Senior Program Officer

Senior Program Officer

Location – Parramatta with flexible hybrid options

Employment type – 4 x Temporary full-time role up to 36 months

Salary - $125,693.00 pa - $138,510.00 pa, plus employer's contribution to superannuation and annual leave loading

Are you looking to progress your career in an interesting and important field? Do you enjoy learning new things and working within a highly experienced multidisciplinary team?

The NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) is a great place to expand your career and grow your skills and knowledge. DCJ works to enable everyone's right to access justice and help for families through early intervention and inclusion, with benefits for the whole community by providing services that are effective and responsive to community needs.

Your role

As a part of the Projects and Policy team you will contribute to the development of best-practice processes, implementation of continuous improvement activities, and program reporting obligations for the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Engagement and Support Unit. This includes the evaluation of CVE Programs, procurement and implementation of IT systems, and representing NSW at national CVE forums.

You’ll use your project, research, critical thinking, and contract management skills to deliver projects and initiatives to support building internal and sector capacity and delivery of best practice CVE interventions.

You'll work as part of a collaborative multidisciplinary team and subject matter experts committed to support the continued growth of a capable CVE interventions sector.

The team

The Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Engagement and Support Unit (ESU) is a specialised multi-disciplinary team within DCJ focussing on prevention and early intervention of violent extremist behaviour. Recognised both nationally and internationally for its work in the CVE space, the ESU contributes to national best practices in CVE interventions.

The Unit works closely with both Commonwealth and NSW stakeholders in delivering programs such as the Engagement and Support Program (ESP) and the Step Together Helpline and plays a leading role in state and national CVE capacity building.

The aim of ESU is to reduce the risk of violent extremism by providing early intervention and support to address social, psychological or behavioural issues before they escalate to violent action. Our primary focus is on diversion and disengagement, which involves active collaboration with key stakeholders, including law enforcement, government agencies, medical and mental health practitioners, families, non-government organisations and services, along with culturally appropriate mentoring services.

ESU delivers two programs in CVE:

• The Engagement and Support Program (ESP) is a voluntary based intervention program. ESP uses an individualised case management approach, incorporating structured professional judgement using trauma-informed practices when engaging with individuals considered vulnerable to, or engaging in, violent extremism.
• The Step Together Helpline is a unique helpline and digital support service designed to provide advice to callers concerned about themselves, family members, or other individuals who may be at risk of or exhibiting behaviours associated with violent extremism. Step Together can help individuals navigate the landscape and start the conversation in a safe and confidential space. Case Workers also provide alternative referrals to other support agencies outside the scope of violent extremism. To learn more, visit our website https://steptogether.nsw.gov.au/ 

What you’ll do

As part of the CVE Engagement Support Unit’s Project Team, you will be required to:

• Design and implement critical operational reforms and improvements to countering violent extremism (CVE) programs, including the Engagement and Support Program and Step Together.
• Identify and mitigate complex and sensitive CVE operational risks and issues as they affect program integrity and service improvement projects.
• Prepare a range of sensitive and classified program and project documentation for governance bodies including the ESP Multi-Agency Panel. Documentation can include operational performance reports, financial reports, program and project documentation, and risk and issues registers.
• Manage, plan and deliver projects, including developing and monitoring project plans, identifying and mobilising resources, monitoring budgets and managing risk to ensure project milestones are achieved.
• Utilise appropriate project management methodologies to deliver effective business unit outcomes and meet client service delivery needs.
• Deliver on multifaceted projects and processes within agreed deadlines and quality standards.
• Manage strategic procurement and contracting of a diverse range of mainstream and CVE providers to support program delivery. Build capability within mainstream service providers to operate as CVE practitioners.
• Apply a thorough understanding of internal policies, regulations and guidelines on contracting and procurement to ensure compliance, good practice, the protection of sensitive, classified and personal information and fairness for providers and clients.
• Engage and consult with senior stakeholders from Child Protection, Youth Justice, Corrective Services, Mental Health, Education, the NSW Police Force and a range of federal government law enforcement and intelligence agencies to ensure effective interface between program and policy development, planning, and service design and delivery.
• Engage with service delivery partners, to ensure interventions align with service delivery needs and requirements while achieving desired outcomes.
• Undertake program performance monitoring to ensure timely and consistent performance data is provided to governance bodies as required.
• Coordinate performance and other reporting activities for internal and external service delivery partners to ensure compliance with policy and legislation, and achievement of client outcomes.
• Provide advice and support to team members in undertaking tasks and implementing program and project plans as required to support and facilitate effective program management and implementation.

