NEMA National Situation Room Operations Officer (shift and non-shift)

Job Details

Job Req ID

NEMA - 141766

Location

ACT 

Employment Type

Ongoing, Full-time 

Classification

APS Level 4 - $80,246.00 to $86,246.00 plus 15.4% super (part time pro-rata)

Contact Officer

Anya Sheather at anya.sheather@nema.gov.au  

Office Arrangements

Onsite  - Flexible working arrangements can be negotiated in accordance with our Enterprise Agreement and the operational requirements of the role.
 

About our opportunity

This recruitment round is for the purpose of creating a merit pool for future vacancies. 

Applicants found suitable may be placed in a merit list or pool to fill similar vacancies for up to 18 months anywhere in ACT; NSW; NT; QLD; SA; TAS; VIC; WA.

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.

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) was established on 1 September 2022 as a 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 states and territories 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, 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
• Have officers located across Australia, working in partnership with states and territories to support disaster-affected communities to collectively build resilience, reduce risk and harm, and effectively respond to and recover from disasters
• 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.
   

For further information on NEMA’s purpose, vision and values, please see the NEMA website.

Overview of the branch and section

The Australian Government National Situation Room (NSR) sits within the National Crisis Operations Branch in NEMA’s Emergency Management and Response Group. The NSR provides 24/7 all-hazards monitoring, situational awareness, impact analysis and decision support to inform Australian Government responses to nationally significant events.

The NSR supports crisis coordination by monitoring emerging, current and predicted hazards, issuing notifications to key stakeholders, and supporting access to near real-time information through national situational awareness platforms. The section also includes functions such as the National Security Hotline (NSH) and the National Messaging System (NMS), which support national security reporting and emergency messaging arrangements.

About the role

The National Situation Room Operations Officer supports the Australian Government’s 24/7 crisis management, situational awareness and coordination functions. The position contributes to the monitoring, analysis and reporting of emerging and current all-hazards events, and assists with the preparation of information products that support decision making by senior executives, Australian Government agencies, states and territories, and key industry partners.

Depending on business and operational requirements, the position may perform duties across the National Situation Room, National Security Hotline and National Messaging System. This may include monitoring agency feeds and open-source information, responding to national security hotline contacts, accurately recording and escalating information, supporting emergency messaging arrangements, and contributing to operational, administrative and project work.

The role requires sound judgement, strong written and verbal communication skills, attention to detail and the ability to work effectively in a high-pressure operational environment. Officers must be able to manage sensitive and time-critical information, follow established procedures and work collaboratively with colleagues and stakeholders to support timely and accurate reporting and response activities.

Positions may operate on either a 24/7 shift roster or standard business hours, with employees in non-shift roles potentially required to participate in shift arrangements as operational needs dictate.

At times staff within NEMA may be required to work outside of standard business hours, particularly during the higher risk weather season.

Please note: This recruitment process is intended to create a merit pool to fill future vacancies in the National Situation Room.

Our ideal candidate

We are seeking highly motivated, curious, critical thinkers who enjoy working in a rapidly evolving environment. Candidates 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 work across several online systems, including open-source media platforms and search terms, databases and incident management systems. An interest in emergency management and natural disasters will support the candidate’s ability to learn across a broad scope of subject content.

We encourage applications from First Nations people, people with disability, LGBTQIA+ people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, mature age people and people from other diverse backgrounds. We are committed to providing a working environment that values diversity and inclusion and supports staff to reach their full potential.

Duties and responsibilities

Operations Officers within the NSR are responsible for:

• Monitoring agency feeds, open-source media and the NSR's information systems on both emergency management and national security events, to inform the development of briefing and analytical products for senior executive decision makers, Australian Government and jurisdictional agencies
• Drafting written products based on information collected from, a range of sources
• Producing maps, diagrams, graphs and written reports to inform NSR briefing and analytical products
• Answering calls relating to national security matters and accurately recording and reporting the information
• Escalating time critical information reports to law enforcement agencies/relevant stakeholders in consultation with Shift Leaders
• Recording information accurately into the NSH database and forwarding it to relevant agencies
• Undertaking other operational, administrative or project work as directed
• Participating in crisis response planning meetings, Crisis Coordination Teams and internal briefings as required
• Contributing to other NMS related work including (but not limited to) briefings, data collection, exercising and reviewing procedures where appropriate
• Participating in NMS exercises.

Role requirements/qualifications

• Ability to work as a high performing team member in high pressure situations, with rapidly changing priorities
• For shift positions - it is a mandatory requirement to be available to work full-time shift work 24/7 onsite
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to navigate information technology applications such as online databases, geospatial products and social media platforms
• Undertake psychometric compliance testing
• 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
• Obtain and maintain the required AGSVA security clearance and must have the ability to satisfy AFP building access requirements
• Working in accordance with the APS Code of Conduct, NEMA Values, NEMA Behaviours and workplace health and safety requirements.

Assessment Process

The recruitment selection process for this round may include one or more of the following:

• Applicant response
• Interview
• Work sample assessment
• Psychometric testing
• Reference checks.

Applicant response

As part of your application, you will be required to prepare a one-page response document (minimum 11pt font in Microsoft Word 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 – NEMA - 141766 in the footer of any documents being uploaded.

Diversity and inclusion

The Department is committed to workforce diversity and applicants who are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, come from a diverse cultural or linguistic background or have a disability are encouraged to apply.

RecruitAbility applies to this vacancy. Under the RecruitAbility scheme you will be invited to participate in further assessment activity for the vacancy if you choose to apply under the scheme; declare you have a disability; and meet the minimum requirements for the job. For more information visit: https://www.apsc.gov.au/recruitability

Eligibility

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 and successfully undergo a National Police Check
• Obtain and maintain a Negative Vetting Level 1 (AGSVA) security clearance
• Satisfy a probation period (if applicable)
• 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@homeaffairs.gov.au including screen captures if necessary. A response will be sent during business hours.

Notes

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@homeaffairs.gov.au.