National Situation Room Operations (Shift Positions)

Requisition Number: 135168
Position Number/s: Several
Classification: APS Level 4 
Location: ACT  
Division: Dcg Emergency Management Response  
Branch: National Crisis Operations  
Section: National Situation Room Operations  
Security Classification: Negative Vetting Level 1 
Salary: $74,766.00 to $79,959.00  
Contact: David Long at David.long@nema.gov.au 
Period of Vacancy: Ongoing
Number of Vacancies: Several

Applications close: 05/01/2025 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.
 

About the National Emergency Management Agency:
The National Emergency Management Agency's work has a real impact on the lives of Australians, particularly those living in rural and regional areas.

The National Emergency Management Agency's guiding principle is “Locally led, locally understood and locally implemented” and we bring together local communities, government, non-government and key industry representatives to support disaster recovery and resilience across the country.

Your work will help people who are recovering from natural disasters and prepare them for the future.

Section Overview:
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.
 
Position Summary:
The NSR can escalate rapidly from steady state monitoring, to coordination of reporting across current and emerging hazards and disasters. NSR positions are designated shift work roles and the occupants are required to perform duties on a 24/7 rotational roster, including days, nights, weekends and public holidays, and are remunerated in line with these shift work requirements. Staff may be required to perform higher duties to fill operational vacancies. All NSR Officers will be assigned across both ‘Operational Support’ and ‘National Security Hotline’ skill sets.
 
Specific Duties / Responsibilities:
The specific duties and responsibilities of the role include:

• Monitoring incoming agency feeds, open source media and the NSR's information systems on both emergency management and national security events, to inform development of briefing and analytical products for senior executive decision makers, Australian Government and jurisdictional agencies
• Draft written information products based on collected information
• Produce maps, diagrams, graphs and written reports to inform NSR briefing and analytical products
• Take NSH calls relating to matters of national security and accurately record and report that information
• Prepare and log information accurately into the NSH database and forward to relevant agencies
• Undertake other tasks related to the role, including project work, as directed by the NSR Shift Leader, Assistant Shift Leader and Senior Officers
• Participate in crisis response planning meetings as required.

 
Experience/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
• Availability to work full time shift work 24/7 (current rotation is 2 x 12hr days, 2 x 12hr nights, 4 RDO’s)
• 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
• 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. The wellbeing of our employees is critical, and staff will have 24/7 access to Employee Assistance Program
• Psychometric testing and a work sample assessment will occur. 

Applicant Response:
As part of your application, you will be required to prepare a one page 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 - 135168 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).
   

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.