Team Leader, Qld Operations

Agency Purpose

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is an independent statutory authority established by the Australian Government to maintain an impartial and independent electoral system for eligible voters through active electoral roll management, efficient delivery of polling services, and targeted education and public awareness programs.

The AEC’s values and commitments

The AEC values and commitments are an essential component of our operating environment and frame how AEC staff work. The AEC's focus is on electoral integrity through the values of quality, agility and professionalism.

The Team

You will be joining a network of Team Leaders and Assistant Team Leaders across the country, responsible for managing your work unit to ensure the proper conduct of our federal elections and referendums. You will work closely with our State Office, National Office and the other States and Territories. 

Each Team Leader will typically oversee a team of around 2–10 staff, however, this team size increases significantly during an election event where we scale up and engage our temporary election workforce. During the delivery of the election, the Team Leader will undertake the legislative responsibilities of the Divisional Returning Officer for a federal electoral division and will work to ensure that the division delivers an election result with transparency and integrity. 

At the AEC you will develop strong connections with colleagues and supportive networks, as we all work to deliver an impartial and independent electoral system with high integrity.

The position is based in North Lakes and will report to an EL1 Assistant Director – Operations. 

The Opportunity

We are looking for agile, energetic, self-motivated, results-driven experienced leaders to lead a team of staff to manage divisional election planning, delivery, and evaluation. A proactive individual who can work under pressure, and independently under limited guidance but comfortable working in a team environment. 

During preparation phase of the electoral cycle, you will be responsible for ensuring accuracy and completeness of the electoral roll for approximately 100,000 electors within your division to exercise their franchise at the federal, state, and local government election. Whilst doing this you will also be leading your team in preparing towards the next federal event. 

Once we move to the mobilisation phase of the electoral cycle these critical roles run the largest peace time activity mobilising up to 100,000 staff. 

You will contribute to the development of team objectives for short term tasks and strategic planning for longer-term initiatives, including setting priorities for the work area, maintaining team cohesion, and ensuring quality of outputs for the work area.

You will be responsible for the overall supervision of our temporary election staff, using your leadership skills to support the expanding workforce requirements seamlessly and efficiently. 

You will join the leadership team committed to learning and self-development and responsible for building technical capability and fostering career development of its people. 

To excel you will have demonstrated ability to: 

• work with others - building team spirit, listening and communicating proactively, and recognising the contribution of others.
• lead and supervise – delegating effectively, providing clear direction, motivating, and empowering others and setting appropriate standards of behaviour.
• follow instructions and procedures – keeping to schedules and deadlines, following set procedures and policies and complying with obligations and requirements of the role.
• cope with pressures and setbacks – remaining positive, calm, and working productively in a high-pressure environment.
• adhere to principles and values – always demonstrating integrity and upholding ethics and values. 

Desirable skills and experience include: 

• experience in planning and organising major logistical events - managing time effectively and identifying and organising resources to achieve results.
• ability to adapt and responding to changing circumstances, dealing with ambiguity, and making positive use of opportunities it presents.
• ability to consistently deliver results and achieve project goals, working in a systematic, methodical, and orderly way while monitoring and maintaining high standards for quality.
• a demonstrated ability to work autonomously and a strong commitment to working harmoniously within a team to achieve positive results and support the AEC’s strategic direction. 

Eligibility

• AEC employees must be Australian citizens.
• Any person who is, and seen to be active in political affairs, and intends to publicly carry on this activity, may compromise the strict neutrality of the AEC and cannot be considered.
• Applicants are required to consent to, undergo, obtain and maintain a character clearance.
• Applicants are required to consent to, undergo, obtain and maintain the security clearance required for this role.
• Applicants may be required to undertake psychometric testing as part of this recruitment process.