- Location: Melbourne or Perth
- Position Type: Ongoing
- Salary: $152,004 - $171,262

The Director, Physical and Technical Surveillance Operations South, reports to and supports the National Manager, Specialist Capabilities, through delivery of operational risk management, coordination and prioritisation of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) physical and technical surveillance capabilities. This role requires strong leadership and collaboration skills within the Collection Operations Division and across the agency’s branches as well as with national law enforcement and intelligence partner agencies.

The occupant of this position will manage the ACIC’s complex and sensitive physical and technical surveillance operations (PSO and TSO) south activities factoring risk, resource allocation, prioritisation within ACIC’s legislative context to deliver outcomes against agency priorities. This role ensures that there is a common operating practice throughout the ACIC PSO and TSO, and that PSO and TSO collection activities are conducted with proper and sound governance of its covert operatives, tactics and tradecraft, risk management, work health and safety and security needs.

This role will require highly effective prioritisation skills, including the ability to maintain a forward work program to deliver high quality outcomes across a range of complex and time critical tasks. Working with the Director, Physical and Technical Surveillance Operations North, the successful applicant will lead surveillance operations and capability in Victoria and Western Australia, and ensure operational activities complement the strategic direction of the ACIC. This will include championing performance standards and priorities, and contribute to business planning, change management and development strategies for physical surveillance.

The successful applicant will build on a mature tradecraft knowledge base to maintain awareness of current national and international developments in physical surveillance methodologies. This ensures the most effective techniques are used to deliver the agency’s covert operations capability nationally.

The Director Physical and Technical Surveillance Operations South will demonstrate a commitment to ongoing learning and professional development and will ideally possess tertiary qualifications or relevant experience in a related or relevant field. Further, they will possess a broad range of experience of working in a domestic and/or international physical and technical surveillance and/or human intelligence collection capability role, to ensure effective national allocation of resources towards ACIC priorities.

Role Responsibilities





As Director Physical and Technical Surveillance Operations South, you will:

• Ensure proper oversight and management of covert surveillance capability, operatives, tactics, and contribute to management of allocated budgets and expenditure
• Manage, develop and lead specialised field teams who deliver the ACIC’s covert intelligence collection capability nationally including effective resource allocation and performance management
• Coordinate and utilise strategies, methods and infrastructure used by the ACIC to comply with operationally relevant legislation (such as the Surveillance Devices Act 2004 and certain aspects of the Crimes Act 1914)
• Drive business and process improvements to keep pace with an evolving collection capability, to ensure judicious and effective management of tasking and allocation of resources in a high tempo operational environment
• Lead technical capability uplift, including management of budget and project management responsibilities
• Initiate and maintain operational partnerships with state and federal counterparts to maximise outcomes
• Maintain an in-depth knowledge of serious and organised crime and of (covert) physical and technical surveillance collection methodologies and applying this knowledge to the duties performed
• Monitor the operating environment for opportunities and threats, including those posed by new technologies or when new counter surveillance methodologies are identified
• Ensure the ACIC’s suite of collection capabilities, and that of our partners, is protected and secure at all times.
• Ensure that technology is adaptive and resilient in order to support PSO operational activities and is integrated into daily operational activities.

Your Skills and Capabilities

We invite applications from people with the following experience, skills and attributes:

• Demonstrates experience in applying covert collection methodologies against serious organised crime or other threats to Australian interests, including a sound knowledge of physical and technical surveillance processes, human intelligence techniques and risk mitigation
• Demonstrate strong leadership, communication, planning and coordination capabilities, including with a workforce, and colleagues/stakeholders, located across states




• Extensive knowledge and understanding of management of covert methodologies and techniques, operationally relevant legislation (such as the Surveillance Devices Act 2004 and certain aspects of the Crimes Act 1914), together with a demonstrated ability to translate this knowledge into innovative best practices business processes that will drive delivery of agency outcomes
• Demonstrates highly developed communication, liaison, interpersonal and negotiation skills, including the ability to define a vision, implement change and engage with multiple stakeholders
• Demonstrates an ability to use sound judgement to analyse operational practices, assess risk in volatile operating environments and implement changes in order to deliver operational and strategic outcomes
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to develop and maintain productive working relationships including with geographically dispersed managers and staff. This also includes work collaboratively across all areas of the ACIC and share subject matter expertise to internal and external stakeholders in a manner appropriate to the circumstances
• Highly developed verbal and written communication skills, and experience providing advice and briefings to Senior Executive Service Officers.

Eligibility Requirements

• Citizenship – To be eligible for employment with the ACIC, applicants must be an Australian citizen.
• Security Clearance - The Australian community expects ACIC employees to maintain the highest levels of security and integrity. Successful applicants will be required to obtain and maintain a minimum Negative Vetting Level 1 security clearance.
• Pre-Employment Screening – All candidates must satisfy an Organisational Suitability Assessment (OSA) prior to being offered employment at the ACIC. Please refer to the ACIC’s Character Standards for further information.

The ACIC is committed to diversity and inclusion. We celebrate and champion diversity to ensure we reflect the community we serve, and pride ourselves on our vibrant culture. We welcome applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, women, people with disability, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, those who identify as LGBTIQ+, neurodiverse, mature aged employees and carers.

More information about our conditions is available in the ACIC Enterprise Agreement 2024-2027 on our website.

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📌 Director Physical and Technical Surveillance Operations South, Melbourne, Perth
🏢 Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
📍 Melbourne