Assistant Director

EL 1 - $120,290 - $129,379 per annum plus superannuation
- Biosecurity Operations Division
- Adelaide, SA,Brisbane, QLD,Canberra, ACT,Melbourne, VIC,Sydney, NSW
- _Work in a dynamic national team environment delivering biosecurity outcomes for Australia._
- _ Utilise your research and communication skills to inform recommendations to support operational outcomes._
- _ City based location with flexible work options_

**Who we are**
**Biosecurity Operations Division** delivers nationally integrated biosecurity and imported food regulatory activities to ensure goods, conveyances and travellers meet Australia's import requirements. Division operations include policy and regulatory control setting across imported food and biosecurity risk pathways, as well as the delivery of assessment, inspection, community engagement and contact centre services. The division also partners with industry to improve the delivery of regulatory functions. The division spans a range of regulatory activities that plays a critical role in reducing risk and shaping our nation to become one of the few countries in the world to remain free from the world’s most severe pests and diseases.

**The Cargo Operations Pathway** delivers regulatory assessment and inspections of goods, across the biosecurity continuum (offshore, at the border and onshore) to verify compliance with Australia's biosecurity and imported food requirements. Cargo Operations Pathway works with policy and risk owners within the department to influence and inform operational policy and deliver regulatory functions in accordance with legislative requirements, national standards and within an integrated, risk-based operating model. The group has a national footprint with a presence in all capital cities and major regional ports. Cargo Operations Pathway includes the Client Contact Group, Cargo Assessments and Cargo Inspections.

**The Cargo Operations Business Management (COBM**) team provides management support to the Cargo Operations Pathway to drive consistency and improvement in business management practices. This includes, parliamentary process coordination, governance coordination, operational business support, business continuity planning, frontline operational financial and contract management, performance measure reporting, business planning, consideration of Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration (CDDA) compensation claims, statutory compensation management and client feedback. COBM also contributes to broader strategic innovation and improvement projects for the pathway.

**The Job**
The role of an Assistant Director in Biosecurity Compensation Processing Management in COBM is to lead a small geographically dispersed team to support the achievement of operational outcomes in line with the department’s corporate plan and Biosecurity Operations Division (BOD) business plan. The successful applicant will have excellent leadership, interpersonal, communication and organisational skills with the ability to adapt to change and contribute to decision making processes. They will also be required to demonstrate high level of judgement and expertise to interpret and analyse information from a range of sources.
Duties include but not limited to:

- leading and managing the performance and accountability of a geographically dispersed team.
- leading and managing the investigation of, and response to, discretionary compensation claims for Biosecurity Operations Division. This includes claims lodged under the Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration (CDDA) scheme and other compensation schemes under the Biosecurity Act 2015.
- preparing high quality written materials including investigation (summary of events) reports for legal advisors, and reporting on activities and performance for senior executive.
- providing accurate and objective advice on operational processes to the department’s legal advisors, and lead development of evidence-based decision briefs related to compensation claims for delegate consideration.
- reviewing advice from legal advisors and operational areas, to support the management of complex biosecurity operations compensation claims.
- working with the Director to set the strategic direction and forward work program for the section and contributing to the strategic direction of the branch and division.
- engaging with key stakeholders in the department, to deliver timely, consistent, and legally sound advice to Cargo Operations staff and executives.
- actively seeking, and initiating, continuous improvement activities, while proactively managing risks and sensitivities.
- develop and lead a range of performance metric reporting products related to compensation processing.
- inform operational and business improvement opportunities arising from compensation matters.
- ensuring maintenance of accurate computer-based records for tracking and record keeping purposes. This includes the suite of Microsoft Office prod