Meet the OT&V Team

Executive Director - Lex de Man AFSM

Lex originally joined CFA in 1977 as a volunteer, a role he proudly continues to undertake today within his local community. He has held the volunteer leadership positions of captain (10 years) and deputy group officer (eight years).

In 2010 he was appointed Executive Director Operational Training and Volunteerism (OT&V), based at CFA Headquarters in Melbourne. This newly created executive role and the OT&V Directorate were established as the CFA Board sought to have a dedicated executive level function with the dedicated responsibility of focusing on operational training and volunteerism. Prior to the Directorate being established, operational training was contained within the Human Resources Directorate, with each of the eight individual decentralised regions being responsible for volunteerism.

Prior to commencing in the Executive Director role, Lex had been one of eight field-based regional leaders, having commenced as a career officer with CFA in 1995. 

Lex has a strong background in emergency services, having joined CFA staff following an 18-year career with Victoria Police. As a police officer Lex performed uniform policing and detective duties, which in the early 1990s saw him undertake criminal investigations in the UK and US. In 1995, prior to his appointment at CFA, Lex gained his Officer’s Commission as an Inspector of Police at the Royal New Zealand Police College.

Involvement within his local community saw Lex elected to public office at municipal level for a period of five years in the early 2000s. During this time, Lex served two years as mayor of the municipality of Nillumbik while maintaining his leadership role within CFA.

In the 2011 Australia Day Awards, Lex was awarded the Australian Fire Services Medal (AFSM) under the Australian Honours System for his leadership during the February 2009 Black Saturday fires and for his leadership and support of volunteerism.   

The Team Managers

Kate Harrap - Manager of Volunteerism

What is your role?

The key objective of the role is to develop, promote and drive the implementation of statewide volunteerism strategy and programs across CFA. The Member Services team and Youth Unit fall within my team.

What is your background at CFA?

I joined CFA following the 2009 fires as the Human Resources Manager in Eastern Metro. We spent a lot of time establishing a solid HR platform through strong partnerships and engagement with members. I have been on committees, working groups and forums focused on improving support to our members. I’m proud to be part of this organisation.

What are you hoping to achieve in your role?

We have a lot of excellent programs around the state, but not a lot of consistency. I would like to think that in future CFA will be regarded as the leader on all things volunteerism. We have a strong membership and all our voices count. Listening, raising awareness, addressing concerns and sharing what we do will assist how we approach volunteerism into the future. I’m looking forward to developing an end to end volunteer life cycle, which will drive a number of key program’s initiatives to enable, empower and equip sustainable volunteerism at CFA. 

James Stitz - Executive Manager Training Development 

What is your role?

The purpose of my role is to maintain CFA’s operational training strategy. In doing this I am responsible for ensuring that training development needs of Fire & Emergency Management and its workforce are met through the development of high quality and strategically aligned training and assessment strategies, ensuring the most appropriate methods for training delivery and assessment taking into account the accessibility, effectiveness and economic efficiency of such methods. I am also responsible for the review and endorsement of all CFA training and assessment packages and programs, ensuring compliance with organisational and Registered Training Organisation requirements and maintaining the CFA training records database. 

What is your background at CFA?

I joined CFA after 20 years service in the Australian Army as an officer. Since I joined in 2001 I have been the Manager Training and Development (Westernport Area) (2001 – 2004), Manager Field Training (2004 – 2009) and Acting Executive Manager Learning and Development (2009 -2012).

What are you hoping to achieve in your role?

Over the next 12 months the key focus of my role will be to develop and implement the CFA Operational Training Strategy, which will provide the direction for operational training for the next five years. 

What are some of the challenges you face?

The main challenges of the role will be determining and adhering to the established priorities for operational training development and delivery to meet the needs of CFA’s Service Delivery Model while operating in an environment of increasing demand for operational training services and fiscal constraint. As a result there will be a focus on determining better and more efficient ways to develop and deliver training across CFA while at the same time improving the consistency and quality of training development and delivery. This will lead us to making greater use of technology and our workforce, both careers and volunteers, to deliver our services. 

CFA has many competing priorities impacting on volunteerism and there are high expectations for delivering quality outcomes. There is a lot of momentum on the Jones Inquiry implementation, bringing in changes to CFA’s structure and culture, and being able to respond effectively to member needs and voices at a grass roots level. Balancing the short term needs for our members, bringing more consistency and ease of doing business at CFA, with longer term plan wins will set us up for sustainable volunteerism into the future. 

