Senior Category Officer

Join us to make a difference for all students in NSW

Position details

• Clerk Grade 9/10
• Ongoing, full-time opportunity
• Close to Wynyard station & hybrid work arrangements available

About the role

We're looking for a Senior Category Officer to partner with stakeholders and lead sourcing and procurement activities across ICT categories. In this role, you will contribute to the development and implementation of category management plans and strategies that align with business needs, deliver value for money, and support government objectives.

You'll analyse business needs, manage procurement risk, guide procurement activity, and negotiate supplier arrangements. This is a fantastic opportunity to join a high-performing team where your strategic mindset and procurement expertise will drive impactful outcomes across the agency.

On a day-to-day basis, you will be responsible for:

• Developing and administering contract management plans, including negotiating changes, managing supplier performance, and ensuring compliance
• Planning and leading contract negotiations to establish and review supply arrangements
• Providing governance, advice and guidance to internal stakeholders to support procurement capability and consistent practices
• Documenting procurement processes, decisions and contractual arrangements to ensure probity and audit readiness
• Identifying, managing and mitigating procurement risks to enable the organisation to meet obligations and maximise opportunities

Our Ideal Candidate Will Bring:

• Demonstrated experience in providing procurement advice within a large, complex organisation.
• Strong analytical and organisational skills
• Commercial experience in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry.
• Excellent negotiation and influencing capabilities, with a collaborative approach to stakeholder engagement.
• Experience developing and documenting procurement strategies, market approaches, and contract management plans.

Essential Qualifications:

• Tertiary qualifications in a relevant discipline or equivalent experience in ICT category management.
• Completion of, or commitment to complete, the NSW Procurement Certification Training Program.

For more information on this role, we invite you to download the
role description
.

About us

At the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) we work with the NSW community to drive improvements in student achievement.

We achieve this by supporting all school sectors with high-quality syllabuses, assessment (including managing the HSC and NAPLAN), teaching standards (e.g., accrediting teachers) and school environments (including setting and monitoring school standards).

To find out more about the important work we do for NSW visit our

website
.

Ready to join us?

Select apply and attach an up-to-date résumé (maximum 5 pages) and a cover letter (maximum 2 pages).

Also address the 2 targeted questions below in your online application:

• Outline your experience in procurement and ICT category management. How will your skills and knowledge benefit our procurement service? (500-word limit)
• Provide an example of a time where you had to analyse the specific needs of a business unit, identify an ICT solution, the market approach best suited to deliver the solution and make recommendations to management based on your findings. What were some key considerations you took into account? (500-word limit)

Advice on applying for NSW Public Sector roles

If you need reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process and workplace, please reach out to the contact person above
.

Close date: 7 September 2025 at 11.59pm AEST

Thank you for your interest, we look forward to receiving your application.

Important information

We particularly welcome applications from
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with a disability, people of all ages, genders, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, the LGBTQIA+ community, veterans and refugees.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position
. For ongoing roles, you must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or an Australian Permanent Resident. Australian Temporary Residents may be considered for a fixed term contract for the length of their visa, depending on the requirements of the hiring area and the position.

A Talent Pool (valid for 18 months) may be created for future ongoing and temporary roles.