Director Policy and Planning

Closes: 09 September 2025

Classification: Senior Officer Grade B

Position No: 54951

Directorate: City and Environment

Advertised (Gazettal date): 26 August 2025

Contact Officer: Carma Sweet on Carma.Sweet@act.gov.au or (02) 6207 7158

Details: Do you have a growing ambition to help plan a greener future for the ACT? Canberra's urban forest comprises a diverse combination of evergreen and deciduous trees that provides important ecological and amenity advantages for its inhabitants and wildlife. We take pride in maintaining our urban forest and you will play an important role in delivering this service to ensure the biodiversity and natural beauty of our city is preserved.

Urban Treescapes is responsible for the management and maintenance of more than 845,000 trees on parklands and streets throughout ACT. Canberra's urban forest comprises a diverse combination of evergreen and deciduous trees, and this diversity provides important ecological and amenity advantages. Urban Treescapes' responsibilities include the planting, watering, and follow up maintenance of newly planted trees, the maintenance of established trees, the removal of dead and dying trees, the administration of the Urban Forest Act 2023, the assessment of tree related claims, and the provision of technical advice on tree related matters.

The Urban Treescapes Director, Policy and Planning is responsible for guiding strategic policy, urban planning and development projects that relate to the management of the public urban forest to support a liveable city and the natural environment as set out in the Urban Forest Strategy.

The Director Policy and Planning will support the Senior Director and be responsible for planning and implementing programs to deliver the actions and outcomes in the Urban Forest Strategy and contribute to the development of best practice urban design options to protect and enhance Canberra's urban forest.

As a senior leader within City and Environment Directorate (CED), this role requires a person who can inspire, energise, and positively influence team and individual outcomes. The role is responsible for supervising, managing, and motivating a team and providing appropriate support and guidance. Effective employee engagement skills are a key factor of this role as is a value-based leadership style.

Please see attached Position Description for details of the duties to be undertaken.

• A degree in Forestry, Urban Forestry, Landscape Architecture, or Urban Park Management, or the equivalent in a related discipline, or currently undertaking a related qualification is highly desirable.
• Driver's licence Class C (Car) is essential.

This is a temporary position available from mid-October 2025 until the end of February 2026 with the possibility of extension up to six months.

Selection may be based on application and referee reports only.

An order of merit pool will be established from this selection process and may be used to fill vacancies over the next 12 months.

Please note, this position is located in a workplace designed for activity-based working (ABW). Under ABW arrangements, officers do not have a designated workstation/desk.

Opportunities for flexible working options could include hybrid working, being a combination of working from home, designated office based and FlexiSpace working locations across the ACT, part-time hours, job-sharing, flexible start, and finish times.

Expressions of interest are sought from potential candidates and should include:

• A supporting statement of two pages outlining experience and/or ability and addressing the requirements for the points listed in the Selection Criteria (Capabilities) in the attached position description.
• A current curriculum vitae (resume).
• Contact details of two referees.

Applications should be submitted via the Apply Now button below.

City and Environment
City and Environment Directorate was established on 1 July 2025. This new directorate is an amalgamation of positions previously advertised under Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate and Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate.

Note

This is a temporary position available from mid-October 2025 until the end of February 2026 with the possibility of extension up to six months.