Assistant Director, Finance

EL 1 - $115,663 - $124,403
- Environmental Water & Aquatic Ecosystems
- Canberra - ACT
- Join a great energetic team committed to each other’s professional growth
- Help to efficiently, effectively and ethically manage Commonwealth finances associated with water for the environment
- Contribute to the health of rivers, wetlands and floodplains in the Murray-Darling Basin by supporting good decision making

**Who we are**
The Commonwealth Environmental Water Office (the Office) supports the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, who is responsible for managing Commonwealth environmental water to protect and improve the health of rivers, floodplains and wetlands within the Murray-Darling Basin. The Office works with the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder to achieve environmental outcomes under the framework of the Water Act 2007 and the Basin Plan 2012. The Office works closely with other government agencies, non-government organisations, First Nations, community and industry groups, local landholders and scientists to plan and manage the delivery of environmental water.

The Office includes a range of roles ranging from water planning, portfolio management, monitoring and evaluation, policy development, statutory reporting and communications. The Office also supports the Australian Government in its international engagement on the Convention of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention).

The Wetlands, Policy & Northern Water Use Branch has a Wetlands Section, which leads Australia's participation under the Ramsar Convention. The Strategic Water Policy Section provides submission and advice into jurisdictional processes including the Basin Plan process. The Northern Basin Section provides advice on water management in the northern half of the Murray-Darling Basin. And a fourth team within the Branch is the Portfolio Management Section.

The Portfolio Management Section supports the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder to implement statutory functions on behalf of the Commonwealth including to manage the Commonwealth environmental water holdings, and to administer the Environmental Water Holdings Special Account.

More specific functions undertaken by the Portfolio Management Section includes:

- maintaining the environmental water holdings register
- managing water transfers and holdings
- reporting on water and finance
- providing acquisitions advice and long-term portfolio management advice
- undertaking short-term portfolio management planning, and providing information updates on portfolio management including carryover and trade
- undertaking financial management, including supporting the administration of the Environmental Water Holdings Special Account
- managing the development of the Environmental Water Management System, a software solution used to manage the Commonwealth environmental water holdings
- implementing trading, including collecting or managing the collection of market data and developing trade operating rules, and insider trading protocols, having reference to s106 of the Water Act.

**The Job**
- Leading the management of departmental and administrative funds (approximately $60m in total), including reporting.
- Providing advice to other parts of the Division in regard to the availability of funds for activities associated with the functions of the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder.
- Preparing a financial management plan for the Division. Effectively managing a small financial team with one to three direct reports.

**What we are looking for**

**Knowledge and experience**

**Skills and capabilities**
The following skills and capabilities are required for this position at the EL1 standard:

- skills in managing a small team of APS officers
- skills as a team member, with strong interpersonal skills to quickly form productive working relationships with government and non-government stakeholders
- project management and governance skills
- high level written and oral communication skills including an ability to synthesise and tailor diverse messages and information in plain English
- job specific skills of financial skills that is readily transferable within the context of a government department.

**Desirable qualifications**
Tertiary qualifications relating to finance or program management.

**Eligibility and other requirements**

**Citizenship**
- To be eligible for employment with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water you must be an Australian citizen.

**For additional information, please read the Job Description below.