National Emergency Management Agency:National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) was established on 1 September 2022 as a single, accountable Commonwealth authority that delivers a whole-of-nation approach to reducing disaster risk, planning, preparing for, responding to and recovering from all hazards across the emergency management continuum.
NEMA works closely with States and Territories to deliver the best outcome for communities across Australia. To help communities respond and recover, while preparing Australia for future emergencies, we:
Fund programs and initiatives, big and small, that help communities in times of emergency, as well as to recover and prepare, including through disaster recovery funding and the Disaster Ready Fund to help reduce the risk and impact of disasters
Have officers located across Australia, working in partnership with states and territories to support disaster-affected communities to collectively build resilience, reduce risk and harm and effectively respond to and recover from disasters
Provide national leadership to share knowledge, situational awareness, and trends in disaster efforts to inform, guide and shape the national picture and decision-making at the Commonwealth, State and local Government level – including through policy development and strategy to improve risk reduction, resilience and recovery and
Provide round-the-clock all-hazards monitoring and operational coordination for domestic and international emergencies, including supply chain disruptions, critical infrastructure outages, biosecurity risks and widespread cyber-attacks, and through supporting preparedness and response activities, including through the operationalisation of the Australian Government Crisis Management Framework.
For further information on NEMA’s purpose, vision and values, please see the NEMA website. Overview of the Branch and Section:The National Coordination Mechanism Branch (NCMB) facilitates the National Coordination Mechanism (NCM) in accordance with the Australian Government Crisis Management Framework (AGCMF), prepares and maintains strategic plans, supports preparedness for the higher risk weather season and implements the national crisis exercising program, lessons capability and delivery of capability uplift programs.Key responsibilities include:
Delivering the NCM on behalf of the Australian Government and in accordance with the AGCMF
Conceptualise, design and delivery of national level exercises
Identify opportunities for improvement through conducting lesson management processes
Develop strategic plans to support preparedness and response during domestic and international crises and emergencies for all hazards
Lead development of the Higher Risk Weather Season Preparedness Program
Uplift the capability of Australian Government and States and Territories to conduct Crisis Appreciation and Strategic Planning (CASP)
Support the Crisis Coordination Team, upon activation.
About the roles:Executive Level 1 officers, or Assistant Directors, within NCMB are expected to exercise high levels of initiative, judgement and leadership. They provide detailed technical, professional, and/or policy advice in relation to complex problems. The positions provide assistance to the Director of the relevant section, and assist in whole of Government coordination, collaboration and communication, drafting high level documents and producing evidence based reporting.The work of an Assistant Director within the NCMB involves leadership responsibilities including setting of team priorities, managing workflows, building and maintaining critical stakeholder relationships, and collaborating with colleagues across the division, group, the agency and other agencies to deliver shared outcomes.
The position is required to lead and mentor junior team members and will be responsible for performance management and ensuring capability development opportunities are pursued across the team.
Assistant Directors are expected to be competent in managing complex situations and in working closely with a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
Please note:
Some of the positions provide the opportunity to form part of a Crisis Coordination Team on a rostered basis to contribute to the operational requirements of the agency during times of crisis
This recruitment round will be used to fill ongoing and non-ongoing positions for Executive Level 1s across NCMB. The merit pool may also be used to fill future ongoing and non-ongoing vacancies across the National Emergency Management Agency where the duties are of a similar nature
At times staff within NEMA may be required to work outside of standard business hours, particularly during the high-risk weather season.
Our ideal candidate:NCMB is looking for people who enjoy working in a rapidly evolving and forward thinking environment. Our ideal candidates demonstrate:
Responsiveness to changing priorities in a dynamic environment
Attention to detail to ensure consistency and accuracy of documentation
Learning agility to adapt to new and changing priorities
Interpersonal effectiveness to build rapport and maintain stakeholder relationships
Political astuteness and ability to understand and operate within the current environment
Resilience to meet and maintain performance standards in pressured and unpredictable environments
Self-awareness and responsibility for own actions.
We encourage applications from First Nations people, people with disability, LGBTQIA+ people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, mature age people and people from other diverse backgrounds. We are committed to providing a working environment that values diversity and inclusion and supports staff to reach their full potential.The key duties of the position include:Assistant Director, NCM Operations
Support delivery of one of NEMA’s key emergency response functions: the NCM, by leading a team to plan, organise and facilitate NCM meetings
Engage stakeholders, establish governance structures and maintain relationships across whole-of-government, industry and not-for profit sectors to enable effective participation in NCM’s
Provide secretariat support for the NCM to ensure the appropriate oversight, tracking, performance monitoring and decision making in a fluctuating and often high-pressure environment
Prepare accurate, timely and evidence-based reporting on NCM activities for a variety of stakeholders
Assist in defining project goals for ad hoc, complex tasking, often related to emerging or current crises
Contribute to the delivery of the team work plan to embed processes, structures and capabilities
Develop an advanced knowledge of national crisis management arrangements, including the Australian Government Crisis Management Framework (AGCMF) and Crisis Appreciation and Strategic Planning (CASP) methodology
On a rostered basis, participate in on call duties post-business hours and on weekends as part of crisis response activity.
