Program Director

at; Canberra; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Commonwealth of Australia is seeking an Head of Programs (EL2 Equivalent) to lead the PMU and oversee multi‑million dollar portfolios in a Canberra-based, on-site role. You will drive strategic program delivery across regional cyber initiatives, manage a diverse team, and ensure compliance with Commonwealth rules.

As the Secretariat for the Steering Committee, you will provide executive-level advice, engage with senior government partners and private sector partners, and coordinate cross-agency

Qualifications

• Location: Canberra, ACT (Office-Based / On-Site Required)
• Security Clearance: Active NV1 Minimum
• Classification: EL2 Equivalent (Contract / Labour Hire)
• Contract Term: 12-Month Initial Engagement + 12-Month Extension Option
• Travel: Limited international travel within Southeast Asia / Pacific (Max 2 trips/year)

Responsibilities

• Portfolio & PMU Leadership: Leading a multidisciplinary team of project officers, program managers, MEL specialists, and procurement experts.
• Multi-Stream Financial Oversight: Direct management of complex, co-mingled funding lines under strict Commonwealth compliance rules.
• Executive & Inter-Agency Governance: Secretariat for the program Steering Committee, preparing ministerial updates, and providing authoritative advice to Senior Executives.
• High-Stakes Stakeholder Management: Interfacing across senior executive leadership, central government agencies, private sector delivery partners, civil society, and international government counterparts.

Skills

PMU Leadership

Financial Oversight

Executive Governance

Stakeholder Management

Job description

This initiative represents Australia's international cyber security and critical technology capacity-building investment in the Indo-Pacific. It serves as a key vehicle for advancing national security, foreign policy, and regional digital resilience. The broader portfolio encompasses several specialised sub-initiatives:

Rapid Incident Response: Deploying emergency cyber incident support, technical teams, and rapid-assistance mechanisms to regional partner nations during active crises.

Regional Modernisation Projects: Executing critical IT infrastructure, hardware, and software upgrades across partner government networks.

Regional Exercising & Capacity Building: Designing and running operational, technical, and policy-level cyber security exercises with foreign government counterparts to improve incident response readiness.

Bilateral Governance & Diplomatic Engagement: Overseeing formal bilateral relationships, regional MoUs, and inter-governmental security frameworks.

Position Overview: Head of Programs (EL2 Equivalent)

As the operational head of the Program Management Unit (PMU), this role requires high autonomy, authoritative decision-making, and direct accountability for multi-million-dollar portfolio execution:

Portfolio & PMU Leadership: Leading a multidisciplinary team of project officers, program managers, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) specialists, and procurement experts.

Multi-Stream Financial Oversight: Direct management of complex, co-mingled funding lines-including international development assistance ($ODA$), non-$ODA$ administered funds, and departmental appropriations-under strict Commonwealth compliance rules.

Executive & Inter-Agency Governance: Functioning as the Secretariat for the program Steering Committee, preparing ministerial updates, and providing authoritative advice to Senior Executives.

High-Stakes Stakeholder Management: Interfacing across senior executive leadership, central government agencies, private sector delivery partners, civil society, and international government counterparts.

Program Overview & Core Initiatives

This initiative represents Australia's international cyber security and critical technology capacity-building investment in the Indo-Pacific. It serves as a key vehicle for advancing national security, foreign policy, and regional digital resilience. The broader portfolio encompasses several specialised sub-initiatives:

• Rapid Incident Response: Deploying emergency cyber incident support, technical teams, and rapid-assistance mechanisms to regional partner nations during active crises.

• Regional Modernisation Projects: Executing critical IT infrastructure, hardware, and software upgrades across partner government networks.

• Regional Exercising & Capacity Building: Designing and running operational, technical, and policy-level cyber security exercises with foreign government counterparts to improve incident response readiness.

• Bilateral Governance & Diplomatic Engagement: Overseeing formal bilateral relationships, regional MoUs, and inter-governmental security frameworks.

Position Overview: Head of Programs (EL2 Equivalent)

As the operational head of the Program Management Unit (PMU), this role requires high autonomy, authoritative decision-making, and direct accountability for multi-million-dollar portfolio execution:

• Portfolio & PMU Leadership: Leading a multidisciplinary team of project officers, program managers, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) specialists, and procurement experts.

• Multi-Stream Financial Oversight: Direct management of complex, co-mingled funding lines-including international development assistance ($ODA$), non-$ODA$ administered funds, and departmental appropriations-under strict Commonwealth compliance rules.

• Executive & Inter-Agency Governance: Functioning as the Secretariat for the program Steering Committee, preparing ministerial updates, and providing authoritative advice to Senior Executives.

• High-Stakes Stakeholder Management: Interfacing across senior executive leadership, central government agencies, private sector delivery partners, civil society, and international government counterparts.

CRITICAL SELECTION CRITERIA

• Location: Canberra, ACT (Office-Based / On-Site Required)

• Security Clearance: Active Negative Vetting Level 1 (NV1) Minimum REQUIRED

• Classification: EL2 Equivalent (Contract / Labour Hire)

• Contract Term: 12-Month Initial Engagement + 12-Month Extension Option

• Travel: Limited international travel within Southeast Asia / Pacific (Max 2 trips/year)