Senior Project Officer – Shared Services

University of New South Wales; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 107,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

The Senior Project Officer, Shared Services, Operations at UNSW Sydney supports the Lifelong Learning unit by driving operational excellence across projects and overseeing external workforce needs, including SOWs, duties and casual staffing.

Reporting to the Head of Operations, this role coordinates with UNSW Online and Short Courses to plan budgets, track milestones and improve knowledge management, automation and processes while upholding university governance.

Qualifications

• Relevant tertiary qualification with subsequent relevant experience, or equivalent competence.
• Experience in operational, administrative and project coordination in a complex environment (higher education preferred).
• Experience managing external workforce coordination, vendor arrangements or casual staffing.
• Understanding of project lifecycle, milestone reporting and planning.
• Strong organisation and time management with ability to prioritise changing demands.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with detail-oriented documentation.
• Ability to work with diverse stakeholders and proficient in Microsoft Office and project tools.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-level project, operational and administrative support to Operations Managers across UNSW Online and Short Courses, supporting portfolio, workforce and financial planning activities.
• Coordinate external workforce engagements, vendor arrangements and third-party operational requirements, including administration of Statements of Work (SOWs) and casual staffing processes.
• Support budgets, forecasts, resource capacity, operational priorities and key milestones.
• Maintain and improve operational systems, tools, registers, knowledge management resources and process automation to enhance service delivery.
• Monitor project and portfolio deliverables, track actions, risks, issues and dependencies with governance compliance.
• Facilitate stakeholder communications and provide meeting management, minute-taking and briefing material preparation.
• Promote a collaborative, service-focused team culture upholding UNSW values and health and safety procedures.

Skills

Project coordination

Stakeholder comms

Time management

Attention to detail

Team collaboration

Education

Tertiary qualification

Tools

Microsoft Office

Project management tools

Enterprise systems

Job description

Senior Project Officer - Shared Services

University of New South Wales - Sydney NSW

• Employment Type: Full time, Fixed Term 12-month opportunity.
• Remuneration: Level 7 – from $118,483 + 17% superannuation.
• Location: Kensington, NSW (Hybrid work profile)

About the Role

The Senior Project Officer, Shared Services, Operations plays an important role in driving operational efficiencies and the quality processing of key administrative tasks, particularly across specialised projects within the Lifelong Learning unit. By contributing to Lifelong Learning at UNSW, this role enables Progress for All by expanding access to flexible, high-quality education for learners at different stages of their careers.

Working closely with the Operations Managers across UNSW Online and Short Courses, this position provides targeted administrative coordination and support for broader workforce operations and key operational projects. A primary focus of the role involves overseeing external workforce engagement, including the management of Statements of Work (SOWs), statements of duties, and third-party vendor and casual staffing processes. Additionally, the role supports continuous improvement initiatives across knowledge management, automation, and process optimisation to ensure Lifelong Learning programs run smoothly, efficiently, and in line with university protocols and quality standards.

This position is ideal for a highly organised, collaborative and proactive professional who enjoys working in a dynamic environment and driving operational excellence across diverse educational portfolios.

The Senior Project Officer, Shared Services, Operations reports to the Head, Operations, Lifelong Learning, and has no direct reports.

About the Role

The successful applicant will be required to undertake and have experience in the following areas of expertise:

• Provide high-level project, operational and administrative support to Operations Managers across UNSW Online and Short Courses, supporting portfolio, workforce and financial planning activities.
• Coordinate external workforce engagements, vendor arrangements and third-party operational requirements, including the administration of Statements of Work (SOWs), statements of duties and casual staffing processes across Lifelong Learning.
• Support annual and ongoing planning processes by collating inputs for budgets, forecasts, resource capacity, operational priorities and key milestones.
• Maintain and continuously improve operational systems, tools, registers, knowledge management resources and process automation to enhance service delivery and workflow efficiency.
• Monitor project and portfolio deliverables, tracking actions, risks, issues and dependencies while ensuring strict adherence to UNSW governance, policy pathways and compliance standards.
• Facilitate clear, timely stakeholder communications and comprehensive administrative support across internal teams, faculties, academic staff and external partners, including meeting management, minute-taking and briefing material preparation.
• Promote a collaborative, service-focused team culture that upholds UNSW values, complies with health and safety procedures, and drives practical process improvements across shared services.

About You

• Relevant tertiary qualification with subsequent relevant experience, or equivalent competence gained through a combination of education, training and experience.
• Demonstrated experience providing operational, administrative and project coordination within a complex environment, preferably across higher education, online learning or shared services.
• Experience managing operational administrative workflows, with exposure to external workforce coordination, vendor arrangements, contractor engagements or casual staffing processes.
• Sound understanding of project management principles, including project lifecycle management, action tracking, milestone reporting, scheduling and developing project plans.
• Strong organisational and time management skills, with a proven ability to exercise judgement and initiative when managing competing demands and shifting priorities.
• High-level written and verbal communication skills, with exceptional attention to detail in preparing clear documentation, reports, correspondence and briefing materials.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders at all levels, operating effectively as a service-focused team member while working independently, alongside proficiency in Microsoft Office, project management tools and enterprise systems.

For further information on the role & responsibilities, please refer to the Position Description

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

UNSW Benefits and Culture: People are at the core of everything we do. We recognise it is the contributions of our staff who make UNSW one of the best universities in Australia and the world. Our benefits include:

• Flexible Working Options (work from home, flexible hours etc)
• Additional 3 days leave during December festive period.
• Up to 50% discount on UNSW courses
• Flexible 17% Superannuation contributions, additional leave-loading payments and salary sacrifice.
• Discounts and entitlements (retail, education, fitness passport)

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.

Pre-Employment Checks

Aligned with UNSW's focus on cultivating a workplace defined by safety, ethical conduct, and strong integrity preferred candidates will be required to participate in a combination of pre-employment checks relevant to the role they have applied for.

These pre-employment checks may include a combination of some of the following checks:-

• National and International Criminal history checks
• Entitlement to work and ID checks
• Working With Children Checks
• Completion of a Gender-Based Violence Prevention Declaration
• Verification of relevant qualifications
• Verification of relevant professional membership
• Employment history and reference checks
• Financial responsibility assessments/checks.
• Medical Checks and Assessments

Compliance with the necessary combination of these checks is a condition of employment at UNSW.