GAZ - APS4 - ACT - NEMA National Situation Room Officer

Requisition Number: 129680
Position Number/s: Several
Classification: APS Level 4 
Location: ACT  
Division: N/A  
Branch: National Crisis Operations  
Section: National Situation Room  
Security Classification: Negative Vetting Level 1 
Salary: $71,890.00 to $76,884.00  
Contact: Benjamin Miller  Email: benjamin.miller@nema.gov.au
Period of Vacancy: Ongoing
Number of Vacancies: Several

Applications close: Wednesday 4 October 2023 at 11:59pm (midnight) - AEDT. Late applications will not be accepted.

Who can apply:

Please note this opportunity is available to current Australian Public Service employees and all eligible members of the community.

National Emergency Management Agency:
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) was established on 1 September 2022 as the single, accountable Commonwealth authority that delivers a whole-of-nation approach to reducing disaster risk, planning, preparing for, responding to and recovering from all hazards across the emergency management continuum.

NEMA works closely with a wide range of stakeholders, including local communities as well as state and territory governments to deliver the best outcome for communities across Australia. To help communities respond and recover, while preparing Australia for future emergencies, we:

• Fund programs and initiatives on behalf of the Australian Government, big and small, that help communities in times of emergency, as well as to recover and prepare, including through disaster recovery funding and the Disaster Ready Fund to help reduce the risk and impact of disasters
• Work with communities, industry and non-government organisations by connecting local Regional Support Officers and other NEMA staff right around Australia, to share lessons learnt, provide awareness on navigating government services, and gain community and industry-led ideas and concepts to inform strategic policy and planning
• Provide national leadership to share knowledge, situational awareness, and trends in disaster efforts to inform, guide and shape the national picture and decision-making at the Commonwealth, state and local government level – including through policy development and strategy to improve risk reduction, resilience and recovery
• Provide round-the-clock all-hazards monitoring and operational coordination for domestic and international emergencies, including supply chain disruptions, critical infrastructure outages, biosecurity risks and widespread cyber-attacks, and through supporting preparedness and response activities, including through the operationalisation of the Australian Government Crisis Management Framework

Overview of the Branch and Section:

The Australian Government National Situation Room (NSR) is part of the National Crisis Operation Branch (NCOB) of NEMA’s Emergency Management Response Division (EMR). The NCOB provides awareness of unfolding and potential situations (situational awareness), decision support, prediction of potential community impacts (predictive analysis) and impact and consequence assessment for crisis that are emerging or underway. These functions support NEMA Crisis Coordination Teams to prepare for and respond to nationally-significant events through the activation of National Plans and coordination of Australian Government non-financial assistance. 

The NSR monitors and reports on emerging, current and predicted hazards to support decision making across the Commonwealth, states and territories and industry. The majority of NSR work relates to monitoring and reporting on natural disaster events across Australia (flood, bushfire, cyclone, heatwave and earthquakes), and includes a strong focus on weather forecast and relationships with the Bureau of Meteorology and Geoscience Australia. Under an ‘all-hazards' remit, the NSR also conducts monitoring and reporting on security incidents including cyber, significant demonstrations, impacts to critical infrastructure, space weather and space debris re-entry.

The NSR issues SMS, verbal and written notifications on all-hazard emergency events to key Government and jurisdictional stakeholders. Increasingly this information is available to our stakeholders through the National Joint Common Operating Picture (NJCOP), a web-based platform which provides decision makers with near real-time, automated, situational awareness and decision support for nationally significant hazard events.

The NSR houses the National Security Hotline (NSH), a public facing phone and email line for reporting concerns of national security to law enforcement agencies for further investigation.

The NSH operator role is a significant component of the NSR Officer position.

About the role:

The National Situation Room is made up of several teams which includes: NSR Support, NSR Capability Developments and Business Hours NSR Operations. A number of exciting opportunities exist within these Teams to support the effective and efficient function of the NSR during business hours. This process is being used to fill up several vacancies.  A merit pool may be established and used to fill similar vacancies for up to 18 months.

Our ideal candidate:

We are seeking highly motivated, curious, critical thinkers who enjoy working in a rapidly evolving environment. You will have a high standard of oral and written communication with a developed ability to liaise with, coordinate and support multiple internal and external stakeholders.

