Suzanne Ichlov

Suzanne is a highly-experienced health, community and education industry professional, with extensive experience in the not-for-profit sector, and a proven ability to lead and manage services, projects and teams with intelligence and commitment.

Suzanne has significant senior operational management and change management experience, having implemented major organizational strategic initiatives in complex environments and operationalized new health and community services and large and complex programs requiring engagement with multiple stakeholders. This has resulted in delivering service innovation, and driving new business models that enhance service delivery and client outcomes.

She works within multiple and complex regulatory and policy frameworks to deliver outcomes and drive continual improvement and innovation using data, systems and process approaches.

Suzanne has a leadership style that aims to increase the capacity of individuals and teams who rely on highly-tuned relationships and emotional intelligence to achieve professional, organizational, and client success. Suzanne’s diverse background of roles over the last 30 years include teaching, psychology, research, project management and contract management. Earlier in her career, she worked in the retail and insurance sectors.

Suzanne holds tertiary qualifications in Psychology and Education and is a certified project manager (PRINCE 2) and workforce trainer. She is the recipient of major awards including the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Melbourne Team Award for Excellence in Service Innovation for the design and delivery of innovative models of service provision for young clients experiencing mental health issues.

Suzanne is an experienced researcher, having undertaken a 3-year Psychology PhD Scholarship Program with RMIT University in partnership with the Victorian Education Department. This provided the opportunity, as part of her research, for her to work closely with community leaders and families from refugee backgrounds and schools across Melbourne. In former roles, Suzanne has also partnered with other health services in undertaking significant mental health research projects, including the RCH Melbourne and Orygen.

Suzanne’s clinical mental health credentials and direct experience working with clients and significant trauma, brings both credibility and risk management expertise to the operational management roles she now performs within community and mental health programs and services. Suzanne has held senior risk and quality portfolios, both at RAV and at other organizations at a national level.

Prior to joining RAV, Suzanne worked with headspace National, performing in senior operational management roles including Business Transition, Contract Management and Capital Works (establishment of new headspace centres) and project management roles where she led national-level projects. This included the establishment of the headspace Youth Early Psychosis Program (hYEPP) with the provision of 9 hYEPP services nationally and a total of 19 new centers across Australia. The hYEPP was a world-first implementation approach to the establishment of Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centers (EPPICs) for young people.

The roles Suzanne has held over the past 30 years are extremely diverse. This has uniquely positioned her to operate both strategically and operationally in applying her technical skills to support her staff, clients and other key stakeholders.