Meet Jemma Smyth: Head of People, Culture, Employment, and champion of inclusivity at Spinal Cord Injuries Australia!

Jemma is a seasoned Human Resource professional with extensive experience in leading teams and driving organisational success through strategic people initiatives.

As the Head of HR, Jemma has seen first-hand the benefits that having an inclusive workplace can bring. These include diversity of perspectives and ideas which bring opportunities to learn from each other.

Jemma enjoys working at SCIA where around 25% of staff live with disability and has gained a much better understanding about how employers can create an inclusive workplace which will enable the organisation to attract talented employees who have a variety of life experiences. This in turn helps organisations to provide services or products to more customers, which n leads to better business outcomes and faster growth.

Jemma is proud to lead the EmployAbility team “ what makes our service unique, is our lived experience. The candidates on our EmployAbility program have been supported by employment coaches who have lived experience and this enables us to build the confidence of our candidates. Our training is run by people with disability and we work shoulder to shoulder with the employers to support them to ensure that their workplace is inclusive. All of our candidates have overcome barriers and challenges and are now motivated to find employment, so in our experience when our candidates secure employment they bring a new level of commitment and energy to the role. It is an exciting time to see the level of commitment from our employer partners and we are excited about the year ahead“

Jemma’s enthusiasm for her work and her dedication to empowering others are key to her lasting impact on both the teams she leads and the broader organisation.

Thanks for leading the way for Team EmployAbility Jemma!