Ben Schoeman

I have spent the best part of my professional life as a professional consultant in conflict management providing mediation, development facilitation, training, public engagement and consultation, change management, organisational transformation, research and policy-making and workplace/labour relations services.

Trained in various aspects of conflict management, including certified training by the Independent Mediation Services of South Africa (IMSSA), LEADR (Australia), Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators Australia (IAMA), Cinergy (Conflict Coaching), and Relationships Australia (Divorce Mediation), I currently hold National Mediator Accreditation (NMAS) in Australia, as well as Australian Mediation Association (www.ama.asn.au) and Resolution Institute (www.resolution.institute) professional memberships.

I am a member of the mediator panels of the Office of Professional Conduct of the Asian Development Bank (Workplace Mediator Roster), Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM) of the Green Climate Fund, Compliance Advisor Ombudsman of the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group), and the Dispute Settlement Facility of the Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). I am an Associate of Converge International, conducting workplace mediation and conciliation processes on their behalf. I have also completed training in Restorative Practice and Restorative Justice Conferencing presented by the International Institute for Restorative Practice and am certified by Mediators Beyond Borders International to deliver these services.

I have mediated for well over 10000 hours and arbitrated in numerous complex matters in a wide variety of workplace disputes, environmental matters, local government issues, complex multi-party commercial disputes, disputes involving the community, development / land use issues, organisational conflict issues (business, government and NGO’s). I have designed and facilitated many large public consultation and engagement processes, often involving highly controversial issues and hundreds of participants.

Between 2013 and 2018 I was contracted by the Office of the Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO), an accountability mechanism for the World Bank Group and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), on short term basis to conduct various complex, multi-party mediation processes in Uganda. These processes involved government, communities, NGOs and CBOs, investors and developers. I also assisted in assessments and/or mediation processes in Guinea, Cambodia and South Africa.

I continue to mediate in commercial and workplace disputes and facilitate public participation processes and conflict management initiatives in Australia, Africa, South-East Asia, the Pacific and elsewhere.