What's your job about?
My role with Nutrien Water is Branch Manager of the Geelong branch in Victoria. We are an irrigation, pumping and water management products specialist store which, thanks to Geelong’s geographic location, services a broad range of customers from agriculture to domestic to commercial meaning we get to work on a wide variety of water projects and products.
As Branch Manager, no two days are ever the same and you need to be prepared to deal with anything that can take place. In this role, I am responsible for the successful operation of the store which means that you are dealing with all of the day to day operations of the store. A typical day can entail serving, assisting Clients and forming strong relationships with them. You may then be assisting and empowering staff and colleagues to work through their roles within the team while attempting to solve any issues that may arise. In this role, you need to be open and available to anyone, customers and staff alike, to ensure you are there to provide quality service, advice and guidance which makes your branch a fun and welcoming place where Clients want to spend their money and staff enjoy working. Following this, my times is spent working on quoting, sales, managing inventory and implementing safe systems of work needed for the store. Managing budgets, economic performance and identifying areas of opportunity and growth or improvement is also a key part of this role.
What's your background?
I grew up in Sandringham, in the South-Eastern suburbs of Melbourne and often I am asked, why did a boy from the city choose irrigation and agriculture as a career? At school, I was always really interested in Geography and in our final years, we spent a lot of time looking at water and land management throughout Australia which started my interest. While I was at university, I did work experience with Lower Murray Water, working on some large water infrastructure renewal projects. This placement cemented my thoughts that I wanted to work in the water industry. Once graduated and looking to start a career, a great piece of advice I received from a family friend was that I should look at agriculture and irrigation because ‘people will always need to eat and crops need to be watered’. I applied for various roles and was lucky enough to be selected in the then Ruralco Graduate program. Ruralco had a water and irrigation projects division which I was placed in. My first project was the SWAN Irrigation Project in Tasmania where we constructed over 30 kilometres of water pipeline and a pump station to provide water to mixed use farm land which traditionally was always dry land farming. As a young and inexperienced graduate, it was a great experience to travel somewhere new, apply the skills I had learnt at university and to learn from my experienced colleagues how to project manage, build and sustain relationships and successfully complete a large scale project. It was also rewarding to be working on a project that would provide long term benefit to the local farming community. Following this, I then spent time working as a Project and Contracts Manager, where I worked on projects throughout the East Coast of Australia, whether that be in the field or providing quoting, tendering and contractual support to our branches. Just over two years ago, I was given the opportunity to move into my current role at Geelong where we have enjoyed some successful years while navigating the challenges that we’ve all been dealing with over this period.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
For sure! There are many different pathways that you could take to end up in the position where I am now. I entered the irrigation industry with little to no knowledge of a lot of the products or technical understanding but over time you gain this knowledge. If you have a desire to learn, are open to advice, dedicated and foster strong relationships with clients and peers, you can navigate the challenges that each role may throw at you. The great thing about working for a company like Nutrien Water and Nutrien Ag Solutions is that there are so many different divisions so you never know where it can take you!
What's the coolest thing about your job?
The coolest thing about this job is that we get to design and supply a huge variety of different irrigation and water infrastructure systems which solve current or future issues that our Clients may encounter. It is satisfying to be able to be part of a process where something is being built for purpose, from start to finish. The other great thing about this job is relationship building. It is all about relationships and you have a great time meeting, working with and helping people from all different walks of life which gives you all sorts of different experiences and perspectives you may never have encountered otherwise.
What are the limitations of your job?
Being in a Branch Manager role, as I described earlier, you need to be available to anyone or deal with any issue that may arise. You need to be prepared to work back late or work on weekends to fill gaps where colleagues or a customer needs your help. It’s important to be prepared to do this to set a good example, maintain strong relationships and keep the business on track. While you may personally have a list of tasks that you know need doing, you need to be prepared to put them to the side and help someone who is a priority and then re-prioritise what needs to be actioned. If you stay focused, calm and assess each issue on its merits, all can be achieved eventually even if it’s not in the order you originally intended.
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