Deputy Inspector-General of Water Compliance (Australia nationals)

Who are we
The Inspector-General of Water Compliance (Inspector-General) is an independent statutory role and an identified integrity agency, supported by staff provided by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment & Water (the Department).

The job
As Deputy Inspector-General of Water Compliance (Deputy Inspector-General) you will undertake the role of lead advisor to the Inspector-General. You will be responsible for all operational activities in support of the Inspector-General by leading the Office of Water Compliance. Further to ensuring the Inspector-General’s legislative responsibilities are met under the Water Act and Basin Plan, you will be responsible for ensuring activities are conducted in line with the requirements of a designated independent integrity agency under the National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022 (NACC Act).

The Deputy Inspector-General is the Head of Division, managing staff at the whole of division/agency level as the most senior public servant within the Office of Water Compliance in support of the Inspector-General. The role is operationally independent, while being supported by the Department for key shared services.

The Basin Plan is a constitutionally contested operating environment between the Commonwealth and the Basin States. The Inspector-General plays a critical role in this area, empowered with a diverse and complex range of functions, roles and responsibilities including but not limited to:

Designation as an independent integrity agency under the NACC Act.
Legislated responsibility as an oversight agency for the Water Act and Basin Plan.
Responsibility as the highest level regulatory agency in the Murray-Darling Basin, including compliance monitoring, audits, investigations, enforcement actions, and education.
Responsibility for Water Act and Basin Plan compliance and enforcement activities.
Duty to engage with the Australian community on the management of Basin water resources.
Relationships with three tiers of government, six governments and Minister(s), water management agency heads, water users, First Nations and peak bodies.

Water management, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin, is a highly complex technical task with high levels of political interest across three levels of government and six jurisdictions.

The work of the Inspector-General impacts the social, economic, cultural and environmental landscape and has a regulatory role in relation to Basin State and Commonwealth agencies.

You will play a key role impacting the performance of over 20 external government agencies in Commonwealth and state jurisdictions in delivery of the Basin Plan.

Staff within the organisational unit are located across multiple Australian based locations, including regional and metropolitan locations. Travel will be required at both intra and interstate level.

Key responsibilities and accountabilities
As Deputy Inspector-General of Water Compliance, you will be required to:

Establish and develop the maturity of a new function and office to support the independent statutory Inspector-General.
Discharge the Inspector-General’s legislated functions and statutory powers under delegation.
Lead reform of water regulation under the Basin Plan through collaboration, regulatory maturity and best practice.
Provide whole of organisation leadership, including identifying and establishing best practice for long term strategic direction, annual planning, decision making frameworks, regulatory philosophy, regulatory approach, governance, systems, risk management, culture, performance, resource allocation, budget oversight, engagement, communications, change management, capability, conduct and compliance.
Shape risk and evidence-based long-term strategies and annual plans for the Inspector-General.
Deliver operational performance outcomes of the Inspector-General against annual work plans and longer-term strategic plans.
Provide strategic and risk-based advice to the Inspector-General, including the development of an evidence base through data and intelligence.
Uphold integrity, accountability, and transparency in the organisation and across the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
Build and maintain appropriate senior executive relationships across commonwealth integrity agencies, commonwealth water agencies, and state water agencies operating in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Consult, influence and negotiate across both Commonwealth and State public sectors on water regulation issues in the Murray-Darling Basin
Represent the Inspector-General within the broader Department, APS, cross-government forums and publicly within the Murray-Darling Basin.
Report on performance directly to the parliament through statutory reporting, and parliamentary committees.
Establish and maintain external inter-governmental governance arrangements, for example committees such as the Regulatory Leaders Forum. Identify and establish relevant internal governance arrangements, for example triage, risk and program management committees.

Essential and other requirements
The successful applicant must:

have tertiary qualifications (and/or demonstrated equivalent experience) in any of the following: Environment, Political Science, Legal, Business, Leadership, Public Policy, Government Administration or Economics.
be willing to travel in the Murray-Darling Basin according to the requirements of the role.

The following are desirable qualifications, experience, skills and/or knowledge:

Qualifications or experience in regulation, compliance, enforcement, audit, inquiry or similar.
Strong analytical, critical thinking and problem-solving skills that can be applied to complex policy, performance and regulatory issues, and the capacity to provide strategic advice on this work and deliver results.
Proven ability to apply relevant government legislation, regulations, reporting directives and procedures, to achieve optimal organisational outcomes.
Knowledge of the Water Act, Basin Plan, and Water Resource Plans, or the demonstrated ability to obtain this.
Deep knowledge and senior experience of government machinery and decision-making processes is required to effectively discharge this role.
Experience establishing and/or leading an ethical workplace culture which supports integrity.

Eligibility and other requirements
Citizenship – To be eligible for employment with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water you must be an Australian citizen.

Security Clearance – This position requires a Negative Vetting Level 1 security clearance. You will be required to obtain and maintain a clearance at this level.

For additional information, please read the Job Description below.

Role Description

Candidate Information Pack