Zone Commander, Clerk Grade 11/12, Tamworth

- Lead and inspire a high-performing team of staff and volunteers, driving emergency preparedness and response across the region.
- Make a meaningful difference in a volunteer-based agency dedicated to supporting and strengthening NSW communities.
- Secure a full-time, ongoing opportunity with real impact and career growth potential.
- Location: Tamworth

About the Opportunity

We are seeking a energetic and experienced leader to guide a high-performing team in regional NSW. This role is pivotal in driving strategic outcomes through collaboration, innovation, and operational excellence across diverse functions.

Reporting to the Assistant Commissioner North and West Operations, you will lead multidisciplinary teams to foster a culture of trust, accountability and continuous improvement. You will prepare communities for floods, storms and tsunamis, and lead their operational response and recovery. You will work with diverse volunteer Units as part of these preparatory activities, building sustainable capability and ensuring ongoing operational readiness. During emergency operations, you will be required to lead in formal operational and incident command roles.

The Zone Commander is responsible for ensuring community safety through operational capability and readiness by developing and maintaining mature capability plans.

About the NSW SES

Our Mission: NSW SES saving lives and creating safer communities.
Our Vision: A trusted volunteer-based emergency service, working together to deliver excellence in community preparedness and emergency response.

The NSW SES serves the community as the lead agency for Floods, Storms and Tsunamis. We are recognised as the most versatile and widely used emergency service organisation in NSW. Our volunteers are highly skilled, experienced, and well- trained in the wide variety of roles they perform.

With over 10,000 volunteers we are committed to protecting and supporting the diverse communities of NSW. Learn more here

About you

To be successful in this role you will:

- Inspire and lead high-performing teams across diverse disciplines, backgrounds and geographically dispersed locations, fostering a culture of collaboration,



accountability and excellence.
- Have a strong understanding of leading and engaging a volunteer workforce to support communities, before, during and after emergency events.
- Be experienced in building trusted partnerships and influence outcomes through strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
- Have experience in managing resources and budgets including monitoring performance metrics while identifying opportunities for continuous improvement and innovation.
- Demonstrate significant experience in leading and managing teams through preparedness, response and recovery activities.
- Commit to upskilling to become a qualified Incident Controller Level 3 within 12 months if not already qualified.
- Be willing and have the ability to travel, participate in on -call arrangements and respond outside of standard business hours as required.

What we can offer you

- 35-hour work week.
- Attractive salary range of $154,231 to $178,369 + 15% field allowance plus 12% superannuation and leave loading
- Our work is meaningful and rewarding. The SES mission is saving lives and creating safer communities and you can be an important part of our work.
- We have attractive leave entitlements including parental, sick, flex and recreation leave.
- Opportunities to build invaluable relationships across emergency service agencies and committees and other Government and community organisations
- We care about our people. We have Mental Health & Wellbeing programs and services to support our people and operational and leadership training and development opportunities to develop our people. Some of these include:
- Fitness Passport
- LinkedIn Learning
- Member Assist Program for free confidential counselling support
- Flu vaccine program.

You Belong Here

- We care about people as individuals and are committed to diversity, inclusion,



and new ways of working. We encourage applications from people of any age, gender, ethnicity, cultural background, faith, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.
- We want our people to reflect the diverse community we serve and are committed to creating an inclusive and flexible workplace. We want to know what this looks like for you so we can support your success at work.
- If you require reasonable adjustments, we are committed to supporting you throughout the recruitment processes and in the workplace, If you feel you may require an adjustment during the recruitment process, please contact ***********@ses.nsw.gov.au for confidential advice on options.

How to apply

Your application should include as separate attachments:

- A cover letter (maximum of one page) briefly responding to the essential requirements and your interest in the role;
- Responses to the targeted questions (maximum of one page per question); and
- An up-to-date resume of no more than four pages detailing your skills and experience relevant to the role

Targeted Question

- This role is responsible for leading staff and volunteers across a large Zone. Describe how you have built and maintained a high-performing, inclusive and accountable workforce. How did you manage differing capability levels, performance expectations and workforce challenges?

- Describe a complex emergency, critical incident or high-pressure operational situation where you were responsible for both strategic decision-making and people leadership. How did you support your teams, manage stakeholder expectations and ensure operational objectives were achieved?

Want to know more?
If you want to know more about this opportunity, please contact Dan Evans, Deputy Commissioner Operations via email ***@ses.nsw.gov.au

The role description is available here.

Talent Pool

A recruitment pool may be created for ongoing and temporary vacancies of the same role within the North Western Zone that may become available for filling over the next 18 months. Further information on talent pools can be found here.

Applications close: Tuesday 8th September 2026 at 11:55pm

📌 Zone Commander North Western (Tamworth)
🏢 NSW State Emergency Service
📍 Tamworth