Executive Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer

October 7, 2024

Australian Government

Canberra

Ongoing/Non-Ongoing
Salary: $94,729 to $105,669 plus 15.4% superannuation
Canberra, ACT

Our Opportunity

This is a non-ongoing opportunity for 12 months with the possibility of becoming ongoing to support a Deputy Secretary (SES Band 3) in their role as Chief Operating Officer (COO) while gaining a high-level perspective of the work of the Enabling Services Group (ESG) and the Attorney-General’s Department. The opportunity presents an environment where the individual will be guided and supported to develop and strengthen their skills, knowledge and networks.

The Executive Assistant (EA) undertakes work that is complex in nature and operates under limited direction with reasonable autonomy and accountability. In addition to supporting the COO the role works in conjunction with the Executive Officer and extends its support to the broader ESG in delivering on its priorities and outcomes. It also engages with a range of senior internal and external stakeholders, including the Secretary’s Office.

Working in a high-pressure environment with competing demands and often handling sensitive information the role requires the EA to have:

exceptional time management and prioritisation skills,
a flexible and agile approach to tasks,
the ability to maintain a high degree of confidentiality,
an aptitude to gather information and think strategically to support outcomes, and
be able to offer confident, clear and effective communication when providing advice or responding to queries.

As an experienced EA, this position will ask you to:

Manage the diary of the COO with autonomy and limited direction, exercising initiative and judgement.
Oversee incoming and outgoing correspondence for the office, anticipating, responding to and resolving complex requests and directing requests to other work areas as appropriate which will require a degree of understanding of the operational environment.
Negotiate with a range of internal and external stakeholders to provide, request, follow up or report on information of relevance to the SES, work area or external parties.
Draft written correspondence of a complex nature on behalf of the COO, in collaboration with the Executive Officer and other areas of the department as required.
Coordinate, collate and prepare information and documentation pertaining to meetings, Senate Estimates Packs and Ministerial Submissions, ensuring its quality and relevance.
Undertake inventory and financial management functions for the COO and work area, organise travel, events, and other duties as required.
Propose short-term strategic objectives and contribute to longer-term strategic planning activities to facilitate business improvement.
Support the team of Executive Assistants within ESG.
Partner with the Secretary’s EA and the SES Unit to actively contribute to the development and support of the department’s Executive Assistant Network.

How you can help us make a difference

We are seeking an energetic, organised and flexible candidate who demonstrates the APS 6 performance expectations and:

Remains calm and capable during peak periods of work
Has excellent stakeholder engagement skills
Displays leadership skills and builds a positive and supportive culture
Communicates with tact and behaves with discretion
Demonstrates good judgement and independence
Uses initiative to drive innovation and transformation.

We are committed to providing a flexible, diverse and inclusive workplace. We are open to considering a range of flexible work arrangements.

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We regret to inform you that this job opportunity is no longer available