Occupations Readiness Manager

At John Holland, our purpose is simple – we transform lives with everything we do.

We’ve always known that infrastructure is about people — our customers, our employees, and the communities in which we work every day.

That’s our difference. Deep experience and capability with a genuine care about creating better lives for people along the way.

Be part of the team that’s up for the challenge of transforming lives for good.

About the Role / Are you up for the challenge?

We are seeking an experienced and proactive Occupations Readiness Manager to join our team on the Inland Rail Beveridge to Albury Tranche 2 project.

In this critical role, you will be responsible for ensuring the seamless planning, coordination, and execution of rail occupations and possessions, enabling the successful delivery of project milestones.

You will work closely with internal teams, subcontractors, and key stakeholders, including rail operators and government authorities, to ensure all occupation activities are delivered safely, efficiently, and in compliance with regulatory requirements.

Project Description

Inland Rail is transforming how goods are moved around Australia, connecting Melbourne and Brisbane via regional Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. This 1,700km fast freight backbone will complete our national freight network – better connecting producers to markets and creating new opportunities for regional businesses, industries and communities.

The Beveridge to Albury (B2A) project is the Victorian portion of the program undertaken along approximately 305 kms of existing northeast rail corridor between Beveridge and Albury. B2A is staged in two tranches. Tranche 1 includes enhancement works across four sites and corridor wide works.

Tranche 2 works will be delivered by John Holland and includes adjustment of track alignments, the provision of new road overbridges and station modifications to enable the safe operation of double‑stack freight trains across eight B2A project sites between Wandong and Benalla.

Responsibilities of the role include / What you will do;

Overall responsibility for the role on this high‑profile major project include:

- Lead the planning and coordination of rail occupations and possessions, ensuring alignment with project schedules and milestones.

- Develop and implement occupation readiness plans, including risk assessments, contingency plans, and safety protocols.

- Contribute and support the ongoing improvement and / or development of RTO processes, policies and procedures and related to Access, Occupations and Track Force Protection.

- Work weekends and rotating shifts on Disruptive occupations as the Occupation Delivery Manager, duties include running the Occupation Control Room and facilitating all updates to the project and external parties. Manage hand back conditions and Permit to Fouls.

- Collaborate with project teams, subcontractors, and stakeholders to ensure all occupation requirements are met.

- Liaise with rail operators, government authorities, and other stakeholders to secure approvals and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.

- Monitor and manage occupation activities, ensuring they are executed safely, on time, and within budget.

- Identify and mitigate risks associated with rail occupations, ensuring minimal disruption to operations.

- Provide leadership and guidance to the team, fostering a culture of safety, collaboration, and excellence.

- Prepare and present reports on occupation readiness and progress to senior management and stakeholders.

- Oversee the Operational readiness of project wide deliverables inclusive of those are required in advance of contractual milestones and relative to various project elements, systems, and stakeholder requirements.

To be successful in this key role, you must have / What we are looking for;

- 3 - 5+ years’ experience on a similar rail infrastructure or rail tunnelling project in a Possession or Occupation role

- 3 - 5+ years’ of managing concurrent Occupations and adjacent line working

- Proven Occupations experience within rail projects exceeding $500M in value

- Proven experience in managing rail occupations and possessions within large‑scale infrastructure projects.

- Strong understanding of rail safety regulations, standards, and compliance requirements.

- Exceptional planning, organizational, and problem‑solving skills.

- Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.

- Demonstrated ability to lead and work collaboratively in a high‑pressure environment.

- Relevant qualifications in engineering, project management, or a related field (preferred).

- Experience working on rail infrastructure projects in Australia will be highly regarded.

As part of the team, you can help us transform lives.

Your success is reflected in ours, so we’re committed to being an employer of choice. We pride ourselves on having a diverse and inclusive workplace, as we understand that different perspectives and ideas are critical to our long‑term success.

We want you to be with us for the long term, so providing you with rich career experiences and ongoing development is our priority.

What’s in it for you

We’re about connecting your sense of purpose to ours. We understand that your career is one of the biggest ways to have an impact on the world. We also believe in supporting you as a whole person, not just an employee.

We reward and support our people in so many ways. This starts with being flexible about how different people like to work. From generous leave policies to wellbeing and relationship support, your needs sit at the heart of our employee benefits.

We Offer:

- Competitive remuneration with salary continuance, and salary sacrifice options

- Great leave benefits including 18 weeks paid parental leave with super and up to an extra 18 weeks of super paid on further periods of unpaid parental leave, multicultural leave exchange and two extra days to prioritise your wellbeing.

- Career progression underpinned by our exciting pipeline of work means you’ll have the opportunity to work on iconic projects that are shaping cities and communities.

- Learning and development opportunities where you’ll have access to emerging talent programs, building your career through clear career pathways, plus technical and leadership training and development opportunities.

- Inclusion, diversity and equity is part of how we work. We want everyone at John Holland to feel that they belong – that’s why we’re working hard every day to foster a more inclusive culture, backed by a business‑wide inclusion strategy to bring about meaningful change. We’ve also got active employee resource groups that support our commitments including those around gender equality and reconciliation.

- Flexible working that works for you as we know flexibility means different things to different people. Whether it’s flexi‑hours, flexi‑parenting, flexi‑leave, flexi‑shifts or flexi‑work, we’re committed to helping our people work flexibly

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