Q&A with Kaela Valle, People & Culture Advisor, Upper Hunter Shire Council
Sometimes the most rewarding careers begin with taking a chance on something new. For Kaela Valle, stepping outside her comfort zone opened the door to new opportunities, professional growth and a rewarding career in local government.
After transitioning from the Early Childhood Education sector into HR at council, she found a supportive environment that encouraged her to learn, grow and take on new challenges.
Today, as People & Culture Advisor, Kaela plays an important role in supporting council employees and helping to create positive workplace experiences across the organisation.
We spoke with Kaela about making the transition into People & Culture, the confidence she has gained along the way, and why local government has proven to be such a rewarding career choice.
Q: Can you tell us a little about your career journey so far and what originally drew you into People & Culture?
A: I started studying Children’s Services in my early 20s, completed a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care before going on to a Diploma. I worked across a number of early learning centres in the Newcastle area before we (family) relocated to Scone in the Upper Hunter Shire.
In 2021, I joined the Upper Hunter Shire Council at their Early Learning Centre and continued to work in Children’s Services.
After working in Children’s Services for around ten years, I was ready for a change and wanted to look at a different career path. I saw the Human Resources and Payroll Traineeship available through council and thought it’d be a good opportunity to build on the skills that I had and learn something new and develop a career in Human Resources.
I think what drew me to HR in the first place was the people side of it. I’d had a lot of experience working with families and people through Early Childhood work, and that had given me a strong understanding of the importance of supporting people and building relationships. So, moving into people and culture felt somewhat natural.
Q: What attracted you to local government, and how did you come to join Upper Hunter Shire Council?
A: I wasn’t overly familiar with local government before moving into working for council. I didn’t have a great understanding of what it was that council did until I took on the traineeship.
I think what attracted me to work in local government was that I was already sort of within the organisation (working at a council Early Childhood Centre) and there was an opportunity to do something within our community, which is how I started my career early on, doing that work within the community. Being part of something that provides services on which people rely on and knowing that what you do is contributing to your community, was very attractive for me.
It’s been really positive so far learning more about what local government does and how council supports the wider community, because those were the things I wasn’t really thinking about until I was here (in local government).
Q: Would you say that your HR and Payroll Traineeship helped shape your career direction into moving into being People & Culture Advisor?
A: Definitely. I think being in this role, I get to work with so many different people in all areas of council. Developing relationships with managers from, for example, water and sewer and sustainability, there’s always so much to learn from every different department and I’ve loved being a part of that in the people and culture space.
Q: Were there also any skills from your Early Childhood Education role that you were able to carry through into your People & Culture role?
A: Definitely. It was, building relationships and connections with families in the greater community. That’s something that we definitely did in the Children’s Services space – building those connections between families and services, and we do the same sort of activity in the people and culture space, but, you’re connecting different community groups or different employees to different services.
So very similar sort of a thing. I think, the communication aspect and the community aspect of it was definitely something that I could bring from my experience from my previous role into people and culture.
Q: As People & Culture Advisor, what does a typical day look like for you?
A: I think there’s not really a typical day. It depends on what’s going on in council at the time and what the needs of each department are. It’s always changing, which I think is what I love so much about it. No two days are the same.
I think a lot of my time is spent supporting managers and employees with all different kinds of HR matters, answering questions, providing advice and helping work through issues as they come up. I’m regularly working on recruitment, onboarding, performance or employee relations matters, and just supporting different projects across council. A lot of administration – there’s a lot of administration work as well that comes with it, just to make sure that everything’s documented, the processes are followed and that we’re providing consistent advice.
Q: In local government, everyone is quite supportive of each other. Would you say you had a lot of support as you moved
throughout your career in council?
A: Definitely. The whole way through I’ve had so much support from my team, from my manager, from other teams, from other departments. It’s not localised to one area; I’ve had so much support from everyone. A lot of encouragement as well along the way, because you do make mistakes sometimes, and I find sometimes I get a little bit nervous, and confidence is something that I’ve really had to build up in this role. And yeah, the support I’ve received and feedback has been fantastic.
I think we’re all still learning in some areas as well, and we have a lovely team where we’re all there for each other, we support each other in every step.
Q: What’s something you’re proud of that you’ve achieved during your time at council?
A: I think the biggest achievement for me would probably be the confidence that I’ve developed more than anything else. It’s been so rewarding to look at where I started and how far I’ve come as far as personal and professional development goes. When I started the traineeship, there was so much to learn, and I was stepping into something that was completely different to what I’d done before. I’ve had the opportunity to work on and contribute to a number of projects and see them through to completion, which has been a really great experience.
