A Human-Centred Path to Innovation

This weeks Pro Bono Australia change maker is Mel Jacob, Fundraising and Innovation Lead at the Royal Flying Doctors Service in Queensland. Delivering a modern approach to strategy, Mel Jacob brings human-centered and business thinking to transform challenges into opportunities. Connecting people to strategy through design-led experiences she is able to move them from planning to doing. Read on for our interview with Mel!

Describe your career trajectory and how you got to your current position?

My career began in tourism, spanning Japan, New Zealand, Europe, and Australia, where I worked across sales, marketing, and product development of adventure tourism products. Relationship management was key to this role and the constant international movement sharpened my instincts for the needs and desires of different markets, cross-cultural communication and experience design. 

Whilst based overseas, I relocated to Munich to be with my partner and shifted into communications, joining a boutique PR agency during the dot-com boom. As Account Director, I led strategic campaigns for brands like Expedia and Avanade across German-speaking markets and Europe, helping position Expedia.de as the leading online travel platform while advancing consumer trust through establishing and launching Germany’s TÜV s@fer-shopping certificate.

Back in Australia, I joined Wotif.com to lead PR and communications, expanding into the UK and Singapore markets. A career pause to raise a family inspired a pivot and I started studying property economics. I joined Brisbane Airport to lease and manage retail and commercial tenancies. There, I applied a hospitality lens to property management to maintain a high occupancy and increase turnover, whilst evolving my understanding of placemaking (designing areas that attract people), contract negotiation, and design in built environments (shopping centres, retail shops, airports, precincts).

Seeking more creativity, I moved into an innovation role withing strategic planning and development at the Airport. I lead exploration of new products, market research and CX programs to inform customer needs. This is where I formally encountered design thinking frameworks, which gave structure to what I’d long intuitively practiced: observing, listening to customers’ needs, prototyping, testing and trialing, and co-creating solutions.

Since finding my sweet spot, I’ve brought human-centred design into higher education, social impact, and fundraising. 

I thrive on connecting people to strategy and moving teams from insight to action through design and innovation. 

Today, I lead innovation at the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Fundraising and Philanthropy, team where purpose, creativity, and design converge. 

It’s a deeply rewarding space to work alongside a fabulous team. Our innovation is authentically driven and supported by our EGM and the CEO.

Typical Day at Work

It’s very diverse, extremely satisfying and energizing!

I embed innovation so I love cultivating curiosity and creating psychological safety in all that we do (get uncomfortable in a safe and fun way so that we grow as a team!). Humour, music and positive energy play a huge role.

#progressnotperfection is often said and I regularly play the devil’s advocate to get the team thinking of different ways to do things (let’s look outside to other industries and sectors).

Some days I write reports, or am called on to present to the board or ELT, I undertake ideation workshops, set out strategic plans for innovation, facilitate squad meetings, undertake journey mapping, or conduct in-depth interviews with customers and stakeholders.

I am an enabler and there to serve the most amazing team at becoming more innovative in all that they do, whether that’s incremental innovation over time, or disruptive innovation where we break into new markets.  What I find most humbling about my role is its contribution to the not-for-profit space. I am able to use my strengths to work at an organisation that delivers equitable health to Queenslanders, making an impact in the greatest way that I can.

If you could go back in time, what piece of advice would you give yourself as you first embarked on your career?

• Having a mentor through various phases of your career would be beneficial, to help you see different angles and support you through difficult times.
• To have found and understood Standford’s Design Thinking Odyssey Journey tool earlier on.  It’s an amazing tool that uses design thinking principles to explore different life paths and helps you create the future you want. You develop three different versions of your life for the next five years, each representing a unique “path”. This method encourages exploration of some crazy ideas, gets you focused on experimenting in these areas (prototyping your career path), and helps you to become more adaptable to career and life choices. It is an excellent tool to challenge your thoughts and push beyond what you think is achievable. 

How I unwind after work

• For laughs: playing competitive UNO flip with my husband and teenagers
• For the soul: Iyengar yoga, weeding (yes weeding!!) and paddleboarding – love the ocean
• For the body: sauna therapy and biohacking (what ever is in, I trial it!!)
• For connection: walks and talks with friends and family