Initiative Lead

**Initiative Lead**:
**Date**:6 Nov 2025

**Location**: Sydney, Australia

**Company**:Singtel Group

Optus is an Australian telecommunications company, delivering more than 11 million services to our customers every day across mobile, broadband and digital solutions.

The Initiative Lead, Automation & Process plays a pivotal role in driving operational standards across Network Operations. Reporting to the Director, Governance & Business Improvement, this role provides strategic leadership to identify, prioritise, and deliver high-impact automation and process improvement initiatives. By enhancing operational capability and reducing Total Cost of Operations (TCO), the position ensures that automation becomes a core enabler of efficiency, resilience, and long-term value.

Working closely with internal teams and external partners, the Lead is responsible for developing business cases, defining user requirements, and implementing solutions that align with both operational goals and future technology roadmaps. This includes driving automation across legacy and emerging infrastructure, ensuring seamless integration, and supporting continuous improvement.

** What You’ll Do**
- Set measurable automation objectives for Network Operations and serve as the key contact for automation initiatives across teams.
- Identify process improvement opportunities, define automation requirements with business units, and manage vendor engagement.
- Monitor emerging technologies, lead innovation initiatives from scoping to delivery, and build expertise in new standards.
- Integrate automation with resilience strategies to ensure adaptability, continuity, and robust system performance.
- Oversee automation program delivery, ensuring reliability, accessibility, CI/CD adoption, and effective governance.
- Present strategic updates to senior leaders, prepare materials for executive forums, and manage business cases, budgets, and CAPEX planning.

** What You Bring**
- 5+ years’ experience in telecommunications, DevOps, software development, or related technical fields, with knowledge of system/network architecture.
- Proven experience in automation strategy, governance, and development, with strong knowledge of business drivers, use cases, and CI/CD practices.
- Skilled in automation technologies (RPA, AI/ML, orchestration), DevOps tools (GitLab, Kubernetes, Docker, Ansible, SonarQube), and system integration.
- Familiar with lifecycle management tools, reporting frameworks, and software delivery processes; experience in product development and customer design.
- Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder influence skills, with a degree in Telecommunications, IT, or equivalent qualification.

** The good stuff.**
- Competitive remuneration and employee discounts. Make life easier (and more affordable) with $80 monthly credit and 25% off Optus products and unique shopping discounts with our retail partners.
- Flexible working arrangements with opportunities to work three days in the office, two days remote or home.
- Vibrant and collaborative office campus that includes cafes, convenience store, chill out zones, GP, post office, gym and on-site childcare centre.
- Competitive leave policies, including additional 'Connected’ days to focus on culture, family, health, community, or whatever’s important to you.
- We support growing families with inclusive, carer-neutral paid Parental Leave of up to 16 weeks.
- Direct your own development and build future-ready skills with Optus U’s industry-focused micro-credentials, developed with La Trobe and Macquarie Universities.
- Build meaningful connections through employee-led networks and diversity initiatives including Culture Connect, Elevate Women, Disability Network and Express Yourself (LGBTQIA+).
- Put your wellbeing first with free access to counselling and support services, 24/7 — in-person, by phone, SMS, or video.