Program Manager

Victorian School Building Authority; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) is seeking a Program Manager to lead a new unit delivering private drinking water and wastewater management programs for eligible education facilities. You will oversee the full program lifecycle, including strategy, contracts, budgets, compliance, and stakeholder engagement.

This fixed-term role to 30 June 2028 emphasizes strong leadership, procurement and government experience, with hybrid work arrangements and site visits to schools as needed.

Qualifications

• 2+ years demonstrated experience in contract management.
• 2+ years demonstrated experience in government.
• 2+ years demonstrated experience in administration, contract and operations management (desirable).
• Excellent skills in using Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, PowerPoint, SharePoint).

Responsibilities

• Set strategic direction for the unit and lead business planning.
• Manage a team with clear roles, responsibilities and performance management.
• Build strong relationships with stakeholders to manage risks and issues.
• Provide leadership to foster a collaborative work culture.
• Ensure compliance with service specifications and reporting requirements.
• Oversee contract performance, KPIs, risk management and day-to-day issues.
• Forecast and manage budgets and finances.
• Prepare financial, contractual and briefing materials for projects.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Program management

People leadership

Contract management

Procurement

Communication

Budgeting

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

This fixed-term Program Manager role will lead a new unit responsible for delivering private drinking water and wastewater management programs for eligible education facilities, providing strategic oversight, managing contracts, budgets, compliance, and stakeholder relationships across the full program lifecycle.

Please note this is a fixed term position to 30/06/2028.

About the Role

This role offers an opportunity to lead a new unit that will centralise delivery of private drinking water and waste water management for eligible education facilities, including schools, kindergartens and early learning centres. The Program Manager will oversee the departmental program and provide strategic advice and support across the full program lifecycle. The role will help ensure alignment with the objectives of the relevant group or entity, and across the department.

To succeed in this role, you will bring strong stakeholder engagement and program management skills, along with demonstrated leadership experience. The ideal candidate will be highly motivated and have experience in one or more of the following areas: commercial contract management, procurement, government, facilities management, or asset management.

You will also have strong people leadership skills, the ability to work independently, and a commitment to accountability and compliance with public sector policies and frameworks.

This position may require visiting school sites during operating hours, therefore will require a valid Victorian Employee Working with Children Check and a current Victorian Driver's Licence.

Key responsibilities of this role

• Setting the strategic direction of the team, including business planning and prioritisation activities to ensure key goals of the organisation can be achieved.
• Managing a team including setting clear roles and responsibilities for staff, supporting staff to achieve these responsibilities, performance development and performance management as needed.
• Establishing and supporting effective relationships with a diverse set of stakeholders to manage risks and resolve issues.
• Taking a leadership role in the development of a positive and collaborative work culture across the Branch and broader VSBA.
• Overseeing compliance with service specifications ensuring the provision of high-quality delivery from service providers and contractors.
• Overseeing and enforcement of compliance with the contract, performance against KPls, risk management, day-to-day issues, and all other reporting requirements.
• Forecasting and managing the budgets and finances.
• Drafting of financial, contractual and community reporting and briefing material relating to the project.
• Leading and providing advice on strategic contract management to VSBA Executives.
• Build, promote and maintain strong relationships with all internal and external customers and stakeholders.
• Respond to requests for information from the Minister's Office and Executive teams, including the development of briefings, correspondence and parliamentary collateral in a timely manner.
• Provide leadership and work constructively as part of a highly collaborative team, fostering a healthy working environment.

Attributes

• Proactively identify and elevate critical issues to ensure swift resolution and continuous improvement.
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills especially when road blocks are presented.
• Flexibility to adapt to change and effectively manage competing priorities.
• Provide clear and concise advice, with keen attention to detail.
• A future-oriented mindset, proactively embracing modern technologies and best practices.
• Provide leadership to team members along with developing skills and knowledge.
• Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft programs to manage financial and budget data.
• Exceptional customer service skills, ability to respond swiftly, actively seeking to meet customer needs.
• Report generation from multiple data sources delivering timely, high-quality inf ormation.
• Knowledge and experience in government systems, procedures, processes, reporting and writing.
• Effective communication and strong collaborative skills to build relationships with stakeholders, service providers and working colleagues across all areas of the department.

Qualifications and Experience

• 2 or more years demonstrated experience in contract management, delivery in facility and/or asset management (required).
• 2 or more years demonstrated experience in similar role within government (required).
• 2 or more years demonstrated experience and working knowledge in administration, contract and operations management (highly desirable).
• Excellent skills in using Microsoft Office software including Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, PowerPoint, and SharePoint (required).

Flexible Work Expectations

This role has hybrid working arrangements. For full-time employees, the department expects 3 days per week in the office, in line with the VPS Agreement 2024. This role follows those same operational requirements: 3 in-office days, 2 remote days (if full-time).

About the Department

The department provides a wide range of learning and development support and services. The department provides policy leadership, plans for the future of education in Victoria and leads key cross-sector collaboration. The department plays an important system steward role by providing support, guidance, oversight and assurance across early childhood and school education systems, as well as directly providing school education and early learning centres.

About the Victorian School Building Authority

The Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) is part of the Department of Education. Established in 2016, it oversees Victoria's largest school building program since the state introduced free public education in the 1870s.The VSBA upgrades and expands existing schools and plans, designs, and builds new schools to meet enrolment demand. We also support schools to maintain their buildings and grounds by offering expert advice and coordinating maintenance programs and grants. With Victoria recently introducing two years of funded kindergarten, the VSBA is also working with the early childhood sector on a massive kindergarten construction program.

About the Division

The Asset Management and Operations Division help government educational facilities maintain and manage their buildings and grounds. The Division delivers programs and systems to ensures educational facilities are routinely maintained and upkept. The Branches included in the Division are Maintenance Delivery, Asset Programs and Asset Operations.

Asset Operations Branch

The Asset Operations Branch is responsible for implementing and delivering programs that support Victorian government schools, kindergarten and early learning centres through Essential Safety Measures, School Cleaning, Kinder Facilities Management and support 24 government schools that are part of the Public-Private Partnership program.

Further Information

For more details regarding this position please see attached position description for the capabilities to address in application.

All VSBA staff have a shared responsibility to meet the same service standards outlined in the VSBA Customer Service Charter.Our goal is to make every interaction with the VSBA a positive one for our customers, colleagues and key partners regardless of our individual role or tea m.

The department values diversity and inclusion in all forms - gender, religion, ethnicity, LGBTIQ+, disability and neurodiversity. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. For more information about our work, working for the Department, diversity and inclusion, and our employment conditions visit the Department website and our Diversity and Inclusion page

Applicants requiring adjustments can contact the nominated contact person.

Information about the Department of Education's operations and employment conditions can be located at www.education.vic.gov.au.

For further information pertaining to the role, please contact Hiring Fiona Missen, Acting Director via Phone - 03 7022 5*** or email – ************@education.vic.gov.au.

Preferred applicants may be required to complete a police check and may be subject to other pre-employment checks. Information provided to the Department of Education will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Please let us know via phone or email if you require any adjustments to ensure your full participation in the recruitment process or if you need the ad or any attachments in an accessible format (e.g large print) due to any viewing difficulties or other accessibility requirements.