Assistant Director, National Exercising and Lessons Capability
Develop an advanced knowledge of exercise management, lessons management and national crisis arrangements
Support engagement with senior Australian Government officials, jurisdiction and industry stakeholders, subject matter experts
Directly engage with exercise/lessons counterparts, subject matter experts during the exercise management process
Lead exercise management and/or lessons management processes, including developing documentation and briefings
Support team planning through advice on team cost, benefits, risk and opportunities
Contribute to high-level written material, submissions or briefs as required
Out of hours work and domestic travel may be required in this role to support the delivery of exercises and lessons processes.
Assistant Director, Strategic Planning and Engagement
Lead policy development, including the development and maintenance of a number of national crisis response plans
Influence the design and delivery of the annual Higher Risk Weather Season Preparedness Program
Undertake high level stakeholder engagement activities
Support the uplift of strategic planning capability across key Australian Government and jurisdictional stakeholders, including the delivery of strategic planning training, notably the delivery of a national program of Crisis Appreciation and Strategic Planning training
Support the operationalisation of a range of frameworks in order to asses Australia’s preparedness in the face of severe and catastrophic disasters including the design and delivery of the Australian Government Crisis Capability Register
Contribute to the broader preparedness work of the Group, with a focus on international engagement to progress a number of strategic bi-lateral memorandums of understanding for sharing response capability during times of crisis.
Role requirements/qualifications:The successful applicant for this position will have:
Strong written and oral communication skills
excellent organisational and time management skills
the ability to produce high quality work within tight deadlines
knowledge of Australian emergency management arrangements
flexibility to re-prioritise work in response to an unpredictable and dynamic work environment
a Negative Vetting 1 security clearance, or the willingness to obtain a clearance
the ability to work independently, be accountable and take responsibility for own work
high levels of initiative, self-motivation and ability to lead activity
ability to manage and develop staff
knowledge of Government and agency decision-making processes
strong awareness of external factors which may influence agency or whole of government strategic priorities and objectives.
All positions are required to
Anticipate and establish work priorities, monitor progress, and drive the delivery of objectives with an awareness of potential risks that could occur
Develop and maintain effective relationships with Australian Government, jurisdictions, non-government stakeholders, and subject matter experts
Provide expert advice to support mitigation and resolution of complex and sensitive issues to inform decision-making
Manage, coordinate and compose complex and sensitive communications, which could include briefings, speeches, media responses, research papers and submissions
Provide high-level advice on political or operational impact of decisions to ensure Senior Executives are well prepared and aware of emerging issues of importance
Maintain an understanding of broader agency, political, social and economic environments in the development of advice
Lead a team and deploy resources to manage competing priorities and meet deadlines
Supervise a small high performing team to achieve objectives and outcomes with limited supervision
Participate in emergency management forums, exercises, post-event workshops and reviews
Undertake filing and records management functions and ensure records are accurate, complete and managed in accordance with agency policy
Act as Director of the section, as required.
EligibilityTo be eligible to work with the NEMA you must:
Be an Australian Citizen
Fulfil the Agency’s minimum requirements by satisfactorily answering all screening questions during the application process
Obtain and maintain the required AGSVA clearance
Satisfy a probation period
Undergo a health assessment (if applicable).
NotesRemuneration: The Agency offers an attractive remuneration package, including salary, superannuation benefits and flexible working conditions appropriate to the level of the position.
If you have identified as having a disability, please indicate whether you require any support throughout the selection process. For further information please contact Recruitment: ***********@homeaffairs.gov.au.
Getting to know the National Emergency Management Agency
Who we are: NEMA works closely with local communities as well as state and territory governments to deliver the best outcome for communities across Australia. To help communities respond and recover, while preparing Australia for future emergencies, we:
fund programs and initiatives, big and small, that help communities in times of emergency, as well as to recover and prepare, including through disaster recovery funding and the Disaster Ready Fund to help reduce the risk and impact of disasters;
work with communities, industry and non-government organisations by connecting local Regional Support Officers and other NEMA staff right around Australia, to share lessons learnt, provide awareness on navigating government services, and gain community and industry-led ideas and concepts to inform strategic policy and planning;
provide national leadership to share knowledge, situational awareness, and trends in disaster efforts to inform, guide and shape the national picture and decision-making at the Commonwealth, state and local government level – including through policy development and strategy to improve risk reduction, resilience and recovery; and
provide round-the-clock all-hazards monitoring and operational coordination for domestic and international emergencies, including supply chain disruptions, critical infrastructure outages, biosecurity risks and widespread cyber-attacks, and through supporting preparedness and response activities, including through the operationalisation of the Australian Government Crisis Management Framework.