Policy Officer

**We are located in Parramatta with offices across the state offering flexible working across NSW**
- **Ongoing role**
- **Salary ranges from $101,947 to $112,849, plus employers’ contribution to superannuation and annual leave loading**
- **We encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from diverse cultural backgrounds and people living with disability to apply**

**About the Non-Government Schools Unit**

The Non-Government Schools Unit is a specialist team within the NSW Department of Education. The Unit leads the oversight of financial assistance to NSW non-government schools and regulation of the not for profit requirements of the NSW Education Act 1990. We also lead the development of strategic policy and program implementation for non-government schools, maintain effective working relationships with stakeholders and sector peaks, and provide advice to the Minister on emerging policy and school issues.

**About the role**

We have an opportunity for one ongoing Policy Officer role to be part of our Non-Government Schools Unit. The Policy Officer is responsible for the formulation of policy advice and recommendations and manages and coordinates the development and implementation of a range of policy initiatives that support Agency and/or Government commitments. The Policy Officer is also responsible for the administration of funded educational programs and secretariat support for various stakeholder engagement forums. This is a great opportunity to be part of a specialist team providing high quality advice on non-government school policy matters.

**About you**

You’re an innovative and outcome-focused individual who achieves outstanding results with your team and can bring our values of Service, Excellence, Equity, Accountability, Trust and Integrity into everything you do. You will be drawing on your experience of strategic policy analysis, development, implementation, and review. This role is for you if you enjoy research, writing, stakeholder engagement and policy analysis to solve complex problems.

**To be successful in this role, we’re looking for someone who has**:

- Proven experience in developing and implementing strategic policy
- Proven experience and skills in managing all stages of the policy cycle (e.g. stakeholder engagement and management, planning, development, implementation, monitoring, risks and issues management and evaluation)
- Exceptional communication skills, including plain English writing, to maintain the confidence and support of stakeholders through the delivery of accurate policy advice
- Knowledge of Cabinet and parliamentary processes (or ability to quickly acquire this knowledge)
- Proven experience in adapting and thriving in a fast-paced and high-pressure environment
- Confidence in exercising autonomy and working collaboratively when responding to and resolving sensitive policy issues

**Essential requirements of the role**
- Tertiary qualifications in a relevant discipline or demonstrated equivalent knowledge and/or experience.
- A valid Working with Children Check for paid employment.

**Key knowledge and experience**
- Knowledge of and commitment to implementing the Department's Aboriginal Education Policy and upholding the Department’s Partnership Agreement with the NSW AECG and to ensure quality outcomes for Aboriginal people.

**Benefits**
- Supportive & collaborative team culture
- Flexible work-life balance
- Competitive salary
- 35 hour week

**About the Department of Education**

The NSW Department of Education serves the community by providing world-class education for students of all ages.

We ensure young children get the best start in life by supporting and regulating the early childhood education sector. We are the largest provider of public education in Australia with responsibility for delivering high-quality public education to two-thirds of the NSW student population. We are committed to fostering vibrant, sustainable, and high-performing vocational and higher education sectors.

We are responsible for enacting NSW Government policy, driving improvement in education, and overseeing policy, funding and compliance issues relating to non-government schools. We respect and value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as First Peoples of Australia.

**How to apply**

When preparing your targeted question response, resume and cover letter we are looking for you to demonstrate your competence in the Focus Capabilities as outlined in the Role Description, so please consider your responses with this in mind.
- A response to the targeted questions (max. 300 words each) which will be considered as a selection criterion
- a cover letter that outlines how your skills are relevant to this role (max. 2 pages); and
- your resume (max. 5 pages)

**Targeted Questions**:

- Describe an example of a recent policy that you developed, and what your role was in its success.
- Describe an example of a piece of stakeholder engagement and