Career Opportunities: EL1 - Assistant Directors, Regional Development, Northern Australia and Local Government (48275)

Requisition ID48275-Posted05/11/2026-$126,838-$144,278- Location of Position (5) -Ongoing/Non-Ongoing-Full Time/Part Time

EL1 - Assistant Directors, Regional Development, Northern Australia and Local Government

Title:

EL1 - Assistant Directors, Regional Development, Northern Australia and Local Government

Classification(s):

Employment Type:

Ongoing/Non-Ongoing, Full Time/Part Time

Business Division:

Regional Development, Northern Australia & Local Government

Branch / Section:

Office of Northern Australia

Location:

We want to recruit the best people to our department. Our roles support flexible work arrangements including the opportunity to work from one of our departmental offices and hybrid (mixture of office and home-based work).

These roles are located in Cairns; Darwin; Perth; Townsville.

A merit pool may be formed and used to fill future similar vacancies in these locations and other locations within the same metropolitan area.

We actively seek to reflect the diversity of the Australian community in our workforce. We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanderpeople, people with disability and/or who are neurodivergent, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and members of the LGBTQIA+ community, including people of all genders and gender identities. We uphold gender equality as a core organisational value. If you're interested in the role but feel uncertain, we still encourage you to apply if you feel your passions, transferable skills and valuable experience align with this position.

The opportunity we have available





The Office of Northern Australia is a multi-disciplinary branch driving the economic and social advancement of Northern Australia. We oversee the Government's $7 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) special investment vehicle, coordinate cross-jurisdictional frameworks, and deliver the Northern Australia Action Plan. We are seeking agile, cooperative Assistant Directors to provide strategic leadership across policy development, governance, infrastructure project advice, and high-level stakeholder relations. In this role, you will lead a dedicated team and shape policies that deliver lasting regional and cultural outcomes.

What you will do

As an EL1 Assistant Director, you will lead a small team or manage complex work streams to achieve the strategic objectives of your section. Typical duties include:

- Leading governance frameworks: Managing the Department's interaction with the NAIF Board, overseeing ministerial appointments in line with the Cabinet Handbook, and updating the shared Risk Appetite Statement (RAS).
- Driving strategic policy advice: Directing legislative reviews of the NAIF Act, establishing investment policy alignment, and leading economic or social initiatives under the Northern Australia Action Plan.
- High-level coordination: Overseeing central triage and delivery of complex Ministerial, Parliamentary, and Cabinet requests.




- Stakeholder & event leadership: Managing secretariat functions for the Northern Australia Ministerial Forum (NAMF) and directing major external engagement activities like the Annual Statement to Parliament.

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 Executive level 1 Work level standards .
- Support the department's commitments to the National Closing the Gap Agreement and the Our Stories on Country Agreement by embedding First Nations perspectives into infrastructure policy, program delivery, and stakeholder engagement.
- Proven capability to evaluate complex information, make sound decisions, and apply work level standards under pressure.
- Demonstrated experience leading and fostering growth mindsets within a small team delivering concurrent, tight-deadline projects.
- Ability to deliver persuasive written briefs and engage confidently with senior executives and cross-portfolio jurisdictions.

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts is committed to supporting the employment and career development of people with disability. Our participation in APS RecruitAbility means we will progress an applicant with disability to a further stage in the recruitment process, where they opt into RecruitAbility and meet the minimum requirements for the vacancy.

The RecruitAbility minimum requirements are listed above under 'inherent requirements for the role'.

You will be asked to indicate if you wish to opt into RecruitAbility in the application fo

📌 Assistant Directors, Regional Development, Northern Australia and Local Government (Alice Springs)
🏢 Australian Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development
📍 Alice Springs