Director, Biosecurity Emergency Preparedness and Response

Derwent Search; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 246,000 - 272,000; Full time

Job summary

The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) invites applications for the position of Director, Biosecurity Emergency Preparedness and Response. You will lead the state's biosecurity emergency preparedness and response and work within the Biosecurity and Food Safety Division to shape policies, plans, and training underpinning DPIRD's response.

This role offers location flexibility, reporting to the Executive Director and interface with ministers' offices.

Job description

Director, Biosecurity Emergency Preparedness and Response

• Lead the state's biosecurity emergency preparedness and response
• Location flexibility available, TRP $246,428 to $272,122
• Represent DPIRD on senior state and interdepartmental committees

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) protects, supports and develops New South Wales' primary industries, mining sector and regional economies. With nearly 5,000 employees, almost 80 per cent of whom live and work in regional NSW, DPIRD is genuinely embedded in the communities it serves. Its Agriculture and Biosecurity Group safeguards the state's agricultural and biosecurity sectors, bringing together science, policy and on-ground delivery to keep NSW's primary industries future-ready.

Sitting within the Biosecurity and Food Safety Division, the Director, Biosecurity Emergency Preparedness and Response leads the state's capability to prepare for, respond to and recover from biosecurity emergencies. Reporting to the Executive Director, Biosecurity and Food Safety, the role sets the policies, plans and training that underpin DPIRD's response under the NSW State Emergency Management Plan, and represents the Agriculture and Biosecurity Group on senior state and interdepartmental committees. It is a role where strategic thinking meets operational impact, with genuine scope to shape how NSW protects its primary industries when it matters most.

We are looking for a senior leader currently operating at, or with demonstrated readiness to step up to, executive or director level in government, with broad leadership and coordination capability built through emergency management or another high-pressure, multi-agency environment. Biosecurity subject knowledge is favourable but not essential; what matters most is the ability to listen, learn quickly, and work confidently within an established Incident Management Team structure.

Cross-agency experience, whether in state or Commonwealth government, service delivery, or a centre-of-government setting, is highly valued. The successful candidate will bring proven people leadership, with the capability to scale from a core team of around 45 to coordinating hundreds, or during a major event, thousands of people drawn from across the department and beyond.

This is a coordination, reporting and communication role rather than a command and control one. Candidates should be comfortable acting as the buffer and interface between on-ground incident management and the demands of senior executives and ministers' offices, confident directing the use of systems and technology without needing to be a specialist, and resilient and clear-headed under sustained pressure.

Applications close: Sunday, 27 September 2026.