Specialisterne Australia offers an alternative pathway for people on the autism spectrum to connect with employers who recognise and value the contributions and talents that individuals on the spectrum can bring to their organisations.
We are excited to partner with Services Australia in their Aurora Neurodiversity Program, for a Project Officer from within our community of talented autistic candidates.
About Services Australia
We touch the lives of almost every Australian and we are here to help people meet life’s challenges. Services Australia is responsible for the delivery of advice and high quality, accessible social, health and child support services and payments.
We continually build on our foundation of service excellence to shape how government services are delivered to the Australian community. Our task is to modernise the way we work to deliver simple, helpful, respectful and transparent services every time.
We offer work that improves the lives of Australians, great working conditions, workplace diversity and inclusion that reflects the community we serve and flexible work practises for work and family life balance.
About the team
The Debt and Integrity projects (DIP) Division is responsible for delivering a transformation agenda that includes supporting to modernise our business and services. Our transformation agenda emphasises the user experience of welfare customers and our staff, embracing digital and data opportunities, and investing in our people.
The Debt and Integrity projects (DIP) Division has an exciting opportunity in the Customer Solutions and Co-Design (CSCD) team for a project officer. Working under the general direction of senior staff, they play a role in maintaining relationships with other project teams, and stakeholders to provide advice and ensure the consistent delivery of project outputs.
About the roles
Job title
APS 5 Project Officer
Tenure
The role is a full-time, non-ongoing contract for up to 18 months, but part-time may be considered for the right applicant.
Location of role
The role is located in Dandenong, VIC.
What you will do
The Customer Solutions and Co-Design (CSCD) team support and enable DIP projects to:
- Discover and diagnose the behavioural drivers and barriers to success
- Design and test debt and compliance correspondence
- Take a human-centred design approach to involve the customer/staff in the design, delivery and implementation of DIP project
- Engage with customers and staff to co-design prototypes and solutions
- Build an evidence base to help develop the best customer solution
- Follow the Masterplan core principles by ensuring the end result is simple, helpful, respectful and transparent
As a Project Officer, you will work as part of a multi-skilled team to:
- Gather, examine, evaluate and interpret both qualitative and quantitative data and present in a clear manner.
- Monitor or report on assigned workloads, priorities and practices.
- Build and maintain stakeholder relationships to support the EPO’s priorities and goals.
- Perform quality assurance activities and data validation.
- Identify or resolve problems and make recommendations for improvement.
- Assist in project management and coordination activities.
- Perform research work and analysis including contributing to the preparation of reports, frameworks and procedures.
- Draft a range of written material including business cases, plans, executive briefs, meeting minutes and corporate documentation for review by senior staff.
- CSCD have expertise in behavioural insights, user and customer experience, and stakeholder engagement to support the design, delivery, implementation and evaluation of DIP projects.
- The team supports DIP projects end to end through:
- Co-designing customer focused correspondence and products
- Applying behavioural economic principles and customer insights
- Facilitation of customer centric workshops
- Engaging with customers, staff and third party organisations
- Provide an evidence based approach to optimise customer focused solutions
- Program monitoring and testing products with customers and staff
- Advice on continuous improvement and post implementation reviews.
Specialisterne Australia exists because autistic candidates are being overlooked for employment, largely due to the many barriers that autistic candidates come up against when competing for employment in typical recruitment practices.
Specialisterne has created an end-to-end recruitment and employee support framework that removes those typically found barriers, and replaces them with practical, demonstrative assessments and activities whereby candidates, over a patient process, have the opportunity to:
- better understand the requirements of the roles they are competing for to assess if they are the right opportunities for them
- meet team members and managers throughout the process
- connect with others who have previously gained employment via this program
- demonstrate through practical assessments and activities their motivation and suitability for the available roles over a patient process
- ‘show’ what they can do (not just tell someone what you can do)
At Specialisterne Australia our values are Respect, Clarity, Accommodation, and Accessibility. We keep these in mind in all that we do. We work with our partner employers to promote and sustain a diverse and inclusive workforce. To support you further throughout your journey, we provide a mentor and buddy, and we work with you to tailor an individual plan to accommodate your needs in the workplace, also providing a period of support for both you and your future employer, ensuring a successful transition into your new role.
Please Note: All applications must go through Specialisterne Australia. Our partner employers do not handle applications directly for these opportunities.
Location of role
This role is offered in Dandenong, VIC only, however applicants prepared to relocate for employment are encouraged to apply.
Applicant Requirements
Must have
To apply for these roles, these things are essential:
- Must be 18 years of age or older.
- Must have a diagnosis of autism (including autism spectrum disorder; Asperger’s Syndrome; Autistic Disorder or PDD-NOS). ‘Specialisterne may be required to provide evidence of your diagnosis to Services Australia to confirm your eligibility for the program.’
- Must have proof of Australian Citizenship and agree to background checks
- Must be able to obtain a Baseline security clearance
- Must live (or be willing to relocate to) a daily commutable distance to Dandenong, VIC.
Should have
These things are important to have:
- Communicate confidently – verbally and formulate written messages in a clear, concise and articulate manner
- Support and maintain stakeholder relationships
- Demonstrate personal resilience
- Organise and prioritise work in the context of competing priorities
- Research and make decisions based on subject matter knowledge and judgement
- Collaborate with other staff in immediate work area and in other areas of the agency
Nice to have
These things are not essential, but if you have them that’s great:
- Base knowledge of Microsoft products, Word, Excel and PowerPoint
Application Process
Before you can apply for jobs through Specialisterne Australia, you must first register with us as an eligible candidate using the form below. You only need to do this once, existing candidates already registered using this form can proceed to login at the candidate portal. To commence the registration process, please make sure you have the required documents stated below:
- Evidence of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Evidence could be a Diagnostic Assessment or a letter from a treating medical practitioner.
- Proof of Australian Citizenship or Permanent Residence Visa*. Accepted documents are one of the following:
- Australian Birth Certificate
- Current Australian Passport
- Certificate of Australian Citizenship
- Permanent Residency Visa in Australia (excluding bridging visas)
* please check individual role requirements for Citizenship requirmements
NEW CANDIDATES
Upload your documents using the form provided on this page below. A member of our team will check your eligibility and you will then be sent a link to complete an online registration form with Specialisterne Australia. After you have completed your registration form, you will be sent a link to the candidate portal to upload supporting documents and apply for our jobs.
EXISTING CANDIDATES
If you have already registered as an eligible candidate with Specialisterne Australia using the form below and have an account, you can login to your account in the candidate portal to apply for the jobs or opportunities you are most interested in. A link to the candidate portal is contained in the form provided on this page below.
Shortlisted applicants will be invited to find out more about the roles while participating in activities and assessments delivered by Specialisterne and our partner employers to determine their suitability for the various opportunities.
At the conclusion of the Talent Program activities, successful candidates will be offered employment. If you are unsuccessful, you may be considered for other Specialisterne opportunities.
Activities will be delivered in-person and online in a virtual assessment centre environment and therefore candidates are expected to have use of their own computer with a webcam and microphone, and have access to the internet in order to participate.
Please Note: All applications must go through Specialisterne Australia. Our partner employers do not handle applications directly for these opportunities.
More information:
We look forward to receiving your applications.
Aurora Neurodiversity Program
A pathway for people with autism to start their career in the Australian Public Service (APS) with opportunities in Services Australia.
The Aurora Neurodiversity Program (the Program) recognises the unique skills and talents people who are neurodivergent can bring to work. The Program seeks to improve career outcomes and offers professional development and work experience by providing a gateway to the APS.
