IPS Administration Consultants – inserting Indigenous enterprise development entrance and centre

The passionate shared desire to build the capacities of indigenous communities and increase opportunities for indigenous peoples has driven the winner of the Business Management Award for the past 27 yearsth Belmont & Western Australian Small Business Awards.

Founded in 2015 with headquarters in Bunbury and employees in Perth, Melbourne and Port Macquarie, IPS is an indigenously owned consulting firm that has grown to a team of 25 people, one third of whom are native.

The company engages decision makers to drive and influence indigenous procurement strategies at the highest levels of government and business across Australia. The impressive range of first-class management consulting services ranges from organizational development, leadership and business skills to market research, branding and communication.

Kristal Kinsela, Managing Director of IPS, explains: “As an indigenous company, diversity is at the heart of everything we do. We focus on developing indigenous talents in our company and giving our employees the opportunity to become owners in the future. We strive to provide ways for Indigenous Australians in our business, from our trainees to our directors. ‘

The consulting firm has a range of industry expertise spanning federal and state, engineering, mining, defense, indigenous businesses, location services, recruiting, and nonprofits.

Kristal continues: “As a relatively young company, we faced the same challenges as so many new indigenous companies, such as building a strong brand and opening the doors to opportunity. We have set ourselves an assertive goal to secure opportunities through the procurement process of the federal government and through the indigenous procurement policy (IPP).

“We faced a number of hurdles including difficulty managing the bidding process, competition from well-resourced multinational consultancies, difficulty getting feedback, and a lack of awareness or understanding of IPP, supplier diversity and its benefits.”

IPS’s commitment was recognized in Parliament in 2018 by then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who highlighted IPS in his speech to fill the gap. Jahna Cedar, IPS Director of Policy, Evaluation and Indigenous Affairs / Engagement, was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her strong and lasting service to the indigenous community in Western Australia.

Kristal published her new book ‘Supplier Diversity How’ on Supply Nation’s Connect in 2019. As the first publication in Australia on the subject of supplier diversity in an Australian context, the book shares Kristal’s long-standing insights from running successful indigenous companies.

Kristal adds: ‘We believe that we are leading the way to the limits of supplier diversity. We are able to solve structural, performance related, financial, cultural and organizational problems by challenging thinking, developing new strategies and building skills. Along the way, we’ll build our brand, forge strong government relationships, and learn valuable lessons. ‘

Picture from left to right: IPS Management Consultants Managing Director Kristal Kinsela, Director – Organizational Development and Leadership Damien Chalk, Director – Trade and Finance Katina Law and Director Politics, Assessment and Indigenous Affairs / Engagement Jahna Cedar.