Senior Admin And Project Officer – School Of Materials Science & Engineering

UNSW Employees, Location, Alumni; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 120,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Sydney University of New South Wales is seeking a Senior Admin and Project Officer for the School of Materials Science & Engineering. The role provides high‑level project and administrative support, working closely with the School Manager and Head of School to deliver strategic initiatives and improve processes.

Responsibilities include developing project plans, managing schedules, coordinating communications, and reporting on deliverables, risks and issues.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated administrative and project experience with an understanding of the project life cycle and development of project plans, objectives and documentation
• Previous experience in a higher education sector is highly desirable
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with high attention to detail for deliverables produced
• Demonstrated success building effective working relationships through delivering outcomes and collaboration with diverse stakeholders across an organisation
• Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to liaise with a range of stakeholders, including high profile industry members
• Experience with MS Office Suite including Excel, Copilot, SharePoint, PowerBI, Power Automate, Adobe Enterprise Management
• Excellent time management with ability to respond to changing priorities and meet deadlines
• Demonstrated ability to work both collaboratively and independently while managing competing demands

Responsibilities

• Develop and monitor the delivery of School projects and initiatives to achieve operational and strategic goals and administrative duties
• Oversee the development of project plans and schedules and participate in planning processes as required
• Support operational activities and identify areas for improvement and process transformation
• Provide proactive project support to project teams and stakeholders such as the School Executive Team
• Develop and manage digital infrastructure and communications to support process improvements and strategic initiatives
• Monitor, track and report on project deliverables to ensure time, cost and quality metrics align with plans
• Assess and manage project risks and issues and provide solutions
• Develop and manage effective communications with key internal and external stakeholders

Skills

Administrative experience

Project management

Communication skills

Stakeholder management

Time management

Independent working

Team collaboration

Tools

MS Office Suite

Excel

SharePoint

PowerBI

Power Automate

Adobe Enterprise Management

Job description

Senior Admin and Project officer – School of Materials Science & Engineering

Sydney University of New South Wales

• $ -$128,233 depending on experience (level 7) + 17% Superannuation
• Full Time Permanent
• UNSW Kensington Campus (hybrid)

The School of Materials Science and Engineering is one of the top ranked Materials programs in the Asia-Pacific regions and strongly positioned in every facet of materials science and engineering. It offers undergraduate programs in Materials Science and Engineering (Honours), as well as a number of combined degree programs with Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Commerce.

About the role

A Senior Admin and Project Officer plays a key role within the School in providing high level practical and efficient project support for strategic and operational School Projects.

The role entails generally administrative support and project management, reporting and analytical support, developing communications, building key internal and external relationships, and developing/ consulting on key programs and projects. The role work closely with the School Manager and Head of School to support operational activities and identify areas for improvements and process transformation.

The position reports to the School Manager and has no direct reports. Accountabilities include:

• Develop and monitor the delivery of School projects and initiatives to achieve operational and strategic goals and overall administrative duties
• Oversee the development of project plans and schedules and participate in planning processes as required
• Support operational activities and identify areas for improvement and process transformation
• Provide a high level of proactive project support to project team and stakeholders such as School Executive Team
• Develop and manage digital infrastructure and communications to support process improvements and strategic initiatives within the School
• Monitor, track and report on the status of project deliverables to ensure time, cost and quality metrics are in line with approved project plans for assigned projects
• Assess and manage project risks and issues and provide solutions where applicable
• Develop and manage effective communications with key stakeholders, both internal and external to the project

About you

To be successful in this role, you will be a strong team player and come with:

• Demonstrated administrative and project experience, with an understanding of the project life cycle and development of project plans, objectives and documentation
• Previous experience in a higher education sector is highly desirable
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a high level of attention to detail for deliverables produced
• Demonstrated success building effective working relationships through delivering outcomes and collaboration with diverse stakeholders across an organisation
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to liaise effectively with a range of stakeholders, including high profile industry members
• Experience working with a range of computer systems and applications, including MS Office Suite of applications including Excel, Copilot, Sharepoint, PowerBI, Power Automate, Adobe Enterprise Management
• Excellent time management skills, with a demonstrated ability to respond to changing priorities, manage multiple tasks and meet competing deadlines by using judgement and initiative
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and productively within a team, but also to take initiative and work independently while managing competing demands

This is a permanent, full-time hybrid role, with a flexible start date in either December 2026 or late January 2027.

Please note: Sponsorship is not available for this role, valid Australian working rights are required on application.

UNSW is committed to equity diversity and inclusion. Applications from women, people of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, those living with disabilities, members of the LGBTIQ+ community; and people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, are encouraged. UNSW provides workplace adjustments for people with disability, and access to flexible work options for eligible staff.

As part of our recruitment process candidates may be required to undergo pre-employment screening, which may include reference checks, qualification verification, right-to-work verification, and criminal history screening where relevant to the role.