Are you ready for a career that creates meaningful impact? Here’s your opportunity to work for an organisation that informs and challenges government to improve outcomes for citizens.

Who we are?

For over 200 years, the Auditor-General has assisted the Parliament of New South Wales to hold government accountable for its use of public resources.

Recognised as a centre of excellence in professional services, the Audit Office of New South Wales is an independent integrity agency. We conduct financial and performance audits across a diverse range of portfolios such as health, education, transport, local government, environment, justice, community services, industry and more.

Our work is diverse, challenging and meaningful. Our people interact with diverse stakeholders regularly, and embrace opportunities to positively impact the lives of NSW citizens. A career at the Audit Office is more than you imagine.

We have a people-focused culture, supported by corporate values that encourage pride in purpose, curiosity and open-mindedness, courage and integrity. Our diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences help us deliver high standards of work that reflects the communities we operate in.​

At the Audit Office, you won’t just fit in. You’ll belong.

How will you contribute?

Joining the Audit Office means being part of a team dedicated to excellence, integrity, and making a tangible difference for the people of NSW.

We are seeking an experienced risk advisor and risk management professional for a newly created role at the Audit Office, the Associate Director, Governance (Risk).

You will work with a high degree of autonomy as a trusted advisor on risk and resilience matters, reporting directly to the Director, Governance & Risk in their capacity as Chief Risk Officer (CRO).

Your key focus will be on the delivery and continuous improvement of our enterprise risk management framework and practices. You will play a leading role in developing engaging, accessible and decision-useful ways of reporting and communicating risk information.

You will be expected to maintain effective and collaborative working relationships with members of the Office Executive, our co-sourced internal audit function, and our key governance committees, and director-level leadership team across audit and corporate functions.

Through your advice, contemporary insights, and the relationships that you build, your impact will be felt through strengthening our systems and practices of internal control, and in building our organisational resilience to respond to challenges, emerging risks, and opportunities.

Key responsibilities of this role include:

• Develop, maintain and enhance the Audit Office’s enterprise risk management (ERM) framework in line with relevant NSW Treasury policy, standards (ISO 31000:2018), and positive practice. This includes through:

- supporting the conduct and reporting on strategic, operational and project risk assessments, and maintaining risk registers

- conducting and supporting internal controls monitoring, and developing effective mitigation strategies in line with our risk appetite

- providing advice and insights to the CRO on trends and factors relevant to the Audit Office’s risk environment, including in relation to cyber and AI risk

- strengthening risk management maturity and resilience by promoting a culture of risk awareness, influencing stakeholders to proactively engage with risk and internal controls,





- providing authoritative risk advice to the CRO, CIO, CISO, key committees, and members of the leadership team, and participating actively in relevant committees

• Design, implement and maintain the Audit Office’s business continuity planning framework

• Support and provide advice on responses to data breaches and engage effectively with the IT team in relation to cyber incident responses and risk management

• Manage and provide guidance to direct report/s to support them to effectively exercise their functions and fulfil their responsibilities

• Partner effectively with the Associate Director (Integrity) to share insights and achieve coordinated governance activities, including in relation to internal stakeholder engagement

What will you learn?

We will challenge and develop you, encourage your curiosity, open-mindedness and courage. A bird’s eye view of the whole state government is on offer, a unique opportunity that few professionals are exposed to. ​

We value the growth and development of our people, with leaders who guide and mentor on your professional journey. With a focus on wellbeing, we support you to perform at your best and achieve meaningful outcomes in your role.

What will you need to succeed?

We are looking for an experienced and dynamic risk professional who combines sound judgement and practical problem-solving skills with a collaborative, people-focused approach.

You will be comfortable operating with autonomy, applying specialist expertise and professional judgement to solve complex problems, while knowing when to draw on the perspectives and expertise of others.

You will be confident working with people at all levels of the organisation, listening to their needs and translating risk concepts into practical advice that supports better decisions.

You will bring credibility and interpersonal skills to build capability across the business, helping leaders and teams take ownership of risk and embed effective risk management into everyday planning and delivery.

You will be able to connect strategic objectives, performance and risk, and bring contemporary insights on cyber security, privacy, organisational resilience, sustainability, and artificial intelligence.

Experience in the public sector will be useful, as will an understanding of ethical and compliance obligations for regulated professions, such as auditing. Commercial acumen will also be an asset.

More important is your ability to quickly understand our context, build trusted relationships and bring energy, curiosity and pragmatism to the role.

You will be a keen adopter of GRC and other business systems/tools and be able to maintain and use these effectively to make your work and that of the business more efficient.

You will also need:

- Tertiary qualification or equivalent experience in a relevant discipline with demonstrated substantial understanding of governance as it applies to the public sector

- A high-level understanding of relevant legislation and standards and ability to interpret and effectively apply these requirements to meet governance, policy,



and compliance obligations

- Sound knowledge of the requirements of NSW Treasury policy in relation to internal audit and risk management, ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management, ISO 37301:2021 - Compliance management systems

- Australian permanent resident or citizen or New Zealand citizen.

- A successful police check.

What are the benefits?

We provide genuine flexibility in the way we work, along with competitive benefits.

On offer is flexible work practices and a total remuneration package (including superannuation) ranging from $160,939 to $218,369 per annum depending on experience, skills and capabilities.

The Audit Office is a rewarding, challenging and impactful place to work where we value diversity and take a collaborative approach to ‘getting things done’. Here you can have a rewarding career with purpose, and real work-life balance as well as unique opportunities for professional development and personal growth. You will work with friendly, talented colleagues to solve complex problems and work with high-profile clients.

The Audit Office is committed to supporting flexible working arrangements to create a diverse, skilled and motivated workforce capable of delivering quality products and efficient services. This role is Sydney based and requires regular in-person attendance, with staff expected to work at least 50% of their contracted hours each week at our head office, an auditee location or another related worksite. Some roles may require more frequent office attendance to meet business needs.

Get started.

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all genders, ages, backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with a disability, and those from culturally and linguistically diverse groups. If you are excited about this opportunity but do not think you meet every requirement, or feel your experience does not align perfectly, we still want to hear from you.

For your application to be considered, you must include your resume, as well as a cover letter that addresses these two targeted questions:

1. Describe a situation where you were required to rapidly assess and provide guidance to senior executives on the effective management of a new or changed operational risk that was or could have exceeded risk appetite. Outline how you went about this and describe the result. (400 words maximum)

1. Describe a time when you needed to build or strengthen the engagement of Line 1 and Line 2 staff in the implementation of internal controls to effectively manage risks. Describe your approaches to educating and engaging staff, and achieving lasting results. (400 words maximum)

As this role requires the successful candidate to demonstrate that they meet the capability to write and prepare material that is well structured and easy to follow, we strongly discourage reliance on tools such as ChatGPT for the preparation of cover letters or answers to targeted questions for this role.

If you're interested in making a positive difference to the people of NSW, click Apply Now.

Applications close midnight ​Wednesday 4 November 2026.

For questions relating to this role please contact Alexandra Ellinson, Director, Governance & Risk on ••••@audit.nsw.gov.au or 02 •••• •310.

For further information please contact ••••@audit.nsw.gov.au or visit www.audit.nsw.gov.au for more information about the Audit Office and the important work we do.

📌 Associate Director, Governance (Risk) (Sydney)
🏢 Audit Office of NSW
📍 Sydney