We have some amazing souls across the Jobfind team. We showcase many amazing clients at every opportunity, but we also have fantastic staff with huge hearts and massive amounts of talent and empathy. One of our Jobfind stars is Nina D’Angelo who is a ParentsNext Consultant at Jobfind Camberwell.
If you are a client of Nina’s, you walk into an appointment with her safe in the knowledge that she has set out toys to keep accompanying children entertained. This is a considerable relief straight away for a single parent who has no other child-care options. Nina gets it!
Next is where she weaves her magic for her clients. The other day, she had a mother under a tremendous amount of stress after receiving a $1,600 electricity bill. Adding to the pressure, she was also trying to establish her self-employment business in these challenging times. Using her in-depth knowledge, she knew to access The Queen’s Fund Debt Waiver program (VIC) and VOILA! The bill was paid in full, and a relieved client cried tears of joy on receiving the good news.
While it seems Nina waves her magic wand at work, her home life hasn’t always been easy.
Nina is a proud mother to an 18-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son. When she is supporting the plight of parents to achieve their goals to employment, she has an intimate understanding of the challenges and difficulties they face every day through lived experiences herself.
“When my daughter was two years old, she was diagnosed with Leukemia. I had a successful business designing and importing handbags, but I immediately gave it up and lived at The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne for over two years to be by her side.”
That experience changed Nina’s life irrevocably. It was a whole new world. She didn’t realise that there were so many supports available to help cancer patients and their families, such as respite care, financial help and support groups. Accessed those supports was critical to helping to get her family through to the other side.
When her daughter recovered, her passion was to give back to the community. She started volunteering in the cancer not-for-profit space, but it was too close to home, and she moved into working for the Salvation Army for other NGO’s. During this time, she completed her studies in Community Services.
Before the ParentsNext program commenced, Nina believed that it would be pivotal bridging support for parents going from Centrelink payments to Jobactive. A crucial part of her success is knowing what supports to access for each client in their times of need and vulnerability – just like she had to during her daughter’s Leukemia battle.
In February this year, Nina completed the Leadership and Management Diploma through the Jigsaw Training Group. She is a significant asset to the Camberwell team and the ParentsNext program through Jobfind.
