Meet Brooke BrennanBrooke Brennan - Project Administration Manager

Brooke Brennan has been with VAE for more than ten years and has been supported to return to work after maternity leave twice during that time.

“With my first son, I was on maternity leave for about 10 months. With my second, I took about six months leave,” Brooke says.

“Both times when I returned to work, I felt like the company really cared about me as a person. I had Asher [Green, HR Manager] and a few others reach out a couple of times to check in with me. They also helped me find roles within the business that were part-time so I could slowly return to work.”

“As a new Mum returning to work you are full of anxiety due to always worrying about letting someone down, whether that is your family or your work. But everyone here understands the importance of work-life balance and the everyday stresses working can put on families. They have great flexibility and understanding. It makes such a big difference.”

Throughout her time at VAE, Brooke has worked in several different areas.

“I’ve worked in general administration, service admin and deployment, document control, fleet & warranty admin, and construction admin. I have been almost everywhere!” Brooke says.

These days, Brooke is VAE’s Project Administration Manager, a role she enjoys a lot.

“I’m still very heavily involved in projects, invoicing and supporting the project managers with anything they might need. I also have a team of administrators in both Australia and New Zealand reporting to me, I help them work through any issues that may arise and assist them in completing general day-to-day tasks as well,” she says.

“I enjoy managing a team. I am still learning every day about how I can be a better leader. I try to lead by example, and I want my team to feel the same support and understanding I have always felt.”

“I like that VAE saw potential in me to offer me this opportunity, and I am able to continue to grow personally and professionally by juggling my career and raising a family – this was always a concern of mine when having my kids.”

The people and culture are what keep Brooke at VAE.

“The culture is why I’ve been here for ten years. If I were to describe VAE’s culture, fun comes to mind first, and I also feel really supported by everyone as well. If I’m having a bad day, the team will always pick me up and make it as good as it can be,” Brooke says.

“I think a lot of people know us as a bit of a loud and vibrant crew in the construction team, but it’s just that we have so much banter and fun. We don’t take it too seriously.”

“I’m career driven but it wouldn’t matter too much what I was doing at the moment until my children are a bit older. For me, it’s just about having a steady job and then going home to my family.”

“If someone asked me whether they should join VAE, I would tell them to do it, without a doubt."

"We’ve had a few positions come up recently and people have reached out and said they were thinking about applying, and I said that they wouldn’t regret it. The only thing they would regret is if they didn’t go for the opportunity.”

Over the ten years Brooke has been with VAE, she has seen the organisation grow from about 50 employees predominantly in Brisbane to now more than 370 employees across Australia and New Zealand. Brooke has also changed a lot over that time herself.

“I was in my early twenties when I started at VAE, and now a decade later I’m married and a mum of two young boys. So those people that I’ve worked with have seen a lot of growth for me in those ten years,” Brooke says.

“For the next couple of years, I’m happy doing what I’m doing. One day, I might like to explore the contract management side of things, but really, I just want to be a good employee, turn up to work, do a good job, and then go home to my family.”