Team Leader, SA State Operations

Australian Electoral Commission; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) invites applications for a Team Leader in the South Australian State Operations team. You will manage a small to mid-size team, oversee divisional election planning, delivery and evaluation, and work with state and national offices to ensure accurate electoral rolls and timely, transparent election outcomes.

Demonstrated leadership, risk management, and stakeholder engagement are essential, along with compliance with WHS and security requirements.

Qualifications

• Leading the planning and delivery of events, including managing resources and priorities.
• Building team capability and productive working relationships.
• Managing compliance obligations, WHS requirements and operational risks.
• Leading projects or change initiatives to improve operational effectiveness.
• Exercising sound judgement in complex environments and making decisions under pressure.
• Able to work independently while contributing to a team.
• Australian citizenship is required for AEC employees.
• Consent to character and security clearances as required.

Responsibilities

• Oversee divisional election planning, delivery and evaluation.
• Ensure accuracy and completeness of the electoral roll for your division.
• Lead your team in preparing for federal electoral events.
• Set priorities, maintain team cohesion and ensure quality of outputs.
• Supervise divisional office staff and temporary election workforce.
• Contribute to leadership development and capability building within your team.

Skills

Team leadership

Project delivery

Stakeholder management

Logistics planning

Risk management

Decision making

Independent work

Team development

Communication

Job description

The AEC has a dispersed network of 150 electoral divisions, ten of which are located in South Australia.

Team Leader positions are based in the Adelaide Office. You will be part of a network of Team Leaders/Senior Project Leads across the country, responsible for managing your work unit to ensure the proper conduct of federal elections and referendums. You will work closely with our State Office, National Office, and colleagues across other States and Territories.

Each APS 6 Team Leader will typically oversee a team of around 2–10 staff. However, team size increases significantly during an electoral event as we scale up and engage our temporary election workforce. During the delivery of an election, the Team Leader will undertake the legislative responsibilities of the Divisional Returning Officer for a federal electoral division and will work to ensure that the division delivers an election result with transparency and integrity.

For the delivery of a federal election or local by-election, staffing levels expand rapidly to help manage increased workloads associated with risk management, project delivery, logistical activities, and media and public scrutiny.

At the AEC, you will develop strong connections with colleagues and supportive networks as we work together to deliver an impartial, independent, and high-integrity electoral system.

The Opportunity

The South Australian State Operations team is seeking to engage a Team Leader to support election delivery. This is an exciting opportunity to join the AEC and contribute to work that has a direct impact on Australia’s democratic processes.

We are seeking an experienced manager to lead a team responsible for divisional election planning, delivery and evaluation. The successful candidate will deliver high-quality outcomes within tight timeframes, work effectively both independently and as part of a team, and exercise sound judgement when operating with limited guidance.

During the preparation phase of the electoral cycle, you will be responsible for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of the electoral roll within your division and leading your team in preparation for the next federal electoral event.

You will contribute to the development of team objectives for both short-term tasks and longer-term strategic initiatives. This includes setting priorities for the work area, maintaining team cohesion, and ensuring the quality of team outputs.

You will be responsible for the overall supervision of your divisional office team and temporary election staff. Using your leadership skills, you will support the rapid expansion of the workforce and ensure operational requirements are delivered effectively and efficiently. You will join a leadership team committed to continuous development and learning and play a key role in building capability and supporting professional development within your team.

To excel you’ll have:

We are seeking a motivated and capable professional who can demonstrate the skills, knowledge and experience required to perform successfully in this role, including:

• Demonstrated experience leading the planning and delivery of events, including managing logistics, resources and competing priorities, and achieving outcomes in a complex operational environment.
• Demonstrated leadership experience building team capability, developing productive working relationships, and communicating, collaborating and negotiating effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience managing compliance obligations, work health and safety requirements and operational risks, including applying legislation, policy and procedures to support safe and compliant operations.
• Proven capacity to lead projects, implement improvements or drive change initiatives that enhance operational effectiveness and business outcomes.
• Ability to exercise sound judgement and make effective decisions in a complex operational environment, including responding to issues, solving problems and maintaining composure under pressure.
• Ability to work independently while contributing positively within a team environment to achieve organisational objectives and support the AEC's strategic direction.
• AEC employees must be Australian citizens.
• Any person who is, and seen to be active in political affairs, and intends to publicly carry on this activity, may compromise the strict neutrality of the AEC and cannot be considered.
• Applicants are required to consent to, undergo, obtain and maintain a character clearance.
• Applicants are required to consent to, undergo, obtain and maintain the security clearance required for this role.

Due Date: Sunday 15 November 2026, 11:59pm AEST, 11:29pm ACDT