Lawrence Buhagiar

Directly accountable to the High Commissioner of Malta in Canberra and the Minster of Foreign and European Affairs with main responsibilities as follows:

• Attend to the needs of the Maltese Community spread in New South Wales Australia;
• Represent Malta in a diligent manner, cooperate with the Australian Government and its entities;
• Being a respected member of the Consular Corps in Sydney, the position offers opportunities to communicate effectively and build strong ties with other diplomatic representations in Australia whilst cooperating on matters of mutual benefit including trade and investment;
• Provide a variety of Consular Services to the Maltese community which include but not limited to: the processing of Citizenship and Passport applications, Authentication of documents, Power of Attorneys, Witnessing Affidavits and Statutory Declarations, assist with Maltese pensions and other services;
• Work with officials of both Australia and Malta to facilitate the repatriation of Maltese Citizens from Australia to Malta;
• An active Honorary-Member with the Australian-Maltese Chamber of Commerce, assisting with the promotion of the Chamber and the uptake of new memberships;
• Promote tourism, trade and business opportunities in Malta by participating in conferences and meetings, network and foster new relationships with people in the industry, encouraging connections to explore Malta and what it has to offer including incentives in various sectors such as tourism, financial services, igaming and esports, film-making, corporate taxation, and much more all backed by a strong legislative framework;
• Assist companies/entrepreneurs based and operating in Australia by facilitating trade and business opportunities in Malta, the EU and emergent markets in which Malta holds strong diplomatic and economic relationships.

Directly accountable to the Permanent Secretary with main responsibilities as follows:

• To conduct Business Process Re-Engineering (BPR) of Government processes to enhance both efficiency and effectiveness;
• To conduct qualitative audits within Line Ministries and Departments as to ensure good governance, quality and standards in policies, practices and service delivery to both internal and external recipients;
• To effectively coordinate particular projects in relation to e-governance in particular the central recruitment portal & government mobile apps;
• To liaise with the Government's Ministries and Departments within the Public Service and Public Sector to enhance a service-minded public administration that operates in a transparent and accountable environment and that respects the legitimate right of citizens to efficient public service;
• To chair Recruitment & Selection boards in relation to Central Government jobs;
• Responsible for assisting and supporting in the administrative and day-to-day operational requirements of the Permanent Secretary.

Managing a modest family business nowadays mostly related to the overall management and leasing agreements of some family property. Prior 1992, I used to render manual labour work in the construction environment on a part-time basis during weekends.

Building a strategic link between the management of policy and programme implementation, providing strategic advice and support on policy areas and assisting in the implementation of policy recommendations. The role requires a person such as myself whom is experienced and able to liaise and coordinate with multiple stakeholders, using personality to build strong rapport with colleagues, clients and interested parties. One of the main focus of the Directorate was the coordination of the required logistical needs in respect of the Informal Meetings and Side Events of the Malta EU-Presidency.

Other Duties involved technical support to the design of new projects and monitoring project implementation such as the Management Information Database System; Researching on specific policy issues and contribute in the drafting of new policies; Ensuring the delivery of high-quality outputs, effective working methods and good communications within the allocated team; Assisting the Director in Staff Development including coordinating the training needs of all staff;

It was indeed an exciting time and feel privileged to have worked in this Directorate and contributed to achieve the desired national results in such an important period in Malta's history - the first ever European Union Council's Presidency of Malta.

The Director’s main functions relate to the effective management of the Directorate and its resources in line with the Ministry’s official policies as well as with any relevant policies and guidelines that may be laid down by the Office of the Prime Minister. The Director provides support and advice to the Director General, the Permanent Secretary and the Minister on all issues and initiatives related to the Animal Welfare Promotion and Services offered by the Directorate. The duties involved included: Providing senior policy direction on the preparation of operational business plans and budgets; Provide technical expertise in relation to drafting of legislation in relation to animal welfare; Provide leadership and vision to the team; Capacity Building involving interviewing potential assets and selecting candidates to join the Directorate's team; Develop key tasks and performance targets relating to EU harmonization and approved business plans; Oversee the enforcement of the relative legislation which include instigating the Police to take legal action against offenders; Develop a sustainable public awareness campaign through varies mediums and public interaction through broadcasting mediums and physically at schools and Local Government; Manage effectively and efficiently all financial and human resources allocated to the Directorate.

The Directorate maintained a strong relationship with Non Governmental Organisations which gave birth to the first ever Animal Welfare Fund Scheme in which organisations were allocated financial assistance to help them provide more adequate services and better assist the Directorate. I was pivotal in the drafting of the scheme and ensured conformity of the NGOs in respect of the grant contractual agreement. Together with the Government Property Division and the Attorney General I drafted the contract and tender document in relation to the first ever Veterinary Hospital in Malta after due consultation was carried out with the relative stakeholders including NGOs and the Malta Veterinary Association, I also drafted the tender document in relation to Pet Cemetery until end 2016, such tender has not yet been awarded.

It was a great achievement to also take up the role of the change agent and introduce new working practices through the introduction of multiple working shifts arrangements, provide the necessary training thus enhancing the employee's skills. Such change contributed in (1) registering over 50% increase of inspections carried out in private dwellings and farms; (2) achieving a 10% savings on the expenditure on HR; (3) providing better and efficient services rendered to the relative stakeholders - offering animal rescue operations 24/7, 365 days each year which also registered an increase in service provision through the introduction of a third animal ambulance in Gozo. Another personal achievement was the design of a Mobile Application as part of the national strategy in bringing Government closer to the general public.

Since 2010, I was entrusted to manage the Monitoring Department as Deputy Head. Apart from managing the monitoring team consisting of 10+ employees, the duties involved included: to conduct meetings with broadcasting station managers and provide guidance in relation to the observance of the Broadcasting Law; to investigate any complaints raised by political parties and/or the general public; issue Breach Reports leading to the perusal of legal action against broadcasting stations; to identify trends in Broadcasting and report to the Head of Monitoring, the Chief Executive and Board of Directors; to conduct policy analysis and present the Board members with new policy proposals such as Guidelines and/or Directives; to assist in the production of political debates; to provide mentoring and supervision in report writing; to carry out monitoring exercises and produce risk analysis reports; to produce programme or theme specific reports in relation to broadcasting Standards including News & Current Affairs and Politics. Assisted in the workflow design of the Monitoring Database supplied by Oracle.

In the last year of service, I managed to succeed in increasing employee performance by 25%. This increase was directly related to the introduction of High Performance Work Practices (HPWPs) which helped employees change their emotional state to one which perceived job satisfaction even though there was an increase in the work load. Such uptake of HPWPs resulted in better and effective communication at all levels, enhanced employee involvement through opportunities for decision making, adequate feedback and work appraisal, opportunities for flexible working and balancing work and family life, and other innovative practices.

After serving for several months as a Cinema Supervisor, I was asked to help out and perform duties as a Duty Manager which role involved: To manage employees ensuring smooth operational running of the 4-screen cinema complex. Duties included cashing in the income from tickets sales, dealing with customer’s exigencies and promote new offers for the general public.