The opportunity we have available

As a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts, you will report directly to the Secretary and play a key leadership role in shaping the Department's strategic direction and delivering the Government's priorities. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), you will share collective responsibility for the Department's performance, culture and stewardship while leading multiple divisions. Working collaboratively across government, industry and the community, you will drive reform, influence complex policy and program outcomes, and deliver meaningful benefits for Australians.

This process will be used to fill future vacancies at the SES Band 3 level in the department.

The following vacancy has been confirmed for immediate placement from this process.

Deputy Secretary/Chief Operating Officer, Corporate and Territories Group

As Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer (COO), you will report directly to the Secretary and lead the Corporate and Territories Group, which includes the Territories; Finance, Strategy, Budget and Research; Information Technology and Data; Legal and Integrity; and Enabling Services divisions.

The COO component of the role oversees the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of the Department and provides strategic leadership for its internal operations in line with priorities and objectives set by the Secretary. The Territories component oversees the department’s role in supporting policy and administrative arrangements for, and the delivery of essential services and infrastructure to, Australia’s external territories and the Jervis Bay Territory.





As a key member of the Executive Leadership Team, you will drive organisational capability, operational excellence, robust governance and the delivery of the Department's priorities. You will work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders to achieve impactful outcomes and position the Department for future success.

What you will do

As Deputy Secretary, you can expect to:

- Along with colleagues, build and maintain a whole-of-department strategic policy delivery capability to provide advice on emerging and priority issues, including those relating to First Nations outcomes
- Build and maintain effective and productive networks across portfolio agencies, government, academia, and the private sector
- Ensure there are effective quality assurance protocols and business planning arrangements to support the delivery of timely and high-quality outputs
- Contribute to the development and implementation of strategies that strengthen the department’s inclusive culture
- Represent the department across government, industry, and public forums, including Ministerial briefings, Parliamentary engagements, and Senate Estimates hearings
- Have a passion for making a difference and challenging the status quo
- Be a motivated and visible leader and responsible for embedding the Department’s vision, values and culture




- Demonstrate an ability to lead and coach a number of high-performing teams and build an inclusive, supportive workplace culture
- Demonstrate collaboration and be an agile leader with the ability to drive broad transformational change, both internal and external to the department
- Use strong relationship-building acumen to foster enterprise partnerships and draw on your extensive networks (or have an ability to build them) to drive opportunities for the branch
- Skillfully communicate and influence key stakeholders to achieve desired outcomes
- Apply strong critical and strategic thinking, and an entrepreneurial mindset, to deliver high quality advice to the enterprise.

Inherent requirements for the role

The inherent requirements for this role include:

- The successful candidate for this position will be able to demonstrate their capability against the Secretaries Charter of Leadership Behaviours and the APS Integrated Leadership Profile (ILS) for the SES Band 3 level
- An ability to consider and assess emerging trends and risks provide well considered guidance to the department to enable informed decision-making about long-term opportunities and achievement of strategic, operational and tactical priorities
- the ability to lead and inspire staff within your business area, including building and developing a high performing team, managing competing business priorities and psychosocial risk factors to effectively deliver the core priorities of your business and across the department.
- An ability to build and maintain effective, collaborative and productive networks across portfolio agencies, government, academia, and the private sector.

Deputy Secretary roles within the dep

📌 Deputy Secretary, Various Roles (Canberra)
🏢 Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts
📍 Canberra