Job Description

Our client is a large federal government department responsible for delivering Australia's international development and humanitarian assistance program across the Pacific and Timor-Leste.

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Australia's international development policy commits to helping partner governments and communities in the region strengthen resilience to climate-related disasters, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

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It's an area of growing investment: every dollar spent on disaster risk reduction is estimated to save up to eight dollars in post-disaster recovery costs.

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The Opportunity

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This role sits within a regional disaster resilience program, a Commonwealth initiative working with partner governments and communities in the Pacific and Timor-Leste to strengthen anticipatory and early action systems ahead of climate-related disasters.

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As a Program Manager, managing day-to-day delivery alongside the department's Disaster Risk Reduction and Preparedness team.

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You'll have the opportunity to:

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- Take carriage of a well-funded, high-profile regional program with real influence over its direction, rather than a narrow delivery remit
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- Build a broad stakeholder network, from Commonwealth agencies and Pacific partner governments to UN agencies, NGOs and international financial institutions
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- Contribute to the ongoing development of program governance frameworks across MEL, climate, GEDSI and communications, rather than administering ones already fixed
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- Specialise in a growing area of Australia's international development effort: disaster risk financing and anticipatory action
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The Role

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As Program Manager, you'll take day-to-day carriage of the program's delivery,



governance and stakeholder relationships.

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Your responsibilities will include:

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- Leading day-to-day program management alongside the department's Disaster Risk Reduction and Preparedness team, keeping delivery on time, on budget and aligned to agreed objectives
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- Coordinating governance meetings, annual work planning, budgeting, risk management and performance reporting
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- Managing implementing partners, technical advisers and service providers, including scopes of work, deliverables, timelines and contract performance
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- Developing and applying program governance frameworks across monitoring and evaluation, climate, GEDSI and communications, and mobilising technical support panels and mechanisms
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- Engaging regional mechanisms, international finance institutions, disaster risk financing actors and insurers to strengthen pre-arranged financing for anticipatory action
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- Representing the program in governance, coordination and regional policy forums, and identifying communications and public diplomacy opportunities
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- Embedding GEDSI, First Nations perspectives, locally led development, safeguarding and climate integration across delivery, monitoring and reporting
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The Ideal Person

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You're likely to have led complex, multi-stakeholder programs before,



and you're comfortable managing governance, budgets, risk and reporting while keeping a wide network of partners pulling in the same direction.

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You will bring the following skills and experience:

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- Demonstrated experience managing and coordinating complex, multi-stakeholder programs, including work planning, budgeting, contract management, risk management, monitoring and reporting
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- The ability to build and maintain relationships with government, multilateral, NGO, private sector, research and regional partners across complex, cross-cultural environments
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- Sound knowledge of international development and humanitarian programming principles
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- An understanding of disaster risk reduction, anticipatory and early action systems, and disaster risk financing, ideally with exposure to the Pacific or Timor-Leste
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- The ability to translate strategy into practical
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- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including preparing advice and reports for senior and external audiences
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- Robust interpersonal skills and sound judgement, with the ability to work independently and manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment
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Australian Citizenship and an NV1 Security Clearance, or the ability to obtain one, are required.

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Salary / Rate

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- $90/hr – $110/hr + Super
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- Labour hire October 2026 to June 2028, with an opportunity for a 2.5-year extension
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- Full-time role with part-time arrangements for the right candidate
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HorizonOne is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and we encourage applications from people of all cultures, capabilities and backgrounds.

📌 Program Manager (Canberra)
🏢 HorizonOne Recruitment
📍 Canberra