Working in the NSR is often high-pressured and unpredictable and is best suited to team players who are flexible, resilient and able to quickly grasp new concepts. A high level of computer literacy will support your work across several online systems including utilising open source media platforms and search terms, databases and incident management systems. An interest in emergency management and natural disasters will drive your ability to learn across a broad scope of subject content.

Specific duties/responsibilities:

Business Hours NSR Operations

Working alongside our shift teams who provide 24/7 coverage, monitor official and open source information, to inform briefs and other information products for decision makers, Australian Government and state and territory departments and agencies. Draft routine products and other communications and such as emails and text messages to support situational awareness around emerging and ongoing events. Take NSH calls from members of the public and prepare reports for NSH stakeholders. Produce maps, diagrams, graphs and written reports to inform NSR briefings and analysis.

NSR Support

Undertake day-to-day administrative support for the operation of the NSR include assisting with advice and support on HR matters, roster creation and management, recruitment for the NSR and the coordinating the on-boarding of new staff. Perform Secretariat activities where required for the Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee (ANZCTC) Crisis Coordination and Communication Capability (4C), such as the coordination and development of agendas, executive documents, and the arrangement of meetings.

NSR Capability Development

Contribute to NSH policy development, governance and operation support, including contribution to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests or court statements, database maintenance, quality assurance, NSH forums and committees, and surge support arrangements. Assist in future works to modernise and improve the NSR operating systems.

Assist in future works to modernize and improve the NSR Operating System.

Role requirements/qualifications:

• Must hold an AGSVA Negative Vetting 1 security clearance and must have the ability to satisfy AFP building access requirements
• Ability to work as a high performing team member in high pressure situations, with rapidly changing priorities
• Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to apply critical thinking to problem solving
• Demonstrated ability to navigate information technology applications such as online databases, geospatial products and social media platforms
• Depending on the role within the NSR, the ability to process content which may be confronting, challenging and or triggering including terrorism, natural disasters, child sexual abuse material, domestic violence and mental health issues.

Applicant response:

As part of your application, you will be required to prepare a response document (minimum 11pt font in MSWord or PDF format), which you will upload in the next section.

Please ensure you read the instructions carefully, noting failure to address identified requirements may lead to your application being deemed ineligible.

Please prepare a one-page Applicant Response in relation to the advertised role, outlining:

• how your skills, knowledge and experience will be relevant to this role
• why you are interested in the role and what you can offer us
• any specific examples or achievements that demonstrate your ability to perform the role.

How to apply:

Prior to preparing your response it is recommended you review the Work Level Standards relevant to the classification you are applying to. It may also be useful to refer to the Integrated Leadership System information relevant to the classification. You are required to submit your application in the online recruitment system (ourPeople).

As part of your application, you will need to provide:

• Your CV
• Your Applicant Response document
• Details of two referees
• Include your full name and the Requisition Number - 129680 in the footer of any documents being uploaded.

Eligibility and Specific Conditions of Employment

To be eligible to work with the NEMA you must:

• Be an Australian Citizen
• Fulfil the Agency’s minimum requirements by satisfactorily answering all screening questions during the application process
• Obtain and maintain the required AGSVA clearance
• Satisfy a probation period
• Undergo a health assessment (if applicable).

To be eligible to work in some roles, you may be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (including any COVID-19 booster dose to maintain an 'up-to-date' status). Candidates should be aware that in roles where vaccination against COVID-19 is required by public health orders/directions or other legislation, if a candidate is not fully vaccinated or is unwilling to be vaccinated within a reasonable period, they may not be offered that role.

Technical Assistance

If you are experiencing problems submitting your application online, please email the nature of the issues you are experiencing to Recruitment (recruitment@homeaffairs.gov.au) including screen captures if necessary. A response will be sent during business hours.

Notes

Remuneration: The Agency offers an attractive remuneration package, including salary, superannuation benefits and flexible working conditions appropriate to the level of the position.

If you have identified as having a disability, please indicate whether you require any support throughout the selection process. For further information please contact Recruitment: recruitment@homeaffairs.gov.au.