The relationships I’ve built and the confidence that I have now, it makes me so proud of how far I’ve come professionally and personally.
Q: What’s been the most unexpected part of your career journey?
A: Probably just my capability. I was very excited to learn something new. I started the traineeship in my early 30s and thought, is this something that I’m going to be able to do?
I think that’s what has been really unexpected for me that I could actually do this, that I could change careers at that time, and do something that was so different to what I knew.
Q: Can you tell me more about how your career has developed and what skills and knowledge you’ve had to acquire or learn to continue to keep growing?
A: Well, like I said, when I started the traineeship, I was stepping into something completely different. Through the traineeship, I’ve had the opportunity to learn the foundations of human resources and payroll, and I’ve continued to build my knowledge from there and take on more responsibility, which is what’s led me to my people and culture advisor role now.
There’s been a lot of skills and knowledge that I have developed along the way, including HR processes, employment legislation, policies and procedures, recruitment, performance management, employee relations and payroll.
I’ve also developed my confidence in providing advice and supporting managers and employees. That’s something that you really get from on-the-job experience and just working with managers and other employees and getting to know people and building those relationships.
I think my communication skills have come a long way. I am generally quite a shy person, so to be able to talk to managers and feel comfortable providing them with advice on recruitment processes, grievance and investigation processes, can be quite difficult and challenging, developing the skills to be able to discuss these things together with providing the right advice going down those avenues is something that I’ve developed along the way.
Q: How would you describe the culture at Upper Hunter Shire Council?
A: I’d say really supportive, and very community focused. I think everyone’s working together to try and get the best outcomes for the Shire. One of the things I’ve noticed during my time here is that people are genuinely willing to help each other, whether it be supporting other employees from all different sections or supporting members of the community. It’s a very, very supportive environment.
There’s a good balance between being professional and having a friendly, approachable environment here. You can have a conversation with people, ask them questions and learn from each other, which I think is really important.
Q: What are some of the best things about living and working in the Upper Hunter Shire LGA?
A: I think one of the best things about living and working here is the strong sense of community. I know I’ve used the word community a lot, but it’s a small community and everyone knows each other and it’s just very friendly and connected here. I think that’s something that you notice pretty quickly when you live and work here. It’s a nice balance between having a quieter sort of country lifestyle while still having access to services and facilities that you need.
Q: Are there any opportunities or something you have found working in council that might surprise people?
A: I think just how many different departments and opportunities there are within council. When you first think about council, you might think about rates, roads, rubbish, but there’s so many different areas and so many career pathways working within council as well. There are lots of opportunities to work across different teams, being involved in community projects and developing skills outside of your usual role.
It’s been very surprising for me because I don’t think that you generally think about what council does or, you know, what’s happening in that space until you step through the door and learn all about it.
Q: Now that you’ve been working in local government for some time, what’s one thing you wish more people knew about working in local government?
A: One thing that I wish more people knew is that local government is a really good place to build a long-term career. There’s so many opportunities to learn and develop new skills and take on different responsibilities. You don’t necessarily need to stay in the same area throughout your career.
I also think that sometimes people don’t realise how much happens behind the scenes to keep a community running. There’s just so many different roles and people working together to provide services, support the community and keep everything moving.
Q: What would you say to someone considering a career similar to yours in local government but are unsure about making the move?
A: I’d say don’t be afraid to give it a go. Sometimes an opportunity can lead you somewhere you didn’t expect, which is definitely what’s happened for me in my case. I couldn’t have expected that I would be where I am right now when I started on my career journey.
I’d also say be open to learning and trying something new. Moving into people and culture was a huge change for me, but I’ve really enjoyed stepping into something that was completely different, embracing the challenge and learning so much about myself along the way. It’s been great to find something that challenges me, but that I also genuinely enjoy doing.
Inspired by this story? People & Culture careers in local government offer the opportunity to support people, foster positive workplace experiences and grow alongside diverse teams. From traineeships and entry-level roles to specialist and leadership positions, there are pathways for people at every stage of their career journey.
Whether you’re looking for a fresh start, a new challenge or the chance to build confidence in a supportive environment, local government could be the opportunity you’ve been searching for.
Explore current Human Resources opportunities and discover where a career in local government could take you: https://www.careersatcouncil.com.au/human-resources/
