Director, Communications & Engagement

Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC); Melbourne; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

IBAC is seeking a Director – Communication & Engagement in Melbourne to lead high-impact engagement for the public sector, local government, and police. You will guide a team to design communications strategies that safeguard community trust and provide expert counsel to the Executive Leadership Team on media and stakeholder relations.

The role requires a tertiary qualification and substantial experience in comms/public affairs, with a strong focus on stakeholder engagement frameworks and

Qualifications

• A tertiary qualification in communication, public affairs, journalism or related disciplines.
• Solid understanding and experience using stakeholder engagement principles, including IAP2.
• Excellent issues management, public affairs and media management skills in public sector environments.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert advice on media, communication, crisis communications, and stakeholder relations.
• Develop and deliver strategic stakeholder engagement and communication activities to promote corruption prevention.
• Lead sector insights on corruption trends and organisational vulnerabilities to gain stakeholder commitment to controls.
• Additional duties as described in the position description.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Media management

Public affairs

Education

Tertiary qualification in comms/public affairs/journalism/social science/criminology/justice

Job description

Your new role IBAC has an exciting full-time, fixed-term opportunity for an experienced Director – Communication & Engagement.

Working closely with the Executive Director – Prevention & Communication, you will lead high-impact engagement initiatives across the Victorian Public Sector, local government, and police. This is your chance to lead a talented team and design communication strategies that help safeguard the community's trust.

Duties include:

• Providing expert advice to the Commissioner, CEO and Executive Leadership Team on media, communication, crisis communications as well as stakeholder and community relations. This involves finding and promoting key opportunities while using excellent judgment in a sensitive and complex environment.
• Developing and delivering strategic stakeholder engagement and communication activities to increase knowledge about corruption prevention, encourage the reporting of corruption by public sector employees and influence senior public sector leaders.
• Providing strategic leadership in developing and disseminating sector-specific insights on corruption trends and organisational vulnerabilities to secure stakeholder commitment to implement controls.
• Additional duties are set out in the position description.

Our requirements / Your skill set

We are looking for candidates with the below experience and capabilities:

• A tertiary qualification and significant experience in communication, public affairs, journalism, social science, criminology / justice, stakeholder engagement or related disciplines.
• A solid understanding and demonstrated experience of applying effective stakeholder engagement principles including IAP2 framework and the ability to leverage existing networks within government.
• Excellent issues management skills, public affairs and media management, particularly in public sector or similar environments.

Due to the requirement to attain a Negative Vetting 1 security clearance candidates must be an Australian citizen at the time of application. Due to a conflict-of-interest IBAC is unable to accept applications for secondment from Victoria Police employees.

Pre-employment testing

The preferred candidate will be required to undergo pre-employment screening as part of the recruitment process. This includes psychometric testing, validation of misconduct declarations, a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC), and other relevant checks in accordance with Victorian public sector requirements and IBAC policy. Psychometric testing is completed online and assesses cognitive ability, personality, work values, and safety behaviours.

For further information regarding the role, please contact Megan O'Halloran [e-mail].

Applications close 30 October 2026