As a Commonwealth Government agency, the Bureau operates under the Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water Portfolio and reports to the Minister for the Environment and Water.As one of the few organisations that touches the lives of all Australians and all of Australia, we take our responsibilities to report to the Parliament and respond to elected officials seriously. As our climate and weather continue to make daily headlines, we continue to be at the forefront of the minds of many in politics. We play a key role in many parliamentary inquiries and cross-government activities, providing our expertise in meteorology, climatology, and hydrology.

Within the Communications Program, the Government Relations Team leads the coordination of our contribution to all Parliamentary, Cabinet, Ministerial and intergovernmental activities, at a local, state and Commonwealth level. Reporting to the Stakeholder Engagement Team Leader, this role will work across the team providing support on our highest priorities. You will support stakeholder engagement for high-profile, controversial or sensitive issues that impact the Australian community. You will help to coordinate our interactions with other government departments and engagement with the Cabinet process. You will undertake research into critical government programs and support the Bureau to have deep insights into our broader operating environment.  

In a fast-paced role under the Bureau, no day will ever be the same. If you love the adrenaline of deadlines and having multiple priorities, this is the right job for you. 

The key duties of the position include:

Communications Program contribution

• Provides accurate and timely professional advice about Government operations, parliamentary processes and working with other Departments.
• Proactively engage with colleagues to support collaboration, coordination and great service to the Bureau.
• You will share learnings and insights that will support the broader work of the Communications Program. 
• You will value and model professional excellence and expertise, demonstrating a commitment to communications and championing best practice stakeholder engagement.
• Support the broader work of the program by undertaking other roles, working extended hours at short notice or being available to work outside regular office hours.

Technical delivery 

• Support your team to implement the Bureau’s stakeholder engagement framework, through planning, engagement and reporting.
• Assist in the delivery of stakeholder handling and engagement strategies for high-profile, controversial or sensitive issues. 
• Support the preparation of briefs for the Executive, Minister and other elected officials, and help to identify key impacted elected officials during high impact events such as severe weather or Bureau announcements.
• Proactively research and learn to build an in-depth understanding of the current political environment, stakeholder engagement practice and strategic issues management. 
• Perform research and analysis into complex or escalated issues to support short and longer-term planning and liaison with stakeholders.
• Gather data and intelligence to help inform external engagement and evaluate their effectiveness.
• Maintain Bureau contact lists and databases for engagement with elected officials.
• Record engagement with elected officials via the Bureau’s Customer Relationship Manager. 
• Build relationships across the Commonwealth Government to gain insights and understanding of policy developments and program implementation related to the work of the Bureau. 
• Support your team to coordinate parliamentary processes, including question time briefs, appearances at senate estimates and hearings, Parliamentary inquiry submissions and Questions on Notice.
• Coordinate input from across the Bureau to develop policy comments and drafting suggestions for Cabinet Submissions, briefs or products produced by other Departments. 
• Be an advocate for parliamentary processes, protocols, and systems.

Service delivery 

• Build positive internal and external relationships by anticipating and responding to stakeholder needs. 
• Adhere to policies, systems and processes that ensure the team can meet Bureau expectations of service, quality and timeliness.     
• Manage multiple priorities by being resilient, responsive and flexible. 
• Complying with all Bureau work, health and safety policies and procedures, and taking reasonable care for your own health and safety and that of employees, contractors and visitors who may be affected by your conduct. 

Eligibility 

A degree or diploma of an Australian educational institution, or a comparable overseas qualification, in communications or political science is highly desirable

Australian Citizenship is required for this role. Due to security clearance requirements non-citizens are unable to apply.

RecruitAbility applies to this vacancy. Under the RecruitAbility scheme you will be invited to participate in further assessment activity for the vacancy if you choose to apply under the scheme; declare you have a disability; and meet the minimum requirements for the job.

For more information, contact Rachael Ryan at 02 9296 1545 or rachael.ryan@bom.gov.au