Executive Officer to Deputy Secretary

The opportunity we have available

Operating in a dynamic and complex environment, Deputy Secretary Executive Officers play a pivotal role in ensuring the effective functioning of the Deputy Secretary’s office, and in providing strategic advice and support. This includes managing sensitive and high-priority matters, coordinating strategic communications, and maintaining strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders. The Executive Officer works closely with the Deputy Secretary and their Executive Assistant (EA) to ensure timely decision-making and seamless delivery across the Group.

What will you do?

Executive Officers provide high-level strategic and operational support to Deputy Secretaries on a wide range of complex policy, program, and corporate issues affecting the Department (and the relevant Group). The role is fast-paced with challenging timelines, and work may be required outside normal work hours to meet peak work demands.

Executive Officers hold a position of significant trust and are required to manage professional relationships with senior staff and stakeholders both internal and external to the Department. This includes maintaining close working relationships with Ministerial staff, senior SES in other APS and state and territory agencies, and the SES team of the group in which they work. Executive Officers also provide secretariat services for executive meetings and forums, including with Ministers, and lead the development and coordination of briefing material to support the Department’s engagement with parliamentary committees (including Senate Estimates).

The role requires a very high level of professionalism, discretion, tact and diplomacy in dealing with sensitive and/or confidential matters, and the ability to adapt communication and engagement styles to a wide range of stakeholders and situations. Executive Officers are expected to drive group-wide initiatives and priorities (e.g. relating to organisational strategy, design, culture, etc), and are accountable for ensuring delivery of outcomes. EL2 EOs are also responsible for monitoring high level deliverables for which SES leaders are accountable, and may undertake complex reporting. They prepare a variety of communications products on a range of strategic and operational matters considered sensitive and very complex. They consistently display astute judgment, flexibility and discretion.

Deputy Secretary Executive Officers play a crucial role in monitoring and addressing risk and emerging opportunities, including working with appropriate SES leaders to take corrective action, and to frame briefing materials for Ministers, the Deputy Secretary, and the Secretary. They often lead through influence rather than through direct positional authority, requiring advanced skills in communication and collaboration, and work with a high degree of delegated authority. They are also advocates and role models for the APS Values and the leadership behaviours that we expect all staff (and particularly those in leadership roles) to demonstrate. Deputy Secretary Executive Officers also have responsibility for building capability in executive support staff within their groups, and may additionally have direct supervisory responsibilities (depending on the role).

Deputy Secretary Executive Officers carry a high degree of accountability for managing reputational risk. They work in a high pressure, politically sensitive environment that requires detailed knowledge of government and organisational priorities and issues. They partner with the senior executive to prioritise and manage highly complex and sensitive issues within the remit of the Deputy Secretary.

Deputy Secretary Executive Officers also represent the Executive, liaising and negotiating with senior internal and external stakeholders to support communications and strategic objectives. They interpret the Deputy Secretary’s strategic intent and translate it into action through the provision of guidance and advice to stakeholders and staff.

Who are we looking for?

The successful candidate for this position will be able to demonstrate their capability against the EL2 Work level standards, and specifically:

• Provide and oversee administrative support to the senior executive, by ensuring alignment of planning, preparation and focus; anticipating and establishing work priorities; providing expert advice to resolve highly complex and sensitive issues; and responding to emerging issues promptly and directing action in response.
• Represent the Executive in internal and external engagements, including: providing guidance to leaders and staff on work priorities, requirements, standards, and expectations; engaging and collaborating with senior staff in the department to ensure the Group’s interests and priorities are understood; developing and leading complex organisational change processes; resolving less complex matters directly with Ministers’ offices; and representing the Deputy Secretary at meetings within the department (and with external contacts in relation to less complex matters).
• Initiate, establish and maintain productive working relationships with an extremely wide range of stakeholders, including Ministers’ Offices, senior leaders within the department, across the APS, in other jurisdictions, and in non-government organisations, and staff at all levels. This includes the ability to provide guidance and advice to people more senior than you through influence. It also includes leading small teams both through positional authority and through influence, including EA and EO networks within groups.
• Prepare, coordinate and oversee briefings, correspondence, and reporting on complex and/or sensitive issues, reviewing papers and other documentation to identify significant operational and strategic impacts and briefing accordingly; and ensuring a consultative and collaborative approach to briefing and advice to ensure a whole-of-Group and whole-of-Department view is provided.
• Lead and contribute to the improvement of business processes, by promoting, developing, and implementing efficient administrative processes that comply with corporate governance and compliance requirements, and promote continuous improvement; and implementing forward planning initiatives that support the delivery of strategic priorities.

Cultural capability requirement

The department believes every role contributes to cultural safety and that building staff cultural capability helps us deliver better policies, programs and services for First Nations people and the broader Australian community. Candidates will be required to demonstrate their willingness to develop their cultural capability as part of the assessment process. In making it a requirement across all roles in our department, we are taking a practical step in delivering our commitments under the Our Stories on Country Agreement and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy 2025–28.

As an EL2 you will be expected to provide strategic leadership to embed cultural capability across programs, policies or functions, influence senior leaders on culturally informed approaches, and drive partnerships and co-design with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander organisations and communities where applicable or appropriate.

Eligibility requirements

Employment with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts is subject to conditions prescribed within the Public Service Act 1999 including:

• Citizenship: candidates must be an Australian citizen at the time of submitting your application.
• Health Assessment: The preferred candidate may be required to undergo a medical examination conducted by the department’s preferred medical provider.
• Security Clearance: The successful candidate must be able to obtain and/or maintain a security clearance at NV1. You must be willing to disclose all relevant and required information. You must have lived in Australia, or have a checkable background, for at least the preceding five years for Baseline Vetting clearances. More information on the security clearance vetting process is available on the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA) website.
• Police check: The successful candidate must satisfactory complete an Australian Federal Police criminal history check.
• Integrity and Performance check: The successful candidate must satisfy the requirements in an Integrity and Performance check which is completed by your most recent employer.