Did you know?

The mission of the Australian Federal Police is to provide dynamic and effective law enforcement to the people of Australia. It provides policing throughout Australia in relation to the prevention and detection of crimes against the Commonwealth, its laws and integrity, and community police services to the Community of the ACT.

Working for the AFP provides you with a diverse and rewarding career. Whether you immerse yourself in a position on the frontline, or provide critical operational or professional support, the work you do makes a big impact on the people of Australia.

We recognise your contribution to our workforce and offer generous remuneration and conditions including:

• Six weeks (30 days) of paid annual leave per year + additional paid Christmas stand down
• 4 extra days of mandatory rest leave per year
• 18 days of paid personal leave per year
• Generous superannuation of 15.4%
• 18 weeks paid Parental Leave for Primary Caregiver (and 11 weeks for Secondary Caregiver) + additional unpaid leave entitlements for up until 24 months from the child’s date of birth or placement
• Generous salaries and incremental salary progression governed by the AFP Enterprise Agreement
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangement that provides work/life balance
• Health & wellbeing services – with a focus on early intervention, education and prevention
• Access to ongoing training and professional development opportunities

What is the role?

About the work environment

The CIO Command provides corporate applications, end-to-end ICT solutions, advice, cyber security and infrastructure that underpins AFP activities. The CIO Command aims to be a highly collaborative, innovative, reliable and trusted enabler for all Commands across the AFP. The products and services delivered are user focused, secure, and fit for purpose. Supported by a highly skilled, agile, and resilient workforce. The CIO Command comprises four branches; Technology Strategy and Data, Enterprise and Policing Systems, Chief Technology Officer and Cyber Security and Risk.

The Technology Strategy and Data branch is seeking highly skilled geospatial subject matter experts to lead the design, implementation, technological innovation, and evolution of our geospatial platforms. This role is pivotal in supporting the shaping of the future of our environment, aligning technology strategy with business goals, ensuring performance, security, and scalability across our systems.

The ideal candidate will possess a balanced blend of hands-on technical expertise, strategic awareness in geospatial systems use and modernisation, spatial systems architecture, related emerging technologies, and emerging infrastructure trends.

About the team

The AFP’s Enterprise Geospatial Team is at the forefront of advancing the agency’s geospatial capabilities, modernising systems and enhancing access to tailored geospatial solutions. By leveraging location information, the team enables the generation of insights and intelligence. This supports the AFP to address evolving threats to Australia, within the realms of law enforcement and national security. This mission-focused, enterprise-wide capability empowers data-driven decision-making across the organisation, ensuring the AFP remains responsive and informed in its strategic and operational activities.

About the role

As the Enterprise Geospatial Technical Lead, you will lead the technical delivery of geospatial capabilities that support strategic and operational decision-making across the AFP. You will ensure outcomes in accordance with the regulatory framework, the AFP Code of Conduct and AFP Governance Instruments. Technical Specialists provide expert consultancy within their area of specialisation and develop and promote technical solutions which support the business requirements of the AFP.

A Technical Specialist role does not hold any formal leadership or financial delegations.

You will be responsible for guiding the development and integration of spatial data, GIS platforms with AFP business areas and systems and helping mentor team members while ensuring alignment with AFP’s strategic goals. You will work closely with the Senior Team Leader Enterprise Geospatial and the other Enterprise Geospatial Team members to support the delivery of the AFP’s Enterprise Geospatial capability.

This position has been advertised in multiple locations; however, the role is in Canberra and applicants are expected to be based in Canberra.

What will you do?

As the Enterprise Geospatial Technical Lead, you will directly influence the technical evolution of the AFP’s geospatial capability, supporting the agency to meet current and future challenges. Key Responsibilities will be to:

• Lead the practice of technical infrastructure solution design, including the development of new technical solutions related to all AFP geospatial platforms.
• Support and roadmap enterprise geospatial capabilities and patterns within the organisation through consideration of key stakeholder requirements, IT Architecture policies, standards and guidelines.
• Align effort to broader strategy and capability roadmaps ensuring that the AFP’s geospatial environment is fit-for-purpose and complements other systems and capabilities.
• Identify relevant technology innovations and engage with stakeholders and partners to develop suitable implementation strategies.
• Document all work using any required standards, methods, and tools including internally developed toolsets.
• Cultivate geospatial technical literacy and encourage excellence across the organisation.
• Offer guidance and support to foster skills enhancement and professional growth for staff members.

Technical Specialists play a major part in:

Governance, Compliance and Risk Management:

• Establish and enforce governance frameworks for geospatial network and infrastructure decision-making, architecture reviews, and technology standards.
• Ensure data is managed effectively that it can be used to support law enforcement outcomes.
• Ensure compliance with industry regulations and internal security protocols.

Leadership and Collaboration:

• Act as a senior advisor to executive leadership on geospatial platforms, infrastructure, architecture and strategy.
• Lead cross-functional teams in the planning and execution of major projects including geospatial work programs and transformation efforts.

Documentation and Reporting:

• Maintain detailed documentation, including diagrams, configurations, and procedures in relevant repositories (e.g. GitHub, Azure DevOps)
• Provide regular reports on performance, adoption, capacity, and security posture.

Technical Leadership:

• Serve as a subject matter expert, providing guidance and mentorship to team members and geospatial practitioners across the organisation.
• Lead technical discussions and strategy sessions.

Troubleshooting and Support:

• Address issues promptly and efficiently, including patches and system updates.
• Perform root cause analysis and implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence.

Essential Requirements

• You must be an Australian Citizen.
• Have the ability to obtain and maintain a Negative Vetting 1 (Secret) security clearance.
• High proficiency in the ESRI ArcGIS Suite of tools, including Pro and Enterprise and how they can be used to support a breadth of staff spatial literacy and knowledge to the scale of the AFP.
• High proficiency in geospatial workflows and development management tools, including Azure DevOps,GitHub, MS Teams and MS SharePoint.
• High proficiency working with virtual machines
• Able to advise on system hardening within a cloud environment to maintain strong security posture.
• Demonstratable strong stakeholder engagement skills, with a proven ability to negotiate and influence others.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Minimum 5+ years' experience managing enterprise level GIS platforms to support organisational functions.

Desirable Requirements

• Tertiary qualification or industry certification in relevant Geographic Information Systems, such as ESRI and FME or computer science, software development, or similar.
• Ability to lead the geospatial infrastructure and integration solution design taking into account key stakeholder requirements.
• Greater understanding of GIS and IT Architecture policies, standards, guidelines, enterprise architecture strategy and roadmaps to ensure that solutions are fit-for-purpose.
• Demonstrated understanding and implementation of ISM, PSPF and security best practice frameworks.
• Minimum 5+ years' experience working within a law enforcement or national security agency.

Additional Information

• This position has been advertised in multiple locations; however, the role is in Canberra and applicants are expected to be based in Canberra.
• This role is an AFP Technical Specialist Band 2.
• This advertisement is to create a merit list for future ongoing or non-ongoing vacancies arising over the next 12 months.

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

At the AFP we value the different perspectives, approaches and lived experiences of our people, and recognise that our collective intelligence and diversity is what makes us stronger. As such, we encourage applications from people from all walks of life, including people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, First Nations people, women, the LGBTQIA+ community and people with disability.

Contact Officer: Jane Inglis,

Contact Officer Phone: 02 5126 9977,​

Contact Officer Email: [email protected]