5 Minutes with a Staffer, featuring Nadia Clancy

It's a daily grind. It's a passionate dedication. It's serving one person. It's serving the nation. You take the losses almost personally. You savour the victories for a lifetime.

The life of a political staffer is not for everyone, but for those who have walked the corridors of power and seen the development of ideas designed to benefit a nation, there are few other vocations they would choose.

Nadia Clancy graduated with a degree in communications and her first job out of university was working for a politician. From an early taste, Nadia was hooked on the life of a political adviser. She's worked for some of the most powerful politicians in the country at both a Federal and State level. Nadia took time to chat with Advoc8 about her experiences, past and present.

Nadia, thanks for taking time to chat with us. Can you tell us a little about who you have worked for in politics and who you're working for now?

I've worked as a staffer in both federal and state politics as a policy adviser, media adviser and electorate officer. This has included working for Kevin Rudd when he was Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mark Butler in various portfolios and Katrine Hildyard when she was the Minister for Disabilities in South Australia, who I still work for in her capacity as a Shadow Minister.

What made you choose to become a political staffer?

My passion to make our society better, my interest in a number of policy areas and my love of an ever changing work environment makes it the perfect fit for me. I studied media and communications at university and my first full time job out of university was working for Senator Anne McEwen.

So what does a day in your shoes look like?

It is always completely varied. It could be a day at a computer writing speeches, doing research or corresponding with stakeholders. Or it could be attending meetings and events, and when working for a federal Member, these could be in multiple states on the same day.

What are some of the effective things advocates can do to help deliver their key messages to a political office?

Keep the background brief and explain what is needed. Too often stakeholders spend an entire meeting talking about their organisation - which the politician has likely already read or heard - and fail to get to the issue. It's important for stakeholders to know the purpose of a meeting and what they want to get out of it, so they can communicate it clearly.

Of the organisations/stakeholders that you find/found helpful or effective, what made them so great to work with?

Organisations that I was able to have ongoing dialogue with were the most effective. If I could call and ask a quick question and get a quick response and vice versa, it made working together easy. It was also great when stakeholders were able to provide clear information on all of the benefits of a proposed policy change, not just the most obvious.

If you're a current or former staffer and would like to be featured, please get in touch at hello@advoc8.co.