Craig Ferguson - Manager Training Delivery 

What is your role?

The major focus of my role is to bring ‘consistency’ to the way CFA delivers and assesses training. This applies to training packages, the trainers who deliver the packages and the assessment process.

What’s your background at CFA?

I have only been working for CFA since April. I have been a CFA volunteer at Bayswater for 24 years, but prior to working at CFA I was Manager Learning and Development, Health and Human Services Emergency Management Branch, DHS; Senior Project Officer, Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner, DoJ; Manager Emergency Coordination Centre, Fire and Emergency Management, DSE; Emergency Management Planning Officer and Ambulance Victoria – Paramedic, SES. 

What are you hoping to achieve in your role?

My mission is to work with our volunteers and staff involved in operational training across the state to achieve ‘quality, consistent and relevant’ training for CFA. We define quality as high standards and excellence in the training we develop and deliver, consistent so the same principles, standards and practice of training are achieved across CFA, regardless of where our people are located. Relevant training ensures the training has direct bearing on the operational duties our people are required to perform.

What are some of the challenges you face?

To ensure we adopt a steady and gradual process to any changes we implement and keep everyone informed of our intent and desired outcomes.   

Leona Latcham – Business Manager, Bangholme

What is your role?

I am responsible for the staff and facilities, at the CFA Training College Bangholme Campus. There are 17 full-time, and additional casual staff responsible for the approximately 6,500 students who attend the site annually. As well as the classroom and field-based training at Bangholme, the instructors also provide statewide training in specialist response activities.

What is your background at CFA?

I joined CFA in April 2008. Prior to taking up the position at Bangholme, I was the Program Manager for the new Structural Personal Protective Clothing. My dad was a life member of Wendouree brigade, and an ex-member of Stawell brigade. I have had exposure to CFA all my life. My husband also worked for CFA for a number of years.

What are you hoping to achieve in your role?

A work location where staff are proud of their roles, and are able to provide first class training to emergency services and other members of the community and develop a site to provide additional training opportunities/activities.

What are some of the challenges you face?

• Providing the level of training support expected by CFA members and other emergency services within the resources available
• Improving the training experience for students at Bangholme
• Ensuring a safe and well maintained workplace for both staff and students 

Justin Justin - Operations Manager of Training 

What is your role?

I am the OIC of Fiskville Training College and am responsible for about 70 staff - about 22 operational staff members - and ensuring CFA  provides a learning environment consummate with the principles of adult learning. I am responsible for ensuring that Fiskville Training College is continually adapting to our people’s needs and ensuring that the college truly reflects people’s expectations of a state-of-the-art modern training facility.

What is your background at CFA?

I started as a volunteer at Highton brigade in Geelong in 1992. In 2001 I was offered employment as a career firefighter and after 16 weeks at Fiskville I was stationed at Doveton for almost two years. This also included working at other District 8 locations such as Dandenong, Frankston and Chelsea. I then took a position as a transitional LFF at Warrnambool where I stayed until 2006 when I returned to Belmont Fire station as a LFF. It was here were I was able to undertake my fire officer assessment and at the beginning of 2007 I headed back to Warrnambool to take up a position of station officer. In January 2010 I applied for and was successful at obtaining an OO position in District 13 as the OIC of Eltham Fire Station. In August 2011 I was promoted to my current role of OM of training delivery, based at Fiskville. 

What are you hoping to achieve in your role?

I want to make Fiskville accessible to all CFA members and help deliver new training programs to all members that address the needs of brigades such as Render Hazardous Materials Safe and Structural Crew leader courses. It is also important to help develop those programs and provide districts and regions with a quality facility to hold such courses, and help to deliver them where our people can. 

What are some of the challenges you face?

Continued focus on training and being able to provide a high standard of training both at Fiskville and in the field for all our volunteers and career staff is a challenge. Being able to deliver the training in a timely manner to ensure we stay at the forefront of the demands that our people need, and provide them with the necessary tools for them to undertake their duties. Also the move to, or more an incorporation of, an online-based learning system that will enable all CFA members better access to a library of training materials that are pertinent to each and every role played within the CFA.