Senior Program Officer, Operational Excellence, Leadership and Capability

Grade: 09/10
Salary range: $125,693 - $138,510 + super
Employment Type: Ongoing Full Time Opportunity
Location: McKell, Haymarket

We are looking for a highly experienced Senior Program Officer who has extensive knowledge and expertise in all aspects of project planning, deployment and evaluation to head up our Operational Excellence team within our Leadership and Capability Practice.

At DCS, we are passionate about serving our customers, the 8+ million citizens of NSW. By putting the customer at the centre of all programs and initiatives, we are transforming the way government interacts with the people of NSW. The Leadership and Capability team is one of the four key practices under the People, Innovation and Experience functions (PIE) within DCS and are responsible for designing and delivering high quality and impactful leadership and capability development programs and solutions that build capability and enable our employees to perform at their best.

The Senior Program Officer, Operational Excellence will lead a team in the strategic planning and deployment of leadership and capability programs across DCS and will report directly to the Associate Director, Leadership and Capability.

You'll be responsible for:

• Overseeing all aspects of project planning, deployment and reporting for leadership and capability programs and solutions.
• Establishing appropriate governance and quality standards and identifying and coordinating resources and budgets to ensure outcomes are achieved on time and to budget.
• Identifying and setting operational goals that increase efficiency and productivity across the leadership and capability program lifecycle.
• Building strong and sustainable relationships with key stakeholders including program sponsors, participants, senior leaders and external providers.
• Managing the establishment of a preferred provider panel including negotiation of contracts and ongoing evaluation of provider engagements.
• Preparing and delivering presentations to internal senior stakeholders on the return on investment for key leadership programs and learning solutions.
• Forecasting and reporting on budgets to inform project and priority planning for the PIE team.
• Evaluating the quality of operations delivery, impact and return on investment.
• Identifying and championing program improvements/ initiatives that support improve the learner experience, uplift capability and support continuous learning.
• Leading and developing team members to achieve excellence in operational planning and delivery.

About You:

You'll be passionate about leading a team to deploy strategic leadership and capability programs through effective operational planning and deployment. You will see opportunities to continue to improve the learning and development experience of our people and to demonstrate return on investment for the business. You will be highly regarded for your expertise in project management and will be comfortable working autonomously and collaboratively with the broader team and stakeholders to deliver on strategic objectives.

To be successful in this role you will have:

• Experience leading and coaching a team in a fast paced, agile environment.
• Proven track record of developing and deploying leadership and capability programs at scale
• Ability to implement leadership and capability development programs that adhere to adult learning principles, ensuring that learning is self-directed, experience-based, goal-oriented, relevant, practical, and respectful.
• Superior knowledge of multiple operational functions including finance, customer service, procurement and project management.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Relevant tertiary qualifications in HR, organisation development, leadership or capability development and/or equivalent work experience.

We believe in and support hybrid and flexible working.

What we need from you:

Please click on the link below and attach your resume (max 5 pages) and cover letter (max 2 pages).

In your cover letter please share your motivation for applying for this position, your relevant skills and a recent example of where you have successfully led an operations team in the deployment of large-scale programs/projects.

A talent pool will also be created from this recruitment process to fill future ongoing and temporary opportunities.

For any enquiries about the role please contact Anne-Marie Holubinskyj, Director People Innovation & Experience at [email protected]

Salary Grade 09/10, with the base salary for this role starting at $125,693 base plus superannuation

Click Here to access the Role Description. For enquiries relating to recruitment please contact Rodrigo Sandoval via [email protected].

Visit the Capability Application Tool to prepare for the recruitment process by accessing practice application and interview questions based on the focus capabilities listed in the role description.

Closing Date: Tuesday, May 13th, 2025 at 10:00 am

Careers at Department of Customer Service
A career at the Department of Customer Service (DCS) gives you the opportunity to help improve government services and be part of reform that benefits people across NSW. We are focused on delivering excellent customer service, digital transformation, and regulatory reform. Come join us and influence the future of our great state.

Belong in our diverse and inclusive workplace

The strength of our workforce lies in its diversity and embracing difference, while the key to our success is leveraging the contributions of employees with different backgrounds and perspectives.

You can view our full diversity and inclusion statement here.

We want you to bring your best self to this application process. If you have any support or access needs that may require adjustments to allow you to fully participate in this selection process (including an alternate format of the application form) please contact [email protected] or 02 9494 8351.

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