Humans of T-Shirt: Meet Jess, Senior Plan Manager

Jess brings a plethora of unique experience and skills to her role as Plan Manager. Charged with genuine empathy and compassion, Jess empowers her participants to navigate their NDIS journeys with ease.

She’s currently studying her Masters in Counselling and Psychotherapy, and we’re constantly inspired by the energy she brings to her role.  

Read ahead to find out why she is such an asset to our T-shirt team – so much so, that she’s recently been promoted to Senior Plan Manager!

Tell me about your role? 

We do things a little differently at T-shirt. On paper, a Plan Manager’s role is to process invoices to help people pay their providers – but that’s not really the full scope of what we do. I also speak with participants to support them in understanding their plan, navigate NDIS processes, provide guidance on NDIA operational guidelines, and speak with providers.

I need to tailor my support and response to the individual needs of my participants and their families. It’s an amazing feeling knowing I can provide support to such a variety of participants with unique needs and support requirements – in fact, I work with just over 200 participants and their families!

How long have you been working at T-shirt Ventures, and what drew you to the role/company? 

I joined T-shirt in October 2020. I met our Head of People, Nadine, in Canada many years ago and we reconnected at the perfect time! I was looking to shift my career strategically to align more closely with my studies.  Whilst on paper it might not seem like counselling and plan management have a lot in common, I knew that this would be a role that often involves practicing active listening and keeping empathy front-and-centre.

I really lucked out - not only have I been able to achieve that, but I also work alongside humans with hearts of gold.

You’re at a BBQ with a friend who asks you: “What’s it like working at T-shirt Ventures?” What do you tell them? 

This is the best company and culture I’ve experienced in my career and it comes down to the people in the business. I get to work with genuinely kind people who work together as a team to pull through challenges and create opportunities for people with disability. From our tech and product teams through to our customer-facing plan managers, everyone has a genuine heart and have joined T-Shirt because they want to do meaningful work.  

T-shirt has a great culture of knowledge sharing and problem solving as a team. We’re all learning from each other to serve the participants we work with.

What's the most rewarding part about your role and working at T-shirt? 

Seeing the positive outcomes in our participants as a result of our emotional and practical support. Within the scope of my role I can really take the time to get to know participants and advocate for their needs and goals. The NDIS can be a very complex, stressful and isolating system to navigate if you don't have people in your corner.   

But it’s not just the emotional side of things - I’m able to provide insight and knowledge to bring their funding to fruition.

For example, I worked with a participant who had limited funds at the start of her journey. I walked her through plan reviews and advocated for further support. As a result, she now has technology to assist her hearing impairment and funding for a support worker. She can now go out into the community with more ease and confidence - and has been out enjoying art shows!

You've been nominated as living our company value ‘Chop Wood, Carry Water’. What does that value mean to you? 

The way I interpret the value of  'Chop Wood, Carry Water' is that it’s the small daily practices and choices that bring us to a higher purpose or goal.

This stems back to my own mental health journey. When I first started with T-shirt I was struggling to think clearly, practice resilience and stay positive – but I’ve done work to change things for myself, chipped away at challenges, and as a result I’m more confident in my daily choices and in the knowledge I’ve built.  

What do you like to do outside of work? 

In the past few years I’ve sacrificed a lot of free time to study, but when I do get free time, I use it to recharge. This might be a lazy weekend cuddling my fur babies at home, spending time with my family and friends, or getting out into nature. I’m on a mission to develop new hobbies and interests, and can’t wait to see where this curiosity takes me!

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At T-shirt, we’re looking for people with passion, grit and integrity to join our team and ‘wear our T-shirt' every day. We look beyond just resumes and into the heart, stories and life experiences of the people we hire.

Head to our careers page to see open roles. Click here.

No open role to suit you? No stress. If you love our mission and have a diverse perspective, think rigorously and aren’t afraid to challenge assumptions... we want to hear from you!

Get in touch by clicking here.

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