NEMA, Assistant Director Coordination and Planning

 

About the National Emergency Management Agency: The National Emergency Management Agency's work has a real impact on the lives of Australians, particularly those living in rural and regional areas.

The National Emergency Management Agency's guiding principle is “Locally led, locally understood and locally implemented” and we bring together local communities, government, non-government and key industry representatives to support disaster recovery and resilience across the country.

Your work will help people who are recovering from natural disasters and prepare them for the future.

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) was established on 1 September 2022 as a single, accountable Commonwealth authority delivering a whole-of-nation approach to reducing disaster risk, planning, preparing for, responding to and recovering from all hazards across the emergency management continuum.    NEMA works closely with States and Territories to deliver the best outcome for communities across Australia. To help communities respond and recover and prepare Australia for future emergencies, we:

• Fund programs and initiatives, big and small, that help communities in times of emergency, as well as to recover and prepare, including through disaster recovery funding and the Disaster Ready Fund to help reduce the risk and impact of disasters
• Position officers across Australia to work in partnership with States and Territories to support disaster-affected communities in collectively building resilience, reducing risk and harm, and effectively responding to and recovering from disasters
• Provide national leadership to share knowledge, situational awareness, and trends in disaster efforts to inform, guide and shape the national picture and decision-making at the Commonwealth, state and local Government level – including through policy development and strategy to improve risk reduction, resilience and recovery
• Provide round-the-clock all-hazards monitoring and operational coordination for domestic and international emergencies, including supply chain disruptions, critical infrastructure outages, biosecurity risks and widespread cyber-attacks, and through supporting preparedness and response activities, including through the operationalisation of the Australian Government Crisis Management Framework.

• Response and early recovery planning
• Recovery and resilience program design, assurance and improvement
• Decision making through information and issues management
• Senior Official visits and associated briefings.

Through Directors, CPO teams also work in close partnership with States and Territories to:

• Coordinate information and when required directly support communities (including vulnerable communities) to understand and access Australian Government support
• Support and enable the development of local resilience, recovery and response plans and preparedness activities.

Staff within NEMA may be required to work outside of standard business hours in support of operational requirements, particularly during the high-risk weather season. An ability to deploy to disaster impacted areas, when/if required, is part of the role.   There is currently one vacant position located in Darwin, NT. This vacancy will be filled through this recruitment process, and a merit pool will be established for this and all other CPO Assistant Director locations (Brisbane QLD; Yeppoon QLD; Darwin NT; Sydney NSW; Wagga Wagga NSW; Adelaide SA; Melbourne VIC; Bendigo VIC; Perth WA and Broome WA)   Our ideal candidate: NEMA is looking for emerging leaders who enjoy working in a dynamic, forward-thinking environment. Assistant Directors are expected to demonstrate competence, initiative, good judgement and emotional intelligence within their jurisdiction. Assistant Directors may be required to provide detailed advice, as a conduit between NEMA, Australian Government agencies and the States and Territories to resolve on complex technical, operational and policy matters as they arise. Successful candidates must be self-motivated, aiming to shape the outcomes of the organisation.   We encourage applications from First Nations people, people with disability, LGBTQIA+ people, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, mature age people and people from other diverse backgrounds. We are committed to providing a working environment that values diversity and inclusion and supports staff to reach their full potential.   Specific duties/responsibilities:

• Engage and collaborate with key stakeholders (internal and external) to identify and maintain mutually beneficial and productive working relationships, including with Federal, State and local Governments and actively building and maintaining relationships with teams across NEMA
• Promote the agency’s business objectives through key strategic relationships with a range of stakeholders, working in direct partnership with State and Territory disaster management agencies
• Provide expertise across a broad range of different program areas and activities, anticipate challenges and manage issues when required
• Consider and manage competing priorities effectively in alignment with strategic directions to achieve team outcomes in line with agency goals and objectives
• Implement change and manage ambiguity in the workplace
• Coordinate and undertake detailed work activities with an awareness of their possible impact on strategic, political or operational outcomes for NEMA and disaster management coordination
• Communicate and make decisions that are based on professional judgement, evaluating risks in the context of a complex and changing environment
• Represent NEMA’s position in the context of more complex issues, including identifying new stakeholders while considering future needs/direction and a changing environment
• Plan and monitor work processes, direct and coordinate quality assurance practices and set performance indicators
• Prepare draft reports, briefing papers, Ministerial correspondence, discussion papers and information briefs
• Manage systems, processes and robust record-keeping to maintain effective relationship management
• Represent the agency by promoting its interests at cross-agency and community levels (as required), including engaging empathetically with disaster-affected communities.

  Role requirements/qualifications:

• High level stakeholder engagement and management experience managing complex and sensitive issues
• Strong personal resilience and ability to lead teams through change and ambiguity
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to effectively manage competing priorities and strategic directions when achieving team planning and outcomes in line with agency goals and objectives, in response to an unpredictable and dynamic work environment
• Experience in emergency management
• Sound decision making and judgement
• Ability to deploy to disaster impacted areas (if required)
• Valid driver’s license.

Applicant response: As part of your application, you will be required to prepare a one page response document (minimum 11pt font in MSWord or PDF format), which you will upload in the next section. 

Please ensure you read the instructions carefully, noting failure to address identified requirements may lead to your application being deemed ineligible. 

Please prepare a one-page Applicant Response in relation to the advertised role, outlining:

• How your skills, knowledge and experience will be relevant to this role
• Why you are interested in the role and what you can offer us
• Any specific examples or achievements that demonstrate your ability to perform the role. 
   

How to apply:

As part of your application, you will need to provide:

• Your CV
• Your Applicant Response document
• Details of two referees
• Include your full name and the Requisition Number - 137277 in the footer of any documents being uploaded.

Eligibility and Specific Conditions of Employment

To be eligible to work with the NEMA you must:

• Be an Australian Citizen
• Fulfil the Agency's minimum requirements by satisfactorily answering all screening questions during the application process and successfully undergo a National Police Check
• Obtain and maintain a Baseline Vetting (AGSVA) security clearance
• Satisfy a probation period (if applicable)
• Undergo a health assessment (if applicable).

Technical Assistance

 

Notes

Remuneration: The Agency offers an attractive remuneration package, including salary, superannuation benefits and flexible working conditions appropriate to the level of the position.

If you will not have access to your agency email during the process of this requisition, please advise the contact officer and provide alternate contact information.