Approach & experience

I'm Susan.

A Manawatū-based project management consultant, working with organisations across New Zealand and internationally. A habit of turning complex, politically charged work into something that can actually be delivered. Pragmatic. Results-first. Allergic to jargon.

Susan Philp, principal of Jura Consulting

Why Jura Consulting

Clients started asking for more than the sale.

After more than ten years in IT sales, clients trusted me to sell them what was actually right for their businesses. Then they wanted someone they could trust to manage the more complex work — delivering the initiatives, not just the sale. I dipped a toe into project management and consultancy — and did not look back. I never imagined that taking the leap, twelve years ago, would mean running Jura Consulting, writing a book, and still getting a kick out of helping organisations with their programme and project delivery.

Whether it is recovery, end-to-end delivery, governance, or simply bringing structure to a messy programme, the style is the same: hands-on, no-nonsense, and honest about what will and will not work in an organisation of your size — down the road, elsewhere in New Zealand, or overseas.

PRINCE2 Foundation, PMBOK and Agile trained
Delivery, risk, and change — including politically sensitive environments
Local consenting, compliance, and the way NZ boards actually decide

Philosophy

Well done is better than well said.

We are pragmatic, cost-conscious, and interested in real results. Complex challenges get turned into clear, actionable plans that actually get delivered — on time and on budget.

Operations, new initiatives, tricky stakeholders, politically sensitive change: we help turn strategy into something the team can run, and we build their capability on the way through.

Born and raised in New Zealand, based in Manawatū. Clients nationally and internationally. Local knowledge, an inquisitive streak, and a sense of humour when the week requires one.

Selected work

Proven delivery, at three scales.

Enterprise — programmes over $5 million

Multi-year initiatives requiring end-to-end establishment, complex governance, high political or technical risk, and direct Board or ministerial visibility.

Levin Town Centre Transformation

Horowhenua District Council · Founding Programme Director, establishment 2020–2023 · $35m+

From a greenfield concept: strategy, funding case, and governance model; secured council, iwi, and central government commitment.
Stood up workstreams, procurement frameworks, and a hybrid delivery methodology; first major packages on time and on budget.
Positioned the programme for long-term execution and handed over to the incumbent team in 2023 (delivery continues through ~2027).

Vision Capture — outside-broadcast fleet

TAB New Zealand / NZRB · 2018–2020

Led planning, build, and nationwide implementation of an advanced outside-broadcast vision fleet with Sony Australia and international suppliers.
Managed complex vendor contracts, technical risk, change, training, and comms for operational teams.
Delivered on time and generated a healthy financial surplus.

Enterprise data & technology platform review

CIO-sponsored · 2020

A multi-million-dollar platform proposal had twice failed to secure Board approval.
Rewrote the case around genuine business need, benefits, and options — not a solution in search of a problem.
Discovery proved existing systems already met current and future requirements. The proposed platform was terminated, avoiding $3–5m+ of unnecessary spend.

Mid-sized — $500k to $5 million

A representative selection from 10+ years and 30+ initiatives across public sector, regulated industries, healthcare, and research.

Foxton Futures community regeneration

Horowhenua District Council · 2023–2025

Created and led a three-year community co-design programme on a seed budget of $25k a year; produced a five-year town vision and a plan on a page.
Turned $75k of total investment into a $500k committed capital allocation in the 2024–2034 Long-Term Plan, plus external funding partnerships.
Handed over a fully funded, council-adopted plan with active community governance.

Future venue plan — joint racing codes

NZRB & three racing codes · 2018–2019

Selected by sponsors to continue a collaborative venue strategy; inherited a frustrated analyst team and rebuilt morale.
Facilitated alignment with code CEOs; produced an industry-wide venue plan, consultation framework, and transition roadmap.
On time and under budget when paused after the Messara Report (2019).

BRANZ corporate website transformation

BRANZ · 2021

Took over a stalled upgrade mid-flight — unclear roles, duplicated effort, and accountability gaps between internal teams and vendors.
Established daily stand-ups, weekly steering, and transparent reporting; rebuilt trust and momentum.

Central Regions patient portal rollout

Orion Health · 2015–2016

Appointed as Sales Director and assumed project-delivery lead on day one after the incumbent PM was removed — client fury, resignations, 30% budget overrun, and critically high defect rates in live software.
Honest recovery planning, scope re-baseline with clinical and technical stakeholders, focused defect sprints.
Turned the programme around: contract extension, critical bugs eliminated, successful go-live, and a relationship that became a long-term partnership.

Focused work — under $500k

Smaller in dollars, high in stakes: the trusted pair of hands when previous ownership had faltered, or when the Board was watching.

Racing Reform transitional programme

NZRB / DIA Racing Transition Unit · 2018–2020

Designed and delivered a multi-stream programme to realign racing industry and organisational structures with the Racing Reform Bill.
Turned legislative ambiguity into detailed plans; engaged ministerial, board, and industry stakeholders.
Delivered under budget and handed over to operations on schedule (April 2020).

BRANZ annual review & annual report

BRANZ · 2021–2022

Hand-picked by the CEO to lead two consecutive editions of the organisation's flagship ministerial-level annual review.
End-to-end: content, design, proof, print and digital. On time, on budget, to the CEO's standard for quality and storytelling.
Templates and checkpoints adopted as the permanent process.

Product lifecycle management framework

BRANZ · 2022–2023

Dozens of widely used industry tools and publications (B-Risk, Appraisals) had no formal lifecycle governance.
Phase 1: policy, governance model, templates, and stage-gates — now mandatory for new and existing products.
Phase 2: catalogued 200+ legacy products, built a prioritisation matrix (revenue, user base, compliance risk), and started structured review cycles.

References

What sponsors actually say.

“It has been awesome working with you. You joined the team at an important time and had such a positive impact on getting the Levin Town Centre up and running, even getting the Councillors raving about your programme. Thank you for the way you have gone about this work, with determination and getting stuff happening.”
GM Community and Vision·Horowhenua District Council

“The first meeting I had with you, I was impressed. You explained exactly what the challenges were with delivery of our programme, and then presented how you would overcome those to ensure delivery with a revised schedule. You then proceeded to deliver exactly what you promised — with good humour and professionalism — winning the trust of not only the delivery team but also the Board.”
Chief Executive Officer·BRANZ

“The vendor relationship was in tatters, and we were seeking legal advice on our options. You showed incredible resilience in that politically charged environment, never cracking under pressure. You quietly got on with fixing everything: the high bug rates, governance, reporting, team morale — and you won back the trust of the stakeholders. Three months later we signed a contract extension. Your contribution was the difference.”
Programme Director·Central Regions Technical Advisory Services

“I really admired the sensitivity and common sense brought to our transition work with the agencies. In a tricky political environment, Susan got competing groups talking and working together honestly and fairly — always focused on what needed to get done. Her straightforward approach made a real difference.”
Chief Executive Officer·NZ Thoroughbred Racing

If you need someone who gets stuff done.

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