Australia nationals: Director Strategy and Governance

The primary purpose of the role is to ensure that the Inspector-General has appropriate strategies, plans, culture, capability, systems and information to support decision making as an independent statutory role. This is a senior leadership position where you will use your vision, critical thinking and experience to directly shape a new independent integrity organisation. The recently established agency has the opportunity for significant growth and positive change in the near future, and you will be shaping those critical design decisions and leading organisation-wide change management and implementation. You will have the opportunity to directly advise the Inspector-General on strategy and policy. All of the operational activities of the Inspector-General each year are underpinned by planning and prioritisation based on risk, which is led by the governance team. As an integrity agency, culture is central to everything we do. You will ensure we have clear expectations and systems to support exemplary decision making and behaviour across the organisation to support our values of integrity, accountability and transparency. In a small agency, your leadership will have impact, not only internally but also on the Murray-Darling Basin. This role takes the lead and owns delivery of good management practice, including IT, people, finance and other business services with the support of the broader department’s support services. Your multi-disciplinary team will also play a role in supporting critical operational activities such as inquiries.

Who we are
The Water Act 2007 (Act) established the role of an independent Inspector-General of Water Compliance (Inspector-General) to monitor, and provide independent oversight of, water compliance together with compliance powers and functions. The Act provides the legislative and regulatory framework for the management of the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia’s largest resource. The Act enables the Commonwealth to manage, in conjunction with the Basin States, the Murray-Darling Basin resources in the national interest. Our mission is to provide transparency and accountability against the Basin Plan.

Objectives include:

To improve trust and transparency in implementing the Basin water reform agenda.
To strive for greater consistency of water management across the Basin.
To strengthen Basin Plan compliance and enforcement.

The Inspector-General, and the staff which supports the role, will seek to communicate in a clear and transparent matter in relation to activities, deliverables, and findings. Furthermore, the Inspector-General and the staff which supports the role will approach all efforts in a manner which is proportionate to the risk, and which must have a strong basic of evidence.

The Inspector-General, and the staff which supports the role, leads the Australian Government in providing confidence to communities and stakeholders with the transparent guardianship of:

Monitoring and providing independent oversight of Commonwealth agencies in the performance of their functions and exercise of their powers under the Act, regulations and other legislative instruments made under the Act, the Basin Plan and water resource plans.
Oversight of Basin State agencies in relation to their obligations in the management of Basin Water resources.

The Office of Water Compliance supports the Inspector-General of Water Compliance, which is an independent statutory role. The Inspector-General of Water Compliance will aim to improve trust and transparency in implementing the Commonwealth’s Basin water reform agenda, deliver greater consistency and harmonisation of water regulation across the Basin, and strengthen Basin Plan compliance and enforcement.

The Strategy & Governance team covers a range of functional areas, including:

Strategy, policy, and planning.
People, finance, and IT.
Culture and capability.
Risk, reporting and project management systems.
Coordination and administration.

The governance team supports other functional areas across the agency, including:

The Inspector-General & the executive.
Audit & investigations.
Compliance monitoring & water trade regulation.
Performance monitoring, oversight & inquiry.
Communications & engagement.
Regulatory best practice & legal.

The operating environment is highly dynamic and varied within a complex political, environmental, economic, social, cultural, and technical water management context.

The Job

Lead the development of medium and long-term organisation strategy with the Inspector-General and executive team.
Undertake an annual planning cycle, which delivers the Inspector-General’s short-term priorities through a statutory work plan and supporting operational plans.
Lead a significant organisation design and change program as a result of the establishment of the independent Inspector-General and associated significant projected growth.
Setting and reinforcing the culture of the organisation with the leadership team through values, behaviour, and systems.
Design and deliver on a capability framework that provides for the needs of the Inspector-General, including budget growth, talent attraction, development of skills and knowledge and retention of our team.
Design and maintain governance systems and processes including policy, risk frameworks and reporting.
Develop an information technology strategy and oversee the implementation of those systems to deliver data-driven evidence-based regulation.
Lead a team with a service culture, which provides advice and support on people and finance as well as support for executive functions.
Drive a project management methodology across the organisation.

What we are looking for
Knowledge and experience

Experience in undertaking work that is very complex or sensitive, operate under broad direction and exercise a considerable degree of independence.
Experience in developing and utilising relationships and networks at senior executive levels.
Leading a geographically dispersed and/or regional team.
Knowledge in effectively coping with change, handling risk and uncertainty, making decisions based on evidence and data, and providing advice on complex people issues.
Willingness to champion internal compliance to safeguard organisational integrity while promoting and acting as a ‘sounding board’ on standards of ethical and corporate behaviour.

Skills and capabilities

Ability to apply high-level critical thinking, analytical and problem-solving skills that can be applied to complex and layered strategy, policy and regulatory issues to provide high-level strategic advice on this work and deliver results.
Experience in progressing opportunities to lead and shape a new independent organisation’s culture, systems and performance to build a new institution based on accountability, transparency, integrity and trust.
Experience in ensuring capability and capacity align with strategic priorities and risk is identified and managed to meet the requirements of the IGWC deliverables.
Ability to manage and prioritising a broad range of responsibilities to ensure agreed expectations are met.
Experience in managing budget allocations in accordance with Government legislation, policies and guidelines to deliver financial and business services in support of the Inspector-General’s objectives.

Desirable Qualifications