Practice Manager

Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs; Ipswich City; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work arrangements

Job summary

Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs – Open Arms Ipswich unit seeks a Practice Manager to lead regional administrative and operational functions, ensuring high-quality mental health services for veterans and families. You will supervise a dispersed team, support the Director with strategic planning, and oversee HR, budgeting and project coordination.

The role involves on-site leadership with some flexibility for arrangements where operations permit, and is embedded in Open Arms’ mission to

Qualifications

• Experience leading regional administrative teams.
• Executive support to senior management.
• Knowledge of budget development and financial delegation.
• Ability to coordinate regional projects and national initiatives.
• Familiarity with quality improvement frameworks and service delivery standards.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate operational and administrative support for the Ipswich region across multiple Open Arms centres.
• Line manage geographically dispersed staff where applicable.
• Provide strategic support in business planning and reporting to the regional leadership team.
• Draft business cases, action briefs, and respond to national office requests.
• Support recruitment, learning and development, and resource planning for the region.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

HR coordination

Financial management

Project management

Executive support

Job description

Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs – Ipswich QLD

Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling (formerly VVCS) is Australia’s leading provider of high-quality mental health assessment and clinical counselling services for Australian veterans and their families. Open Arms are focused on meeting client needs through a combination of proven clinical practices and new and emerging evidence-based approaches.

This role works on site in centre, with some flexibility for flexible work arrangements where operations permit.

The Practice Manager (PM) is responsible to the Director for managing and coordinating operational and administrative functions that support the delivery of mental health clinical services to Open Arms clients across the region. The PM is part of the region’s leadership team.

The PM provides leadership to the geographically dispersed administrative team and provides strategic executive support to the Director. This executive support includes human, financial and logistical resource management coordination of regional input into national projects, initiatives and service improvements and the coordination of briefings, requests for information and other executive level requests and tasks. The PM is responsible for the quality improvement framework within the region including the monitoring and reporting of client service, staff and financial activities.

The key duties of the position include:

• Coordinate operational and administrative support of the region across multiple Open Arms centres, including the line management of geographically dispersed staff where applicable.
• As part of the regional leadership team, provide support in key strategic areas, business planning and reporting. Provide executive assistance to the Director including the drafting of business cases, action briefs, responses to national office and ministerial requests.
• Facilitate human resource requirements for the region’s support team. Build capacity within the support team through learning and development, resource and team structure development. Support the Director in regional recruitment activities as required.
• Support the region’s financial requirements in line with the PGPA Act and Departmental policies, including budget development and maintenance, accruals, financial delegation and approvals and acquisitions management.
• Embed quality improvement principles in practice to align regional processes and operational functions with national policy and standard operating procedures.
• Develop, maintain and collaborate with stakeholders, especially those involved in service consultation processes and undertake other tasks as required to support the efficient delivery of Open Arms services in the region as directed by the Director.
• Apply the principles of cooperative and safe working practices consistent with APS Values and the Department’s mission, vision, approach and values.

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.

Getting to know the Department of Veterans' Affairs

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) exists to fulfil the nation’s duty to support our serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force members and their families. We do this through programs of care, compensation, commemoration, income and Defence support services. Our aim is to enhance self-sufficiency, quality of life, financial wellbeing and community recognition for those we support.DVA is both a policy and service delivery agency. We have strong relationships with Australian ex-service organisations, Federal and State Government agencies and the veteran community.DVA’s vision is to honour veterans, and empower them and their families to continue life after service, within a society that understands and values their military service and their ongoing contribution to the community.