FAQs

Most universities invest heavily in research but underinvest in making that research visible and valuable to industry, government, and the public.

Without strong external impact, partnership and collaboration opportunities fall flat - no matter how strong the research itself.

With proven experience at ANU Enterprise, I build the external impact foundation that enables everything else to succeed.

This includes external impact strategy, research communications that translate complexity into market value, stakeholder visibility frameworks, and capability statements that resonate with external audiences.

I don't promise partnerships - I deliver the visibility and comprehension that enables partnerships to happen.

A fractional communications leader is essentially a senior executive who works with your organisation part-time or on-demand, embedded in your team rather than standing outside it as an advisor.

Where a consultant delivers a report or a strategy document and leaves, I stay involved - steering your brand, attending key meetings, making real-time decisions, and delivering results alongside your team.

You get C-suite communications leadership without the full-time salary, superannuation, and overhead.

This model works particularly well for organisations going through a growth phase, preparing a major bid, or needing to fill a senior gap without committing to a permanent hire.

Investing in high-potential staff (HiPos) for executive presence is one of the highest-return investments an organisation can make.

When your emerging leaders are visible, articulate, and strategically branded, they attract opportunities to your organisation as well as themselves.

I work with HR and leadership teams to design personal branding and executive presence programs for HiPos, covering LinkedIn strategy, personal brand positioning, communication style, and stakeholder engagement skills. Programs are tailored to your organisation's culture and goals, and can be delivered as individual coaching, group workshops, or a combination of both.

Contact us for a bespoke quote.

This is one of the most common and most challenging personal brand transitions there is.

Technical experts are valued for depth of knowledge - CEOs and executive leaders are valued for strategic vision, influence, and the ability to bring others with them.

The brand you built as a technical expert can actually work against you when you're going for a leadership role, because it positions you as a specialist rather than a generalist leader.

I help C-suite leaders in transition reframe their narrative - repositioning deep expertise as strategic advantage, building a leadership brand that resonates with boards and recruiters, and developing the visibility that gets you onto shortlists for the roles you want.

Board members with portfolio careers often rely on the reputation of the organisations they serve, rather than building an independent professional brand.

This works fine - until a board role ends, a sector shifts, or you want to pursue new appointments outside your current network.

An independent personal brand positions you beyond any single organisation, establishing your reputation as a trusted governance expert, strategic thinker, and sector leader in your own right.

I help board members develop LinkedIn presence, thought leadership positioning, and personal brand guidelines that attract new appointments and ensure your expertise is visible and valued long after any individual role ends.

Success looks different depending on the service.

For executive branding, we measure LinkedIn profile views, connection growth, inbound enquiries, and ultimately - career outcomes like interviews, offers, and appointments.

For university external impact, we track research visibility metrics, stakeholder reach, media coverage, and engagement with capability documents.

For fractional leadership and communications strategy, we track against KPIs we set together at the start of the engagement.

The key is that we define success with you before we start, not after.

Every strategy we deliver includes a framework for monitoring outcomes and adapting what isn't working.

Yes.

While Susan Blain Consulting is based in Canberra, we work with clients nationally across Australia.

Our university and research organisation clients span multiple states, our executive branding clients include senior professionals in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth, and our fractional communications and subcontracting services are available remotely or on-site as required.

If you're outside Canberra and wondering whether we can help, the answer is almost certainly yes - get in touch and we'll discuss how we can make it work.