Richenda Peace

Business Administrator Arup

How did you get your start in your career?

In my early twenties I worked my way up at Australian retailer Just Jeans, starting my career as a Sales Assistant, then Second in Charge, to then Group Manager of Brisbane’s Southside. We experienced the computer and internet boom at the same time, so I started to show an interest in learning those skills. I thought after 10+ years in retail, I was ready to make a career change. I undertook an Administration course at Sarina Russo. I was two weeks into the course and got chatting with the teacher about how I really wanted to become a receptionist. They fast-tracked me through the course and offered me a Receptionist role at Sarina Russo, which was fantastic. I was there to support the main receptionist, but shortly after starting that role became vacant. They offered me the position of Main Receptionist and I remained there for three and a half years.

After my time at Sarina Russo, I ventured into hospitality for a while managing a couple of restaurants. I ended up becoming an event coordinator for a restaurant and a wedding coordinator for a couple of years. If you’ve ever worked in events, you know the hours are long and there isn’t much downtime. I decided to go back to admin and realised it was the career that best suited me. I loved the people side of being a receptionist, but I wanted to get more value out of my role so decided to investigate becoming a Personal Assistant (PA). I landed my first PA role working for Schlumberger, where I ended up being the PA for two managers whilst running reception and facility management.

My partner then had an opportunity to work overseas, so we made the move to London where I found an Executive Assistant role at a pharmaceutical company, working for the Marketing Manager – Europe Region. The office was based in London, but I had to coordinate with Europe, America, South America and Australia. It kept me very busy and I worked there for about 18 months until my partner’s company sent him back to Australia. After we came back I took this opportunity to work out what I really valued in the workplace and my career. I had a few different experiences, working for a property company as an EA, then for Deloitte for three years. I liked it there, but Talentpath contacted me to understand more about my future career goals. The rest is history.

Now I’m a Business Administrator at Arup, an architectural engineering firm. They collaborate with our clients and partners using imagination technology and they’ve got the rigor to shape a better world. It’s everything that I’ve always wanted to be a part of. I’m responsible for five regional business leaders in a portfolio that consists of property, science, industry and technology, arts and culture, education, and healthcare. I’m the eyes and ears for all five business leaders - It’s never a dull moment.

What challenges or hurdles have you faced getting to where you are now?

Finding the right culture is the main thing. It can be a great job, but if the culture isn’t right you’re not going to enjoy it. The most wonderful thing about Arup is that it has an extremely flexible culture. They give you the trust to get the job done in the hours that suit you. Another one, but when you’re in an administrative role it’s sometimes difficult for some managers and bosses to not see you as an adult and someone that is equally worthy of respect. You have to find the right people in this modern world that treat you with respect and see you as an equal.

What skills have served you well in your industry?

If you can empathise with every person that you are working with, you skip the misunderstandings and you get straight onto how things can be resolved. You have to be a quick thinker and incredibly resourceful.