What we’re looking for

We want you to be successful in your new role! As an experienced project professional, you will need to be organised, a self-starter, and an excellent communicator. You will have:

• Tertiary qualifications in a relevant field or equivalent experience
• A working understanding of contemporary CVE practices to inform the development of policy, procedures and evaluation outcomes will be beneficial
• Highly developed time management and organisational skills with demonstrated experience in working autonomously with minimal supervision
• Proven experience in working collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team, alongside other disciplines and external agencies
• Demonstrated commitment to professional development, quality improvement and evidence-based practice
• Demonstrated written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills, including report writing, consultation skills and maintaining effective stakeholder relationships.
• Experience in contributing to program development, best practice, policy and procedures

Download the role description.

To apply directly via the DCJ Careers site click here. Search for the job and click the ‘Apply now’ button.

We focus on hiring people who share our commitment and goals of inclusion, collaboration, adaptability, courage and integrity. If you meet the essential requirements and the role resonates with you, please apply – you do not need to meet every desired requirement for us to want to talk to you.

What We Offer

We offer a variety of benefits, including:

• A challenging and rewarding career
• Flexible, autonomous work environment
• Competitive pay and conditions
• Training and development opportunities to build and maintain capabilities
• Health & Wellbeing and Employee Assistance Programs.

Want more information?  Visit our website to see more information on Working for us.

We do work that really matters

Working for the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) provides lots of opportunities to make a real difference. We collaborate with other agencies and community partners, to improve lives and realise the potential of children, adults, families and communities. We're focused on breaking, rather than managing, disadvantage. It’s work that really matters.

Apply now and join Australia’s top public sector employer where we will support you and provide an exciting and flexible working environment!

Are you ready to join us?

Click apply, attach a cover letter (maximum 2 pages) outlining how you meet the requirements of the role as well as an up-to-date résumé (maximum 5 pages).

Applications close Sunday, 25 May 2025 at 11:59 pm AEST.

Got a question?

For more information about the role or what it’s like to work for DCJ, please contact the hiring manager Daniel Zaarour on 0484 344 006 or at daniel.zaarour@dcj.nsw.gov.au

If you’ve got a question about applying or would benefit from an adjustment in the recruitment process to help you perform at your best (including an alternate method submission of the application), please call Anjy Fayad on 02 9765 3042 or via anjy.fayad@dcj.nsw.gov.au

Visit Recruitment adjustments on the DCJ website to learn more.

Inclusion and Diversity lies at the heart of how we recruit

We continue to hire great people with a wide variety of skills, experience and backgrounds. This includes people with disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, women, people identifying as LGBTIQ+, culturally and linguistically diverse people, carers and other diversity groups.

To find out what DCJ are doing to build an inclusive and diverse workforce, visit Inclusion and diversity on the DCJ website.

Other Information

A talent pool may be created for future ongoing and temporary roles and is valid for a period of up to 18 months.

For more information visit Your recruitment journey on the DCJ website.

Thank you for your interest in this role. We look forward to receiving your application.

To keep up with recruitment opportunities at DCJ, follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CareersatDCJ/

The Welcome Experience
 Thinking about moving to regional NSW? Get free, personalised support with housing, schools, jobs, and settling in. Learn more: www.nsw.gov.au/welcomeexperience

The careers site currently promotes this service on the ‘Discover roles with DCJ in regional NSW’ page.