Services & Program Lead

Melbourne Water; City of Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Melbourne Water is seeking a Services & Program Lead (North West) to oversee waterway, drainage and catchment programs from Docklands and Croydon bases. The role blends office and site work, requiring flexible, adaptive leadership for a fixed-term parental leave cover through 15 November 2027.

You will guide strategic delivery, liaise with councils, Traditional Owners and Parks Victoria, and drive capital programs with strong governance and financial oversight.

Qualifications

• Experience leading crews/programs in natural resource management or civil works.
• Certificate or Diploma in Civil/Environmental disciplines or equivalent.
• White Card, Confined Space Entry, Fall Prevention, Plant Machinery competency preferred.
• Leadership of a team with multiple demands and triage decisions.
• Strong governance and financial management understanding.
• Clear communication with diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and manage waterway, drainage and catchment programs and services across the NW region.
• Lead continuous improvement opportunities with asset management and operations teams.
• Support budgeting, actuals, accruals and forecasting for sub-regions.
• Provide day-to-day guidance, mentoring and technical support for team members.

Skills

Crew leadership

Governance

Financial management

Safety on site

Stakeholder communication

Team mentoring

Education

Civil/Environmental diploma

Job description

In Melbourne, water is essential to our way of life.

As caretakers for Melbourne’s water cycle, we care for water, life and land throughout Melbourne: both its people and its biodiversity.

Each time you drink from the tap, flush a toilet or kayak down the Yarra, we’re there. Primed and ready, quietly delivering some of the world’s cleanest water for over five million residents and wildlife that call Melbourne home, just as we have for over 130 years.

If you value making it count, diving in with curiosity, and doing what’s right, you're in the right place.

About The Role

The Services & Program Lead (North West) will be based at our Docklands and North East (Croydon) locations, with a combination of both office & site based duties, flexibility is essential and ability to adapt.

Reporting to the Manager, Waterways & Catchment Services Lower Birrarung, this is a fixed term contract covering a period of parental leave up until 15th November 2027, within the North West Waterway and Catchment Services teams.

The Services & Program Lead will provide technical guidance, related to catchment, waterway, drainage and land services including:

• Supporting the Lower Birrarung Manager to ensure that the team provides high quality service outcomes both in the short and long term (reliable today and ready for tomorrow).
• Influencing and working closely with stakeholders and partners, including Traditional Owners, Councils and Parks Victoria to co-deliver on ground initiatives that achieve performance objective outcomes, including those specified by the Regional Catchment Strategy, Healthy Waterways Strategy and Flood Strategy.
• The provision of strategic and day-to-day relationship interface with customers, community groups, local government and other agency stakeholders, to maintain their confidence in the business’ ability to effectively provide catchment, waterway, drainage and land services.
• Lead the strategic development, prioritisation, and delivery of the NW waterways and biodiversity minor capital programs, ensuring robust governance, effective resource allocation, and alignment with organisational objectives
• Drive the embedding of the Waterways Pollution Response Improvement Program into core Waterway and Catchment Services and Works Delivery operations, ensuring improved organisational capability, consistent practices, and the realisation of intended program benefits
  

You will lead and assist with various program streams of work, as well as providing leadership, support and guidance to an experienced and collaborative team.

• Co-ordinate and manage the delivery of waterway, drainage and catchment programs and services, optimised across delivery mechanisms, to deliver service outcomes and performance objectives in line with Melbourne Water’s role as the regions catchment manager, waterway manager, drainage authority and floodplain manager.
• Assist and, where appropriate, lead continuous improvement opportunities whilst working collaboratively with asset management and operational teams to achieve safety, asset performance, customer, regulatory and financial objectives.
• Support, or where appropriate lead, the timely and accurate financial management (including actuals, accruals and forecasting as applicable) across the sub-region’s budgets and allocations.
• Providing day to day guidance, mentoring and technical support for team members in strategic and operational matters.
  

About You

Your Skills and Experience:

• Demonstrated experience and capabilities working with and leading crews/programs in a Natural Resource Management, Civil, Construction/Maintenance environment
• Certificate/ Diploma in Civil/Environmental disciplines or relevant related work experience.
• Other qualifications such as Industry White Card, Confined Space Entry, Fall Prevention, Plant Machinery competency preferred
• Leadership of a team/program with multiple demands/complex work and triage related decision making
• Sound understanding of governance and financial management
• Ability to take responsibility for own role in ensuring the safety of all team members and other personnel on site.
• Problem solving skills, including the ability to deliver the appropriate outcomes.
• Sound interpersonal skills and an ability to communicate clearly and effectively with a wide range of people both within Melbourne Water, external organisations and with the general public
• Ability to work and contribute in a team environment to improve processes, respond to various demands and manage multiple activities simultaneously, working autonomously
• Ability to work under pressure and in emergency situations
• Growth mindset driving innovation and critical thinking
  

For more information please review the Position Description: Services and Program Lead.pdf

Why Join Us

At Melbourne Water, we care about water and all life that springs from it.

Our people are fuelled by passion, and with safety at the forefront, we have an unwavering sense of purpose, and are on a mission to protect every Melburnian’s way of life, one drop at a time.

We walk the talk when it comes to flexible working - but that’s not all. Our culture of purpose, safety, results, and learning permeates everything we do. We're dedicated to doing what's right, and this commitment extends to the meaningful work we do in a supportive and inclusive culture that encourages you to make the most of your talents.

Our long-standing commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging means that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, LGBTIQ+ individuals, neurodivergent individuals, people living with disability, mature age and young jobseekers from all cultures can apply with confidence knowing they are safe, affirmed, and celebrated.