A video recording of Diana Siwiak talking about her roles as a project manager and people manager at Catlayst. There is a transcription available on YouTube.
What does your role involve?
I am half project manager (PM) and half people manager. As a people manager, I look after the operations team and the sysadmins. The operations team consists of ITS (Internal Technical Services) who look after our workstations, applications staff use, printers, and all sorts of things around that space. The system administrators or the sysadmins look after the entire backend infrastructure of Catalyst. The backend includes servers, operating systems, applications, databases, and more. So, at any given moment, my job flips between project manager and people manager.
My role was established two years ago to help clear the Operations Team's technical debt and advocate for our backlog of internal projects. As a project manager, my role includes:
- regular catch-ups with my project teams,
- regular scoping of our current work,
- investigating and attempting to clear blockers for my team,
- and keeping track of project tasks through reporting.
As one of the only internal PMs, where Catalyst is my "client", my role has been a direct instigator for the company to determine by which metrics we can best track and subsequently support the team to get projects across the finish line. As part of my people manager role, I support my staff towards their success by way of encouraging professional development and providing support to address their work-based concerns.
What does your typical day look like?
I rarely have a typical day! I come to work every morning with an open mind about whatever hurdles might be thrown at the team- like a system crash and we have to quickly pivot and reprioritise tasks). I attend meetings on behalf of the team (with Business Operations, with the PMO and so on.) I meet with internal stakeholders (others from across Catalyst who either need Ops time or who work with us to achieve success across a task). I also contribute to decisions and discussions as a member of the Operations Leadership Team ("Ops LT").
Tell us about a recent problem you helped solve
Organisation is often an issue for any long-term team. When I joined the team in April 2023, lots of information was in lots of different places and formats. Collectively, the Ops LT has championed more consistency with the team around how to organise information, where to put it, and how to keep it up to date. The projects and potential projects were a huge part of this. I'm a GitLab advocate, so Ops LT have been using GitLab as a project management and task-tracking tool. It's been a game-changer.
What do you enjoy about working at Catalyst?
Catalyst's values match my own. I love the supportive network of folks from across our diverse company. Someone, somewhere, will have an answer to an inevitable question or will want to discuss a particular topic. The work-life balance and flexible work hours are extremely beneficial not only to me but to my team. Support of indigenous values and beliefs is another initiative close to my heart. I wasn't born in New Zealand and am not of Māori descent, but my Polish heritage instilled in me a significant respect and empathy for Indigenous rights. I'm all about community building; we do it here, as part of our work, and I'm here for it.
Interested in a career in tech?
Catalyst is offering two open source scholarships and an internship for 2025 for those kick-starting their career in tech. Learn more about the scholarships.