Benefits Management Specialist

Benefits Management and Risk Specialist

Azooa is seeking a Benefits Management and Risk Specialist to support the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).

THE OPPORTUNITY:

• EL1 equivalent contract opportunity.

• Canberra preferred; other AEC office locations across Australia will be considered.

• Hybrid arrangements will be considered, combining attendance at an AEC office with remote working.

• Estimated start: 1 December 2026, with the business area seeking commencement as soon as possible.

• Initial engagement to 30 June 2027.

• Up to two extension options, described as not exceeding 12 months; details require confirmation.

• Maximum 40 hours per week.

• Australian citizenship and an active AGSVA Baseline security clearance are required.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The Funding and Disclosure (FAD) Reform Program supports the AEC to implement and administer legislative amendments to the Commonwealth Funding and Disclosure Scheme under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. The reforms aim to increase transparency and accountability in Australia's electoral system.

The program comprises the Program Management Office, Regulatory Enablement and Technology Delivery branches, uplifting regulatory capability through new processes, tools, systems and technology.

A key technology outcome is an enterprise Identity and Access Management System, providing authentication and authorisation capability to securely administer the Scheme and support broader AEC digital services.

YOUR ROLE

You will support the effective management of benefits, risks, issues and dependencies across the FAD Reform Program. Working with program leadership, delivery branches, governance forums and key stakeholders, you will provide strategic advice, practical support and assurance over the information used to guide delivery.

The program already has benefits, risk, issue and dependency frameworks. This is a new, vacant role focused on maintaining and uplifting those arrangements to meet AEC and relevant whole-of-Government guidance.

You will facilitate workshops and reviews, follow up actions and treatments, identify emerging concerns and interdependencies, and support timely escalation and resolution. You will also help align benefits management with program objectives, delivery priorities and scaled agile ways of working.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Develop, review and maintain the program's benefits, risk, issues and dependencies frameworks, management plans, registers, profiles and supporting artefacts.

• Lead program-level benefits management, including identifying benefits, preparing profiles, clarifying ownership, establishing measurement, reporting progress and tracking realisation.

• Review program risks and support their identification, assessment, treatment, monitoring and escalation in line with established governance requirements.

• Establish and maintain effective processes for identifying, recording, managing, escalating and closing program issues.

• Monitor, analyse and report on risks, issues and dependencies that may affect delivery or benefits realisation. Escalate emerging concerns and support practical mitigation and management strategies.

• Identify and monitor internal and external dependencies across branches, delivery activities, policy, regulation, technology and organisational change.

• Facilitate benefits, risk, issues and dependencies workshops with accountable owners, delivery teams and key stakeholders, supporting clear responsibilities and agreed actions.

• Uplift benefits reporting to meet internal and external requirements, including reporting on realisation and the risks, issues and dependencies affecting program outcomes.

• Integrate benefits, risks, issues and dependencies into program planning, business cases, delivery roadmaps, assurance activities and change control processes.

• Support an approach to benefits management that aligns with scaled agile methodologies and identifies factors that may affect benefits realisation.

• Provide assurance over the quality, completeness, consistency and currency of registers, profiles, reports and related governance artefacts.

• Build effective relationships across the program and agency, strengthen commitment to benefits realisation and support the management of interdependencies.

• Coach and mentor PMO staff and delivery teams to improve capability and the consistent application of program management practices.

• Follow up agreed actions, treatments and decisions so they are completed within required timeframes.

• Contribute to team planning, coordination, workflow management and development of the team's work program in alignment with program objectives.

• Provide strategic advice and undertake additional program, governance or assurance activities as directed.

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE AND CAPABILITIES

You will bring:

• Experience managing the interrelationships between benefits, risks, issues and dependencies in a large-scale transformation or Tier 1 program, including executive reporting and governance artefacts for program decisions.

• Experience developing and maintaining benefits frameworks, benefit profiles, risk and issue registers, dependency registers, management plans and governance reporting.

• Strong understanding of program and project management principles, including the integration of benefits, risks, issues and dependencies with planning, delivery, assurance and decision-making.

• Experience facilitating workshops and working with accountable owners and delivery teams to identify, assess, monitor and manage benefits, risks, issues and dependencies.

• Ability to analyse complex information, identify emerging or systemic concerns and provide clear, evidence-based advice to senior leaders and governance forums.

• Excellent written and verbal communication, including the ability to explain complex information to stakeholders from different backgrounds and levels of seniority.

• Ability to communicate, collaborate and negotiate effectively with team members, business areas, senior executives and external stakeholders.

• Experience working within established governance processes and undertaking assurance and quality-control activities.

• Ability to manage competing priorities and strategic directions while delivering outcomes aligned with program and agency objectives.

• Strong teamwork, stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, including building commitment, clarifying accountabilities and supporting considered outcomes.

• Sound professional judgement when dealing with sensitive, complex or high-priority matters within legislative, policy and budgetary parameters.

Commonwealth Tier 1 program experience is preferred, but it is not mandatory. Large transformation programs in other sectors will be considered where they have comparable scale and scope.

DESIRABLE EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Relevant tertiary or professional qualifications in program or project management, benefits management, risk management, governance, assurance, business, finance or a related discipline.

• Experience in agile technology delivery environments, including the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe).

• Experience integrating benefits, risks, issues and dependencies across policy, regulatory, business, technology and organisational change workstreams.

• Experience designing dashboards, governance reports or other products that communicate trends, interdependencies, emerging risks and benefits realisation.

• Experience supporting program assurance, business cases, change control, delivery planning or investment governance.

• Knowledge of Commonwealth governance and resource management frameworks.

• Knowledge of Australian electoral law and practice, or the ability to develop that knowledge quickly.

• Experience coaching or mentoring program personnel and uplifting organisational capability in benefits, risk, issues and dependencies management.

LOCATION AND AVAILABILITY

Canberra is preferred. Other AEC offices in Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Tasmania will be considered.

The December–January contractor stand-down arrangements have not been determined. Program personnel may be required to work during the shutdown period because of imminent deadlines, subject to confirmation.

HOW TO APPLY

Apply through the link below with your CV, no more than three pages, and a one-page pitch addressing the essential and desirable criteria. The pitch has a stated limit of 5,000 characters. Keep rate information out of your CV and pitch.

Please also confirm your notice period or earliest start date, current location, Australian citizenship, current security clearance, planned leave exceeding one week and any secondary employment, including its nature.

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