The key duties of the position include: The Role In this position, you will leverage your professional knowledge to lead, influence and collaborate across the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA) to drive finance, procurement and contract management activities. Your work will deliver savings, foster innovation, improve efficiencies and achieve the strong outcomes for AGSVA and the broader Australian Government. You will build and maintain strong strategic relationships with key internal and external partners, providing high-level advice, leading complex negotiations while delivering strategic business outcomes. You will provide specialist advice on complex, end-to-end procurement and contract management matters, ensuring compliance, value and strategic alignment. In addition, you will lead AGSVA’s finance and budget functions, including cost recovery, accounts payable and receivable, financial planning and reporting. This includes managing AGSVA’s Cost Model to establish vetting fees in line with the Australian Government Charging Framework. The role requires strong leadership, superior judgement, demonstrable negotiation skills and the ability to deliver high quality advice under tight timeframes. It is suited to someone with exceptional interpersonal and organisational skills, and demonstrated experience and qualifications in procurement and contracting. This role is eligible for an additional remuneration benefit known in Defence as a Building Defence Capability Payment (BDCP). This enables Defence to provide a premium, in addition to the base salary otherwise payable under the Defence Enterprise Collective Agreement (DECA), for positions in occupational disciplines/classifications that are critical to Defence capability. For further information, please contact the contact officer. About our Team SEG develops, sustains and protects the Defence estate. SEG is the consolidated security and service delivery organisation for Defence. SEG’s mission is to enable Defence capability by working in partnership with our clients to deliver integrated services through a highly capable workforce. SEG comprises of four divisions (Infrastructure, Service Delivery, Security and Estate Transformation). Together, these divisions create a secure Defence estate, supporting Defence’s mission and the integrated, focused force described in the 2024 National Defence Strategy. Our current vacancy exists within AGSVA, which is embedded within SEG’s Security Division. AGVSA plays a key role in supporting more than 1,120 state and territory government agencies and industry partners to mitigate insider threats. AGSVA’s mission is to deliver responsive and assured vetting services to enable security capability. AGSVA’s services enable the whole of the Australian Government to meet the growing challenges of espionage and foreign interference through providing a responsive and assured vetted workforce. In this position, you'll lead a team of finance, procurement and contracting professionals, overseeing the delivery of sensitive and highly detailed procurement and financial activities that support organisational priorities. Please note: While the current vacancy exists within the Defence Security Division, this recruitment process may be used to establish a merit pool to fill similar roles across SEG, nationally. Our Ideal Candidate Our ideal candidate will demonstrate exceptional leadership and strategic capability. They will bring advanced people management skills to lead, develop, and motivate high-performing teams, while fostering a collaborative and inclusive culture across geographically dispersed workforces. Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills are essential, including the ability to negotiate persuasively and influence outcomes at senior levels. Candidates will exhibit resilience, sound judgment, and the ability to make informed decisions under pressure, while maintaining accountability for delivering high-quality results. We are seeking individuals with proven experience in driving organisational change and embedding reform initiatives, coupled with strong coaching and mentoring skills to build workforce capability and support continuous improvement. Extensive knowledge of legislative frameworks, government decision-making processes, and Defence compliance requirements is critical to success in the role. In addition to these core leadership attributes, we are looking for the following role-specific skills: Ability to influence and provide clear, persuasive, and accurate advice on procurement and contracting matters to achieve organisational objectives. Skilled in negotiating effectively to secure successful commercial and strategic outcomes. Proven ability to apply comprehensive financial and procurement policy expertise, leveraging data insights to drive innovation, efficiency, and assurance. Demonstrated ability to operate with agility and precision in a security-focused, whole-of-government service delivery environment. Eligibility Security Clearance: Applicants must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance at “Negative Vetting Level 2”. Getting to know the Department of Defence The Department of Defence employs around 18,000 Australian Public Service (APS) employees. Defence APS employees work in a wide variety of critical roles, Australia wide, enabling our three services Navy, Army and Air Force, to do their job. Defence has a range of Australian Public Service (APS) career opportunities that offer interesting, challenging, and unique work. Our workforce includes administrative support, accountants, intelligence analysts, engineers, policy advisors, graphic designers, lawyers, social workers, IT specialists and contract managers to name a few. We offer a rewarding career that includes professional development, work-life balance, recognition, a flexible and supportive work environment and a diverse workforce. To find out more about a career with Defence please visit https://www.defence.gov.au/jobs-careers
