Employment Type: Ongoing
Classification: Senior Executive Service Band 1
Closing Date: 11:30pm AEST, 23 April 2025
Contact: Nicola Hinder PSM, (02) 6277 8625, Nicola.Hinder@aph.gov.au

THE OPPORTUNITY

With a vision to provide strategic, high-quality, customer centred services to the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) and more broadly the Parliament, we are recruiting for multiple Senior Executive Service (SES) Band 1, Assistant Secretary roles.
DPS supports the work of the Australian Parliament and Australian Parliament House (APH) and is responsible for a wide range of services and facilities. DPS has over 1,000 employees, working across a diverse range of areas which includes corporate services, security and building maintenance, reporting and broadcasting, library services, catering, visitor and art services and ICT services (at APH and Electorate Offices nation-wide).
These roles report to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and are members of the Information Services Division (ISD) executive team. The roles are crucial in providing organisational leadership across a division of approximately 250 employees, and as members of the DPS SES team, contributing to the strategic planning, operational capacity, and accountability of DPS.
DPS is seeking highly motivated, outcome-driven senior executives to fill these roles, and to lead their respective branches in line with the department’s values. Successful applicants will be flexible, dynamic and collaborative leaders who are willing to take calculated risks and empower their teams. You will be self-aware, have the courage to embrace change, and have a positive mindset with respect to considering and acknowledging diverse ideas and perspectives. You will adopt a continuous improvement approach to keep pace with the evolving IT landscape and new technologies. The roles are expected to role model innovation and creative thinking in implementing and sustaining the department’s Digital Strategy 2023-27.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

As a member of the DPS SES team, your responsibilities will include:

• upholding the Parliamentary Service Values and Secretaries’ Charter of Leadership Behaviours to the highest standards,
• promoting a workplace culture that fosters trust, respect and inclusion, and where all individuals are responsible for promoting the health, safety and well being of others,
• role modelling leadership behaviours, working collaboratively with other members of the executive to achieve common goals,
• facilitating consistency and integrity in approaches and decisions to align with the department’s strategic objectives and expected outcomes,
• providing strategic and subject matter advice to the executive leadership team, and other internal and external stakeholders, including appearing at Senate Estimate hearings,
• fostering and maintaining an environment that embodies effective risk management, strong governance and compliance, continuous improvement and a strong service delivery focus.

ELIGIBILITY AND JOB CRITERIA REQUIREMENTS:

• a well-rounded skill set that combines essential professional abilities such as business acumen, leadership, communication, engagement and relationship building, and technical and subject matter expertise,
• agility in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, and ability to coordinate across numerous teams, functions and stakeholders to raise standards, drive accountability and promote governance, compliance and assurance,
• strong leadership skills that empower and motivate teams, create a common purpose and a sense of individual value and connection to the work of the department and parliament,
• excellent stakeholder engagement skills, including the ability to provide insightful, transparent, trusted and impartial advice to diverse audiences in a complex environment,
• strong strategic judgement, political acuity, and ability to manage ambiguity to resolve complex issues as they evolve,
• record of achievement in shaping and guiding technological and operational change in a service delivery environment,
• demonstrated achievement of delivering quality results, within budget, tight time limits and across multiple groups,
• demonstrated high standards of integrity and professionalism, with a strong understanding of the Parliamentary Service Values and the Secretaries Charter of Leadership Behaviours,
• an understanding of the institution of parliament and role of parliamentary democracy, and
• a university degree, tertiary qualification or relevant professional qualification in a related field.
  Successful candidates will be required to obtain and maintain a Negative Vetting NV2 security clearance.
  Employees of DPS are required to be able, and to be seen to be able, to provide professional advice and services to all Senators and Members without favour or prejudice.
  DPS welcomes applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, mature age people, people from diverse backgrounds and people with disabilities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

