Policy/program Officer

APS 5 - $76,260 - $83,658 per annum plus superannuation
- Trade Reform Division
- Adelaide, SA,Brisbane, QLD,Cairns, QLD,Canberra, ACT,Darwin, NT,Melbourne, VIC,Perth, WA,Sydney, NSW

**Who we are**
The Trade Reform Division is focused on growing Australian agriculture by reforming the department’s export functions and pursuing a deregulation agenda. Our aim is to partner with internal and external stakeholders to build a vision and strategy to boost the future of agricultural trade. We are reimagining our support for agricultural producers and exporters, bringing about a clear program of reform through the development, implementation, and evaluation of priority trade reform initiatives. The Exports and Veterinary Services Division provides export inspection and certification services and develops strategies to gain, improve or maintain market access for a wide range of food, inedible products of animal origin, live animal, and reproductive materials. It provides residue monitoring services to Australian primary industries and administers 40 tariff rate quotas for products to the European Union, United States of America, Indonesia, and Japan. The division also includes the Codex contact point which coordinates technical input from both industry and government to develop Australia’s position on international food standards.

Positions may be available in all branches of the Trade Reform Division. The Business Reform Branch is focussed on delivering a unified and well communicated reform agenda, bringing a multidisciplinary approach to communications, risk management, strategy, project, program, and portfolio management; benefits realisation; change management and financial management. The Regulatory Stewardship Node is focussed on delivering support to our export regulators to achieve consistent and efficient regulatory services that are fit-for-purpose and future ready to support growth and innovation, while providing assurance on the level of oversight expected by our trading partners. The Future Traceability Hub is driving a nationally coordinated innovation and systemic reform with internal and external stakeholders. The reform agenda seeks to build a data-enabled traceability ecosystem that ensures agile market access, reduces regulatory and administrative burdens, improves biosecurity and food safety outcomes, and secures premium pricing for agricultural exports. Positions may also be available in all branches of the Export and Veterinary Services Division. The Meat Exports Branch manages the Export Meat Program, which accounts for some $13 billion in annual agricultural exports. We work in close partnership with internal and external stakeholders to develop and maintain our national regulatory framework and export inspection and certification services for meat. This includes the development of legislation, operational policy and guidelines, instructional material, technical training development and delivery and engagement with industry and government stakeholders. The Export Standards Branch negotiates technical standards and conditions with trading partners to maintain, improve or develop market access for the export of meat, fish, dairy, eggs, animal by-products and non-prescribed goods. The branch also develops content for the Manual of Importing Country Requirements (MICoR), provides chemical residue and microbiological expertise, laboratory oversight and manages the Codex contact point responsible for the coordination and development of policy and technical input into international food standards. The Residues and Food Branch is responsible for policy development, implementation and regulation of dairy, fish and egg exporters, and non-prescribed food, organics, and animal by-products exporters. This includes the development of operational policy and guidelines, instructional material, technical training and its delivery and reporting and engagement of industry and government stakeholders. The branch is also responsible for the National Residue Survey which conducts animal and plant residue testing for participating industries.

**The Job**
Various roles are available, the duties for each would include some of the following:

- Developing and managing effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, to achieve area and agency goals.
- Communicating complex and/or technical issues to senior executives, external stakeholders, or clients (in writing and verbally).
- Contributing to the development of a wide range of work including policy development, meeting papers and briefing support for ministers and the executive, synthesis of complex materials and advice, project/program/portfolio management, development of communications products, and collaboration with internal and external stakeholders and partners.
- Managing specific departmental inboxes and correspondence channels while coordinating timely and effective responses to technical questions and queries. Reviewing, pr