Junior Project Manager

Optimum Consulting; City of Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work

Office days in Melbourne

Job summary

Optimum Consulting is seeking a Project Manager to lead regulatory change initiatives within a major industry fund. You will define the framework, governance and delivery plans, coordinating business teams through planning and execution to meet regulatory requirements.

Ideal candidates are those stepping up from project coordination or analysis roles, looking to own a portfolio of work and build credibility as a PM in a newly created PMO function.

Qualifications

• Experience coordinating regulatory change in a highly regulated sector.
• Ability to design and embed governance and evidence-based processes.
• Proven capability to influence stakeholders without direct authority.

Responsibilities

• Design and embed a structured framework for delivering regulatory change.
• Identify teams, owners and timeframes for each change and set actions.
• Coordinate multiple regulatory initiatives, guiding delivery from planning to completion.
• Follow up with stakeholders to ensure commitments are met on time.
• Identify risks and dependencies and work with the business to resolve them.
• Provide visibility of delivery status and key risks to leadership.
• Ensure evidence, approvals and documentation meet regulatory standards.
• Determine when a change requires full project management and transition to PMO.
• Partner with Regulatory Manager and Compliance to convert requirements into plans.

Skills

Regulatory change coordination

Stakeholder engagement

Governance frameworks

PMO coordination

Education

PMP/PRINCE2 cert

Job description

Ready to step up into a Project Manager title? You'll lead how regulatory change is delivered at a respected industry super fund. You'll set the direction, the process and the governance, and the business teams will carry out the work. It's a newly created 12-month fixed-term contract with the potential to go permanent, and you'll get the chance to build the framework from the ground up.

The Opportunity

Our client, a well-established industry superannuation fund, has created a new role in its Project Management Office. A steady pipeline of regulatory change is coming, and much of it is too small for a full-scale project but still needs structure, governance and someone to drive it to completion. That's where you come in.

You won't be the one making each change yourself. You'll be the central point of coordination who makes sure it happens. Once Compliance has identified and interpreted what needs to change, you'll work out who in the business needs to act, set the plan and the process, guide those teams through delivery and confirm that everything is completed and properly evidenced. Upcoming work includes privacy, modern slavery, retirement reporting, financial advice reforms, ASIC RG 97 and APRA priorities such as AI governance.

This is an ideal next step for a Project Coordinator, Project Analyst or emerging PM who wants to own their own portfolio of work, build credibility as a Project Manager and shape how a function operates from day one.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Designing and embedding a structured, repeatable framework the business follows to deliver regulatory change
• Working out which teams and individuals are responsible for each change and setting clear actions, owners and timeframes
• Directing and coordinating multiple regulatory initiatives at once, guiding business teams from planning through to completion
• Following up with stakeholders and holding them to agreed commitments, so the work gets done on time
• Identifying risks, issues and dependencies early and working with the business to resolve them before they become problems
• Giving clear visibility of delivery status, upcoming changes and key risks to stakeholders and leadership
• Making sure the business captures and stores evidence, approvals and documentation to meet regulatory standards
• Assessing when a change needs full project management and transitioning it to the PMO when it does
• Partnering closely with the Regulatory Manager and Compliance team to turn requirements into clear plans for the business

About You

You're organised, proactive and naturally accountable, and you know how to get things done through other people. Your strength is in setting direction and creating the structure that helps others deliver, not doing the work yourself. You don't need formal authority to influence outcomes. You're comfortable following up, influencing up and keeping momentum going, while respecting that the people doing the work also have day jobs. Ambiguity doesn't faze you. You enjoy bringing clarity and structure to it.

You'll ideally bring:

• Experience coordinating or delivering regulatory change in superannuation, financial services or another highly regulated industry
• A background in project coordination, project analysis or junior project management, with ambitions to step into a PM role
• A strong understanding of why governance, evidence and approvals matter in a regulated environment
• Proven ability to influence, direct and engage stakeholders at all levels without direct authority
• Strong planning, prioritisation and organisational skills, with the ability to juggle concurrent pieces of work
• A relevant tertiary qualification and/or a project management certification (PMP, PRINCE2) is highly regarded

Why Apply

• Step up into a Project Manager title and lead a portfolio of meaningful work
• Build the framework and process from scratch in a newly created role that the business has asked for
• Join a supportive, collaborative PMO with established delivery frameworks and investment in practice leadership
• Work for a respected industry fund with a genuine values-driven, member-first culture
• 12-month fixed-term contract with the potential to go permanent
• Hybrid working, with two days a week in the office
• Competitive salary package