Aimee Sandilands

I think that part time senior leadership roles are incredibly important. It’s never sat well with me that, to be present for my family in the way that I want to, I would need to accept a period where it would be difficult for me to advance professionally. I’m proud to fly the flag and speak to my experience of how effective part-time leadership roles can be.I am the Head of Legal and Property at Manawa Energy. I work school hours remotely from home in the Hawkes Bay. Being able to perform my role part-time is a game changer. It enables me to progress my career and leadership ambitions, but in a way that feels “right sized” for me, right now. There’s still a lot of balls to juggle and sometimes one gets dropped, but it’s more often the case that work wraps around my family and personal commitments, rather than butting heads with those things. The benefits to my wellbeing from working in this way are immense and trickle through into my work – from that perspective, it’s a win win.

Tips on making it work:

  1. Scoping: It’s not truly a part time role if you are required to do the same amount of work in less hours per week. It’s critical to ensure that your role has been appropriately scoped for your working hours. This provides a great opportunity to think about what the guts of the job really is, what functions and responsibilities are key and where you should be spending your time.

  2. Clear communications: I am very clear with internal/external stakeholders about my working arrangements. I put an out of office message on every day and do my best to hold off responding until I am next at my desk. I do have the ability to adjust my hours as needed, but stick to my designated hours to the maximum extent possible. People are very accommodating, provided you’re clear from the outset.

  3. Prioritisation: There’s nothing like having a hard deadline (e.g. school pick up) to make you focus on what really needs to be done each day. I am far more strategic with my workload and making sure that I’m putting my energy into the tasks that will deliver the most value to Manawa.