back in time to the start of that week when I first became Doctor Who and then just keep going to different places forever and ever.
My best ever holiday was:
A working holiday Au Pairing in Milan for a year while on my OE and being part of a wonderful Italian family.
If I could be any New Zealand native species I’d be:
A kākā – noisy, curious, like to sport a bit of red, and perhaps a small tendency to damage things (my possessions need to survive me. I don’t deserve nice things).
My most prized possession is:
My EU passport <3
Cohorts from my Italian class
Deep and meaningful…
My favourite quote is:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt. What a boss!
The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is:
Just do it – Nike.
In work and life I am motivated by:
Service to others, new experiences, and interesting people.
Completing a beginners course in Thai Yoga Massage in Chiang Mai
My conservation advice to New Zealanders is:
Encourage everyone to experience our nature; love for the natural world drives conservation effort.
Question of the week
What would you put inside a time capsule to be opened in fifty years?
I would put current consumer tech in there; smart phones, DVDs, gaming consoles etc and see if any kids in the future can identify them or get them to work in 50 years’ time.
At Anchorage after kayaking the Mad Mile with strong easterly
