About the Department

The role of the Department of Education is to support Victorians to build prosperous, socially engaged, happy and healthy lives. It does this by supporting lifelong learning and healthy development, strengthening families and helping to equip people with the skills and knowledge for a 21st century economy and society.

About the Victorian School Building Authority

The Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) is part of the Department of Education. Established in 2016, it oversees Victoria's largest school building program since the state introduced free public education in the 1870s.

The VSBA upgrades and expands existing schools and plans, designs and builds new schools to meet enrolment demand. We also support schools to maintain their buildings and grounds by offering expert advice and coordinating maintenance programs and grants.

With Victoria recently introducing two years of funded kindergarten, the VSBA is also working with the early childhood sector on a massive kindergarten construction program.

About the Division

Asset Management Division

The Asset Management Division is responsible for setting VSBA's strategic asset direction, developing and implementing programs that address accessibility, inclusion and accommodation initiatives, and building school capability and capacity to manage assets.

The Maintenance Delivery Branch oversees maintenance projects, encompassing planned maintenance, as well as the upkeep of hydraulic fire safety systems and shelter-in-place facilities and other programs. Additionally, it ensures that secondary school campuses are equipped with suitable facilities to accommodate mental health practitioners, aligning with the government's commitment for this program.

About the Role

This role is located in the Commercial and Programs Unit; Maintenance Delivery Branch; Asset Management Division; Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA).

The key responsibilities of this role are to:

• model and uphold department values
• provide expert capital works commercial and procurement support and advisory
• provide strategic contract management guidance to senior executives
• facilitate and support procurement compliance processes
• support resolution of complex procurement and contractual issues
• support audits conducted by independent assurance provider
• establish, develop, and maintain internal and external stakeholder relationships
• facilitate and support monitoring of contractor performance/spend, contract management plans, and proactively identify improvement opportunities and/or under-performance
• facilitate business insights and identification of actionable opportunities for value creation and process improvement
• facilitate responses to ad hoc requests, working with systems and stakeholders to extract, source and collate data.

The role will facilitate and support the Commercial and Programs Unit's fulfilment of these responsibilities, and its commitment to:

• meaningful and collaborative engagement with key internal and external stakeholders
• expert capital works commercial and procurement support and advisory
• continual improvement of work processes and culture
• compliance with ministerial directions
• implementation of assurance program outcomes and approved recommendations
• VSBA's operational and strategic goals

All VSBA staff have a shared responsibility to meet the same service standards outlined in the VSBA Customer Service Charter. Our goal is to make every interaction with the VSBA a positive one for our customers, colleagues and key partners regardless of our individual role or team.

Attributes

The candidate must have experience in:

• PDCMA Procurement (Project Development and Construction Management Act (PDCMA) 1994 (Vic), contract management and procurement policies, standards, and guidelines within the public sector construction industry
• clear communication, strong attention to detail, and peer-review
• influencing and negotiating with a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders through the use of written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills
• analytical thinking, with an ability to be highly organised, proactive, and solutions focused
• and a strong level of ability to understand stakeholder requirements and translate them into actionable data solutions

The key responsibilities of this role are to:

• model and uphold department values
• provide support during audits conducted by independent assurance providers, ensuring adherence to standards and regulations and collaborate effectively with stakeholders at various levels
• interpret internal/external compliance requirements and provide expert advice and support
• provide support to manage commercial queries
• provide contract management support to existing and other statewide contracts using expert knowledge of contract compliance and facilitating guidance on strategic contract management to senior executives
• facilitate and support resolution of complex procurement and contractual issues
• provide support in facilitating close working relationships with external commercial/probity advisory firms, other departmental agencies/entities (e.g. DTF, Social Procurement, ICN) for various operational programs
• provide support in monitoring contractor performance/spend, contract management plans, and proactively identify improvement opportunities and/or under-performance
• facilitate and support data analytics and reporting to enable measurement and identification of trends, spend analysis
• facilitate and support business insights and identification of actionable opportunities for value creation and process improvement
• facilitate and provide support to any ad hoc requests, working with systems and responding to stakeholders queries

Desirable Qualifications and Experience

Essential: Minimum of 5-7 years of progressive experience in capital works, procurement, contract management, or a related field.

Desirable: Relevant tertiary qualification in project management or other related field

How to apply: Please apply by submitting your resume, and a cover letter that outlines your skills and experience against the Key Selection Criteria in the position description

Further Information

For more details regarding this position please see attached position description.

The department values diversity and inclusion in all forms - gender, religion, ethnicity, LGBTIQ+, disability and neurodiversity. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. For more information about our work, working for the Department, diversity and inclusion, and our employment conditions visit the Department website and our Diversity and Inclusion page

Applicants requiring adjustments can contact the nominated contact person.

Information about the Department of Education's operations and employment conditions can be located at www.education.vic.gov.au.

For further information pertaining to the role, please contact Freddy Bharucha - Manager via +61 3 7022 2523 or [email protected]

Preferred applicants may be required to complete a police check and may be subject to other pre-employment checks. Information provided to the Department of Education will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Please let us know via phone or email if you require any adjustments to ensure your full participation in the recruitment process or if you need the ad or any attachments in an accessible format (e.g. large print) due to any viewing difficulties or other accessibility requirements.

This role is fixed term for 2 years.

Applications close 11:59pm on Wednesday, 30 April 2025