Stakeholder & External Affairs Manager

National Intermodal Corporation; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

National Intermodal in Melbourne seeks a Stakeholder & External Affairs Manager to lead external engagement for the Beveridge Intermodal Precinct. The role interfaces with councils, government stakeholders and residents, balancing community needs with project delivery requirements.

Based primarily in Melbourne CBD with site and community activity. You will coordinate forums, drive local benefits strategies, and ensure consistent messaging across internal teams and external stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in communications or related field is essential.
• 10+ years in community engagement, communications or public affairs.
• Strong networks with government and local stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead community and local government engagement strategies and programs.
• Coordinate engagement activities, forums and social licence building.
• Develop partnerships with local businesses, industry groups and councils.
• Connect engagement with local jobs, skills, and social procurement.
• Represent the project publicly in forums and briefings to stakeholders.
• Deliver consistent messaging and aligned outputs with governance processes.
• Support Traditional Owner engagement with project teams as required.
• Provide insights and feedback to governance and risk management.
• Monitor community sentiment and escalate material risks as needed.
• Engage regulators and agencies aligned with project strategy.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Public affairs

Communications

Relationship management

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Communications or related field

Job description

About Us

National Intermodal is a Government Business Enterprise, wholly owned by the Commonwealth of Australia, building the intermodal precincts that will reshape how goods move along Australia's east coast. It's infrastructure with a purpose: better, more sustainable supply chains that ultimately improve the way communities access the things they need. Behind that mission is a tight-knit team of engineering, rail, infrastructure and logistics specialists who think long-term and execute with precision.

About The Role

National Intermodal is seeking a Stakeholder & External Affairs Manager to join our team in Melbourne. Reporting to the General Manager Corporate Affairs you will support the organisation’s interests in Victoria, and more specifically lead the external stakeholder and community engagement function for the Beveridge Intermodal Precinct, building and maintaining social licence while representing the organisation and its project in the public domain. The precinct is currently under construction and will on completion be Australia’s largest logistics hub, playing a central role in strengthening Australia’s national freight network and supporting the future growth of Melbourne’s northern corridor.

This is a highly visible role suited to an experienced engagement or external affairs professional who is comfortable acting as the primary interface between the project and the community in particular, councils and broader stakeholder and industry groups, and equally at ease on the ground with residents as briefing government stakeholders. While primarily based in our Melbourne CBD office, the role will include site and community-based activities.

A member of National Intermodal’s corporate team, you will work closely with the project delivery team for the Beveridge Intermodal Precinct to ensure engagement is informed, consistent and aligned with project risk and delivery requirements, and while simultaneously connecting engagement activity with longer-term community and organisational priorities.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Leading the development and delivery of community and local government engagement strategies and programs, establishing proactive engagement with local residents, community groups and regional stakeholders including local councils.
• Coordinating regular engagement activities, consultation programs and stakeholder forums, and building and maintaining social licence through transparent and effective engagement.
• Developing and maintaining partnerships with local businesses, industry associations, community organisations and regional economic stakeholders.
• Supporting National Intermodal’s Local Benefits and Workforce Strategy by connecting engagement activity with local jobs, skills, education, training and social procurement opportunities.
• Acting as a public-facing representative of the project, representing it in forums, briefings and public information sessions, and supporting engagement with elected representatives and government stakeholders to support National Intermodal’s corporate objectives.
• Delivering consistent messaging, high-quality briefing materials and alignment between engagement activities, communication outputs and stakeholder insights.
• Supporting Traditional Owner engagement activities in partnership with the Beveridge Integrated Delivery team and National Intermodal’s corporate leadership as required.
• Collaborating with the project delivery team for Beveridge, providing engagement insights, emerging issues, community sentiment data and stakeholder feedback to inform governance processes, risk assessments and stakeholder tracking systems.
• Supporting, monitoring and analysis of community sentiment and emerging issues, escalating material risks through governance channels.
• Supporting engagement with regulators and agencies aligned with project strategy as required by the project delivery team who has responsibility for this function.

About You

• A Bachelor's Degree in Communications, Public Affairs or related field; demonstrable infrastructure/government engagement experience essential.
• 10+ years in community engagement, communications or public affairs, with experience in infrastructure or major project environments.
• Strong networks across Victorian government and local community stakeholders, with a basic understanding of planning/approvals pathways, constraints and trade-offs.
• Demonstrated experience engaging with Traditional Owners and First Peoples State Relations, and building constructive relationships with industry and regional stakeholders.
• Demonstrated success in managing community sentiment and issues, with strong communication, facilitation and public presentation capability.
• Highly developed relationship and influencing skills, supporting development of trusted relationships and ready access to stakeholders within and outside the organisation.
• Resilient, focused and regarded as a person who makes things happen, with a disciplined, collaborative approach and a high level of personal credibility and integrity.
• Well-developed commercial perspectives and general business experience, with the ability to balance and navigate stakeholder concerns against organisational and commercial imperatives.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret stakeholder feedback and adjust strategies accordingly. Must be able to travel on occasion.

At National Intermodal, we are committed to our people and their development. If this sounds like the kind of role where you can make a visible, hands-on impact, we’d love to hear from you.