Strategic Projects Advisor

Yarra Valley Water; Healesville; Hybrid; AUD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

16 weeks paid parental leave

15 days paid personal leave

5 days paid reproductive leave

Flexible working arrangements

Free on-site parking and on-site café

Job summary

Yarra Valley Water Corporation is seeking a strategic communications and engagement professional to lead community and stakeholder engagement for major capital works and infrastructure projects. The role requires delivering engagement with multiple stakeholders, navigating sensitivities, and protecting our organisational reputation.

This 8-month parental leave cover is based in Australia with true hybrid working—home and Mitcham office—welcoming candidates who can drive collaboration and ensure

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience delivering community and stakeholder engagement for major infrastructure, capital works or urban projects.
• Strong written communication skills, including engagement materials, reports and briefings.
• Experience addressing sensitive issues and reputational risks in construction or urban development projects.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and relationship-building capabilities.
• Knowledge of contemporary engagement principles and IAP2 methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead community and stakeholder engagement for complex, high-profile infrastructure and capital works.
• Develop strategic communications and engagement plans for capital works projects and organisational initiatives.
• Provide trusted communications advice to senior leaders, project managers and subject matter experts.
• Identify and manage reputational risks and develop mitigation strategies.
• Maintain relationships across the organisation and with project partners to ensure coordinated communications.
• Support media preparedness, including media handling plans and Q&As.

Skills

Community engagement

Stakeholder management

Strategic communications

IAP2 methodologies

Media relations

Collaborative work

Job description

8-Month Fixed Term Contract, Full-time opportunity

True hybrid working – work from home and our Mitcham office

About Us

We’re on a mission to create a brighter future, where you can be a change maker at the actual source. We’re one of Australia’s largest water utilities with over 30% of Victoria’s population relying on us for their essential water and sanitation services.

Our award-winning culture fosters an inclusive, collaborative, and flexible environment that enables our people to thrive. Here, you’ll be inspired and challenged to grow alongside us.

We're committed to reconciliation and supporting the self-determined role for Traditional Owners/Custodians in water and land management.

The Role

We're seeking a strategic and experienced communications and community engagement professional to lead engagement for major capital works and infrastructure projects that directly impact our community.

This role is suited to someone who has successfully delivered engagement on complex infrastructure, transport, or urban projects, and can confidently navigate competing stakeholder interests, community sensitivities and fast-paced project environments.

This is an opportunity to influence outcomes at a strategic level, manage complexity and play a key role in protecting and enhancing organisational reputation.

This is an 8-Month parental leave cover opportunity, offering the chance to work on a range of high-profile projects and hit the ground running within a collaborative team.

Your Key Responsibilities

Leading community and stakeholder engagement for complex, high-profile infrastructure and capital works projects.

Developing and implementing strategic communication and engagement plans for capital works projects and organisational initiatives.

Providing trusted communications advice to senior leaders, project managers and subject matter experts, informing project direction or outcomes.

Identifying and managing reputational risks and developing mitigation strategies.

Managing engagement and communication activities in sensitive and highly scrutinised environments.

Protecting and enhancing our brand across customer and stakeholder interactions.

Supporting media preparedness, including media handling plans, holding statements and Q&As.

Leading and supporting stakeholder engagement activities, including ministerial opportunities where appropriate.

Monitoring media coverage, stakeholder sentiment and community feedback to inform communication strategies.

Building strong relationships across the organisation, with project partners, community and traders to ensure communication is coordinated, timely and effective.

Proactively identifying opportunities to showcase organisational achievements and project outcomes.

Contributing to the continuous improvement of strategic communications practices, tools and processes.

What we’re Looking for

Demonstrated experience delivering community and stakeholder engagement for major infrastructure, capital works or urban projects.

Strong written communication skills, including preparation of engagement materials, consultation reports, executive briefings and stakeholder correspondence.

Strong experience managing complex or sensitive communication issues, stakeholder and community impacts and reputational risks associated with construction, transport, infrastructure or urban development projects.

Excellent stakeholder engagement and relationship-building capabilities.

Knowledge of contemporary engagement principles and frameworks, including IAP2 methodologies.

Sound understanding of traditional media, digital channels and communication best practice.

Experience evaluating communication effectiveness and using insights to improve outcomes.

A collaborative approach and commitment to meaningful stakeholder engagement.

A proactive and ‘can do’ approach

About You

You're an experienced communications and engagement practitioner who thrives in complex environments where projects are highly visible and community expectations are high. You can balance strategic thinking with meticulous attention to detail, manage multiple priorities simultaneously, and maintain strong stakeholder relationships while delivering outcomes to tight timeframes.

You are:

• Experienced in delivering engagement for major infrastructure, capital works or urban development projects.
• Confident managing competing stakeholder interests and sensitive issues.
• Calm, proactive and solutions-focused.
• An exceptional communicator.
• Highly organised with exceptional attention to detail and capable of managing multiple priorities.
• A collaborative team player who builds trusted relationships.

Why Yarra Valley Water?

We celebrate and encourage new thinking at every level. Creating opportunities for you to grow – both professionally, and personally. When you flourish, we all do.

Flexible working arrangements where our people are empowered to design their days with their team.

Free and secure on-site parking with on-site café at our Mitcham office.

16 weeks paid parental leave.

15 days paid personal leave, which can be used for caring, illness, wellbeing and mental health needs.

5 days paid reproductive leave which can be used for experiencing symptoms or undergoing procedures associated with issues such as menopause, menstruation, endometriosis, PCOS, prostate health, or IVF.

Request to swap certain public holidays for another day of paid leave.

We welcome applications from everyone, including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, mature age and young job seekers, members of the LGBTIQA+ community and people of all cultural backgrounds.

Yarra Valley Water is recognised by Australian Disability Network as a Disability Confident Recruiter employer.

Successful applicants must be eligible to work in Australia and agree to provide information for pre-employment checks, if required for the position. This may also include a Police Check or AusCheck, where an offer will be subject to a satisfactory outcome of these checks.

Did you Know?

Research shows that men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, while women and other marginalised people tend to only apply when they meet all of them. So, if you think you have what it takes, but don't necessarily tick every box, please apply or get in touch. We'd love to have a chat and see if you could be a great fit.