EL 1 Assistant Director, HR Connect

Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 132,000 - 145,000; Full time

Job summary

Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs in Melbourne seeks an EL1 Assistant Director to lead and manage the HR Connect front-door advisory service, delivering timely, customer-centric HR support across the department.

You will oversee service delivery outcomes, team performance, and capability development while aligning with workforce strategy, policies, and governance requirements.

Qualifications

• Experience leading HR advisory teams.
• Ability to provide strategic and operational advice on complex HR matters.
• Willingness to obtain and maintain Baseline Vetting clearance.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a front-door HR advisory team.
• Provide leadership and capability development to staff.
• Allocate resources and manage workloads to meet service delivery outcomes.
• Provide policy interpretation and people-management guidance.
• Monitor performance and identify risks to improve outcomes.
• Engage with shared service providers to ensure service standards.
• Lead projects and continuous improvement initiatives.

Skills

HR leadership

People management

Performance management

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Bachelor’s degree in HR/Business

Tools

HRIS

Job description

Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs – Melbourne VIC

4d ago , from Australian Department of Veteran's Affairs

• Salary Range: $131,960 - $144,908 + 15.4% employer super contribution
• This vacancy has been identified to participate in VetPaths

• Location: Canberra, ACT; Perth, WA; Melbourne, VIC; Brisbane, QLD
• Salary Range: $131,960 - $144,908 + 15.4% employer super contribution
• This vacancy has been identified to participate in VetPaths

JOB OVERVIEW

The SES Unit & HR Connect Section requires an EL1 with demonstrated experience leading and managing staff with a diverse range of skills, including setting expectations, developing capability, managing performance, having difficult conversations and planning team workloads, while fostering an inclusive and supportive team culture, is essential.

As an Assistant Director in the People Services Branch, you are required to lead and manage HR Connect, our HR front door advisory service. Our team ensure the delivery of timely, consistent, and customer-centric HR support across the department. The EL1 role is accountable for service delivery outcomes, team performance, capability development, stakeholder engagement, and continuous improvement, ensuring alignment with organisational priorities and workforce strategy.

The position operates as a key point of contact between People Services (HR) specialist areas and shared service providers, providing oversight of service demand, emerging workforce issues, and operational risk.

DUTIES

• Lead and manage a front-door service HR advisory team, providing direction and support to ensure the delivery of consistent, high-quality HR advice;
• Provide leadership, coaching and capability development to staff, fostering a positive and collaborative team culture for a high-performing team;
• Allocate resources and manage team workloads to achieve service delivery outcomes while balancing operational priorities;
• Provide strategic and operational advice on complex HR matters, including employment conditions, policy interpretation and people management issues;
• Monitor service delivery performance, identify emerging risks and trends and implement strategies to improve outcomes;
• Analyse operational data to inform decision-making and identify capability gaps.
• Manage relationships with shared service providers, including escalating issues and monitoring agreed service standards;
• Lead and contribute to projects, business improvement initiatives and organisational priorities;
• Exercise delegated authority and sound judgement in accordance with legislation, policy and governance requirements;
• Represent the work area in meetings, working groups and cross-functional initiatives

ELIGIBILITY

• Under section 22(8) of the Public Service Act 1999, employees must be Australian citizens to be employed in the Australian Public Service (APS).
• Any successful candidate external to DVA offered employment will be required to undergo pre-engagement screening checks, even if they currently have a security clearance. The screening checks are conducted in accordance with the Australian Government Protective Security Policy Framework requirements.
• Any successful candidate will be required to obtain and/or maintain, a Baseline Vetting (AGSVA) security clearance as a minimum.

NOTES

This recruitment process may be used to fill ongoing and/or non-ongoing position/s. For more information about the role, please see the Candidate Information Pack.

A merit pool of suitable applicants may be created which may be used to fill future ongoing and non-ongoing vacancies should they become available over the next 18 months.

Successful applicants engaged into the APS will be subject to a probation period.

We welcome people with diverse skills, experiences and perspectives. DVA is committed to building a workforce that reflects the community we serve and encourages applications from:

• Veterans and former Australian Defence Force members, whose skills and experience are highly valued across the APS
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• People with disability
• People who identify as LGBTQIA+
• People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds

We are a Veteran Employer of Choice! This means you benefit from a workplace actively supporting veterans and families of veterans – one that understands and values military experience. You’re joining an organisation publicly recognised for its commitment to fostering veteran-friendly employment pathways and long‑term career success.

The Australian Public Service (APS) values the unique skills, perspectives, and experiences that veterans gain during their Australian Defence Force (ADF) employment and encourage veterans to apply. Support may be available to veterans transitioning to meaningful APS careers through participation in VetPaths, which offers veterans an opportunity to participate in a six‑month program offering formal learning and development, career mentoring and activities for wellness and peer support. More information can be found on the DVA Website.

RecruitAbility applies to this vacancy. Under the RecruitAbility scheme, you will be invited to participate in further assessment activities for the vacancy if you choose to opt‑in to the scheme, declare you have a disability and meet the minimum requirements for the vacancy. All requests for reasonable adjustments will be considered and managed in consultation with you. Further information can be found at https://www.apsc.gov.au/recruitability.

CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK

The candidate information pack is available below.

Candidate Information Pack Opens in new window