• developing and managing capabilities by negotiating business priorities, budgets, setting performance expectations, and monitoring and evaluating performance outcomes that contribute to achieving the department’s Corporate Plan 2024-2025 and the Parliament of Australia Digital Strategy 2023-2027,
• proactively managing complex and sensitive issues and ambiguity, leading innovative solutions, and demonstrating high levels of integrity and judgement to deliver value-for-money outcomes for the department and parliament,
• adhering to and continually developing the frameworks of policies, practices and ethical standards required to drive performance and shape organisational culture consistent with the department’s strategic objectives and values,
• providing timely, strategic and tactical advice to executive stakeholders on operational imperatives, including the implications of business decisions, resourcing, performance, and critical ICT issues affecting the department and parliament more broadly,
• developing and maintaining effective working relationships with a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders, and nurturing strategic partnerships across the public sector to enable the work of parliament, and
• role modelling leadership behaviours, working collaboratively with other members of the executive to provide consistency and transparency in decision-making and enabling value-for-money outcomes that support the work of the department.

KEY TECHNICAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS INCLUDE:

• leading the implementation of the Parliament of Australia Digital Strategy 2023-2027 by delivering key systems, projects and capability enhancements to improve and maintain the resilience of the parliament environment,
• reporting on ICT and/or cyber security matters to the executive leadership team, translating security risks into departmental operational risks and facilitating adherence to compliance activities,
• leading and advising on the department’s response to ICT and/or cyber security incidents including coordinating the response team, and communicating clearly and effectively with internal and external stakeholders,
• acting as a role model to facilitate cultural change, tailoring communications to meet the needs of stakeholder audience groups and enhancing the security and compliance awareness of network users,
• growing, retaining, leading and empowering a highly technical workforce including cyber security, enterprise infrastructure, cloud products and services, ICT project and portfolio management, ICT service delivery, ICT strategy and governance or a combination of these,
• working collaboratively and transparently with other executives and governance functions to ensure mandatory frameworks are maintained, including (but not limited to) the Information Security Manual (ISM) and Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF),
• maintaining and contributing to local, national and international partnerships to promote the sharing of threat intelligence, build cross-departmental collaboration and information sharing, and position the department as a trusted partner,
• assisting the Chief Information Officer (CIO) in managing the division, including organisational change management, process management and redesign, service delivery, stakeholder engagement, people management, and financial management,
• ensuring that consistent procurement, contracting and vendor management processes are applied, empowering the team to assess ICT resourcing risks and understand the impacts of entering contracts with suppliers and service providers,performing the role of the department’s Chief Information Security Officer (Assistant Secretary, Cyber Security Branch only).

OUR PURPOSE AND VALUES

We proudly provide innovative, unified, and client-focused services to the Australian Parliament and parliamentarians. We are a values driven department, placing our values at the heart of everything we do; from our service offerings and decision making to our interactions with stakeholders and each other.
Our people are employed in a broad and unique range of professional, customer service and trade-based roles, all joined by a shared purpose: to make an enduring contribution to Australia’s parliamentary democracy. We have an inclusive workplace that reflects the diversity of the community we serve. While we come from all walks of life, we share a commitment to care for and protect our iconic workplace.
Every year, almost one million people visit Australian Parliament House to experience the parliamentary process, the building’s architecture, nationally significant art collections, events, tours, and food and dining experiences – all made possible by our people, who are active participants in an environment where no two days are the same.

As a member of the DPS SES team, your responsibilities will include:

• upholding the Parliamentary Service Values and Secretaries’ Charter of Leadership Behaviours to the highest standards,
• promoting a workplace culture that fosters trust, respect and inclusion, and where all individuals are responsible for promoting the health, safety and well being of others,
• role modelling leadership behaviours, working collaboratively with other members of the executive to achieve common goals,
• facilitating consistency and integrity in approaches and decisions to align with the department’s strategic objectives and expected outcomes,
• providing strategic and subject matter advice to the executive leadership team, and other internal and external stakeholders, including appearing at Senate Estimate hearings,
• fostering and maintaining an environment that embodies effective risk management, strong governance and compliance, continuous improvement and a strong service delivery focus