“I started with Stanwell Power Station (SPS) in 2003,” Toni says. “My background is in administration, and I’ve performed a few roles with Stanwell, but for the last 15 years my role was as Management Support Officer at SPS.”

A long-serving and highly valued member of the team at Stanwell, Toni says that helping to coordinate SPS’ 30th anniversary celebrations in 2023 was a particular highlight of her time at the power station.

“It was a fantastic celebration of our whole workforce, including previous employees that had made great contributions to Stanwell over the years, it was a great milestone to be a part of,” Toni says.

In her regular performance and development conversation with her manager, she expressed interest in the new division of Stanwell that was tasked with the operations and maintenance of renewable assets.

“We put it in my Grow Plan (professional development plan) to progress into a role with SAMCo when the opportunity came up,” she says. “That opportunity came along earlier this year, when a position for Contracts Delivery Lead became available. I applied, and luckily I had the skills required, thanks to my knowledge of the energy industry and my background in administration.”

Toni’s wealth of industry experience is indicative of one of SAMCo’s greatest strengths – the ability to leverage decades of operational excellence in power generation asset management to deliver maintenance services for all forms of renewable energy generation.

“So here I am, 21 years into my career at Stanwell, working in the exciting new field of renewable energy,” Toni says. “It feels good to know I can make a change like this at this point in my career, and get involved in something that’s new to the business, and so important to Queensland’s future.”

Delivering on the promise of a bright future

In her new role at SAMCo, Toni will put her industry knowledge and administration skills into action as the Contracts Delivery Lead.

She says her role is still evolving, but she’s enjoying working on team governance; after a contract win, leading the mobilisation of SAMCo’s services to new sites; developing site-specific implementation plans; and supporting the growth of the business in every way she can.

Toni says the rest of the SAMCo team has been quick to support her as she’s adapted to her new role.

“People at Stanwell have always been willing to share their knowledge, and it’s the same with SAMCo” she says. “When you have good leadership, access to genuine experts, and team members who take ownership of their roles, you can get some incredible things done.

“It’s early days with SAMCo, but we’re already building great relationships within the team as we work together and collaborate on all of these exciting new projects.”

While Toni has left her role at SPS, she’s currently enjoying a hybrid work arrangement, working three days a week from the SPS Projects Building, and the other two days from home, supporting her team who work across the state.

She also had the chance to visit a solar farm constructed on land surrounding a decommissioned coal-fired power station, where she learnt about the facility’s day-to-day operations.

“It was a surprise to see just how vast a solar farm is,” she says. “I don’t think that’s something you can really appreciate until you go out to see one of these parks in person.”

Ultimately, Toni says she’s looking forward to the challenges that her new role brings – and she wants to add value for SAMCo’s clients.

“I’m looking forward to getting on top of my new position,” she says. “My career in energy – which is now my career in renewable energy – has provided me with a lot of opportunities so far, and I’m excited to keep learning and growing with it.”