El1, Policy Officer

Executive Level 1
- Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne
- $112,617 - $124,466

**About the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations**
We enable access to quality skills, training and employment services to support Australians find secure work in fair, productive and safe workplaces - supporting individuals and our nation to prosper.

**The Role**
The VET Student Loans (VSL) Branch is responsible for administering the VSL program including policy and program management, and service delivery. The VSL program provides income-contingent loans to around 50,000 students each year who are studying higher-level Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses in areas of workforce demand. The Branch manages around 200 VSL approved providers to deliver these courses, and administers around $270 million in loan payments annually. The VSL program has been operating since 2017, and is administered according to the VET Student Loans Act 2016.

Teams across the Branch focus on a range of functions, including:

- Approval and management of VSL approved course providers - determining which VET providers gain access to the VSL program, managing ongoing integrity controls, and managing the transition of providers into and out of the program.
- Program payments management - administering payment and recovery arrangements, determining entitlement to payments under the legislation, managing deferral of payments, and debt recovery including invoicing and payment plan assessments.
- Program governance, change management and IT Projects - program governance and project management, business and stakeholder engagement, working collaboratively with IT to maintain and improve IT systems delivering VSL.
- Developing and implementing ongoing policy change - streamlining and improving the program, and integrating VSL in broader VET strategic policy reforms.
- Drafting correspondence, briefings, and responses to Parliamentary Questions, Senate Orders, Questions on Notice and Ministerial correspondence.

Reporting to the Director of the VET Student Loans (VSL) Policy Team, the Assistant Director is responsible for undertaking policy development that is evidence based and supports VSL students to access quality skills and training in areas of national skills priority.

In return, you will have the opportunity to play a lead role in driving the reform agenda for the VSL program and contribute to the Government’s broader skills agenda.

**Duties and Responsibilities**
Responsibilities of the Executive Level 1 may include:

- Develop new policy proposals for the VSL program, as well as contribute to proposals developed in other areas of the Skills Group
- Undertake data analysis and research
- Provide ‘policy lens’ to projects undertaken by other teams in the branch
- Draft policy options or discussion papers for discussion at VSL Governance forums
- Draft robust, evidence-based briefings for the Minister and Senior departmental executives
- Prepare Senate Estimate Briefs and responses to Ministerial correspondence
- Lead a range of policy projects, including meeting project governance requirements, such as developing, monitoring and updating project plans
- Liaise with internal and external stakeholders to support VSL program initiatives and projects
- Respond to ad hoc tasks and provide policy input to Department or Skills Group reports and processes.

**Qualifications and Education**
- Tertiary qualifications relevant to policy development and analysis (Desirable)
- Experience relevant to policy development and analysis (Essential).

**How to Apply**
Applicants are required to provide up to a two-page summary (no more than 1000 words) that outlines skills, knowledge, and experience and why you should be considered for this vacancy. You should take into consideration the position overview (including any detailed position specific requirements) when drafting your response. Where possible include specific relevant examples of your work.

The APS work level standards accommodate the diversity of roles across the APS and are structured to clearly differentiate between the work expected (i.e. responsibilities and duties) at each classification level.

In the eRecruit (the department’s online recruitment system) you will also need to:

- upload a Curriculum Vitae
- provide contact details for 2 Referees.

**Eligibility**

**Citizenship** - to be eligible for employment with the Department, you must be an Australian Citizen or, in limited circumstances, in the process of obtaining it.

**Please refer to the Job Information Pack for more information about the role.**

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