SES Band 1, Assistant Secretary - Identified Positions

Australian Department of Employment and Workplace Relations; Sydney; On-site; AUD 250,000 - 330,000; Full time

Job summary

Australian Department of Employment and Workplace Relations is seeking SES Band 1 leaders to shape the department's direction and position it for what comes next. Roles span policy, programs, service delivery, employment services, skills and training, and corporate functions, requiring strategic judgement and strong collaboration across government.

As an Assistant Secretary, you will lead a significant area of DEWR's work, provide high‑quality advice to senior decision-makers, translate

Qualifications

• Highly regarded candidates will bring executive leadership and strategic judgement.
• Relevant tertiary qualifications and professional accreditations may be advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Shape direction, not simply respond to it.
• Bring strategic policy thinking to complex problems with evidence and broad perspectives.
• Frame choices and solutions, surface trade-offs and provide impartial advice.
• Connect strategy with delivery across policy, programs and regulation.
• Advance outcomes for First Nations peoples and communities.
• Lead beyond organisational boundaries with cross‑agency collaboration.
• Lead through uncertainty and change with clear priorities.
• Build capability for the future and develop leaders.
• Contribute as an enterprise leader to departmental priorities and governance.

Skills

Executive leadership

Strategic judgement

Policy development

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Tertiary qualifications

Executive leadership development

Job description

SES Band 1, Assistant Secretary - Identified Positions

Australian Department of Employment and Workplace Relations – Bondi NSW

1d ago , from Department Of Employment And Workplace Relations

• Canberra, ACT; Sydney, NSW; Melbourne, VIC; Brisbane; QLD; Adelaide; SA; Perth, WA

About the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
We are committed to empowering futures, ensuring rights and enriching lives. We support people to have safe, secure and well-paid work with the skills for a sustainable future as we ourselves strive to be a model employer.

We provide the framework for fair and productive relationships between employers and employees. We also oversee skills development and training initiatives to support those entering the workforce or re-training to take advantage of emerging employment opportunities.

With us, your work directly contributes to shaping the employment landscape. Whether you are engaging in policy development, program implementation, or direct support services, your efforts will have a tangible impact on job seekers, employees and the economy by giving them a framework to build a future anchored and realised through employment.

It is our ambition to do things differently, to create the ‘department of great jobs’– where our people reflect our purpose.

About the oppurtunities

We are looking for SES Band 1 leaders who can help shape DEWR's direction and position the department for what comes next.

Our work sits at the intersection of significant economic and social challenges - how people participate in work, how Australia builds the skills and workforce it needs, how workplaces remain fair and productive, and how government responds as technology, industries and expectations change. These challenges rarely sit neatly within one branch, profession or organisation. They require leaders who can see the bigger picture, make connections across systems, turn complexity into clear choices and bring people together around outcomes.

While current vacancies exist across several areas of the department, this process is designed to identify high-performing leaders who can apply their strategic judgement, leadership and expertise across different business areas and emerging opportunities.

As an Assistant Secretary, you will lead a significant area of DEWR's work. Opportunities may arise across policy, programs, service delivery, employment services, skills and training, workplace relations, regulation, digital, data, transformation, corporate and enabling functions. You will help shape strategic direction, provide high-quality advice to senior decision-makers and translate government and departmental priorities into meaningful outcomes. You will need to understand the environment around your work, anticipate emerging issues and opportunities, and recognise when established approaches are no longer enough.

Some opportunities may be in specialist corporate functions supporting the department's external budget responsibilities. These roles involve working across the portfolio and with central agencies to shape budget proposals, drive organisational performance, provide strategic advice and contestability, and support sound management of public resources.

Strategic policy capability will be particularly important. We are interested in leaders who can identify the underlying policy or strategic question, bring evidence and different perspectives together, understand the broader system and whole-of-government context, and develop practical, credible solutions to complex problems.

As a member of DEWR's SES cohort, you will also play an important stewardship role, building capability, developing future leaders and helping position the department to respond to challenges beyond today's priorities.

Duties and Responsibilities

As an SES Band 1 leader, you will help shape policy, drive delivery and build organisational capability while contributing to DEWR's broader success. Key responsibilities include:

• Shape direction, not simply respond to it. Understand the environment around your work, identify emerging issues and opportunities and develop a clear strategic direction that connects DEWR's priorities with broader government objectives.


• Bring strategic policy thinking to complex problems. Look beyond the presenting issue to understand underlying causes, connections and consequences. Draw together evidence, stakeholder perspectives, implementation experience and whole-of-government considerations to develop robust policy, strategy and advice.


• Frame choices and solutions. Turn complexity into clear and credible options. Surface trade-offs, risks and consequences, challenge assumptions where necessary, and provide frank, evidence-informed and impartial advice to senior executives, Ministers and government.


• Connect strategy with delivery. Ensure good ideas can work in practice. Bring policy, programs, services, regulation, people, resources, technology and data together as relevant, and maintain a clear line of sight between strategic intent and outcomes for Australians.


• Advance outcomes for First Nations peoples and communities. Build genuine partnerships with First Nations stakeholders, incorporate First Nations perspectives into policy, program and service design, and contribute to the department's commitment to Closing the Gap through culturally informed and evidence-based approaches.


• Lead beyond organisational boundaries. Build coalitions across DEWR, the APS and external organisations and communities. Navigate different perspectives and competing interests and use influence - not hierarchy alone - to create shared ownership of outcomes.


• Lead through uncertainty and change. Recognise when existing approaches need to change, make deliberate choices about priorities and resources, and create clarity and momentum when information is incomplete or the path forward is contested.


• Build capability for the future. Develop people and future leaders, strengthen professional and organisational capability, embrace opportunities presented by data and technology, and create inclusive environments where different perspectives improve decisions.


• Contribute as an enterprise leader. Take responsibility for the success of DEWR beyond your own branch. Contribute actively to departmental priorities, culture, governance and stewardship, and demonstrate the judgement, integrity and accountability expected of an APS senior executive.

• Senior Executive Service (SES) Band 1


• Canberra, ACT; Sydney, NSW; Melbourne, VIC; Brisbane; QLD; Adelaide; SA; Perth, WA

Qualifications and Education

We value diverse professional backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. There is no single pathway to success at the SES level.

Highly regarded candidates will bring a demonstrated track record of executive leadership, strategic judgement and delivery in complex environments. Relevant tertiary qualifications, professional accreditations, executive leadership development or specialist expertise may be advantageous depending on the role and function.

Eligibility

At DEWR we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and seek to recruit staff with a wide range of backgrounds, skill levels, disciplines and working styles. If this role resonates with you and you are excited about making an impact, but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly, we encourage you to apply anyway.

Citizenship

Citizenship - to be eligible for employment with the Department, you must be an Australian Citizen or, in limited circumstances, in the process of obtaining it.

Security Clearance

Security Clearance - our successful candidate is required to hold, or have the ability to obtain, and maintain a Baseline security clearance.

Please refer to the Job Information Pack for more information about the role.