Senior Policy Officer - Agricultural/Environmental Pest Response

The Senior Policy Officer position at APS involves contributing to environmental biosecurity preparedness and response within the Plant Protection and Environmental Biosecurity Division. The role focuses on supporting national policies and programs related to plant health and environmental biosecurity, including involvement in high-profile initiatives like the Queensland Government's National Fire Ant Eradication Program. The position is based in Australia and requires collaboration with various stakeholders.
Who we are
The Plant Protection and Environmental Biosecurity Division (PPEBD) provides policy leadership and support for plant health and environmental biosecurity. PPEBD is the home of the Australian Chief Plant Protection Officer (ACPPO) and Australian Chief Environmental Biosecurity Officer (ACEBO). The division: aims to improve Australia's plant health and environmental biosecurity systems and outcomes; helps meet relevant national and international obligations; and works to minimise the impacts of current and emerging biosecurity risks to Australia's agricultural production and trade, environment, Indigenous and cultural heritage and associated amenities. The division is comprised of two branches: the Plant Health Policy Branch and the Environmental Biosecurity Office, which also oversees the Australian Plague Locust Commission's activities.

Plant Health Policy (PHP) Branch, in collaboration with stakeholders, designs, drives and delivers Commonwealth and national policies and programs to protect, confirm and enhance Australia's plant health status and facilitate safe trade. The branch provides a national focal point for plant biosecurity issues within Australia, and national leadership in managing Australia's plant health. Our work underpins biosecurity and helps to open new, and maintain existing, domestic and international markets for Australian plant industries. The Environmental Biosecurity Office (EBO) addresses national environmental biosecurity priorities to ensure Australia's natural environment is safeguarded from the impacts of exotic and established pests, weeds, and diseases. The EBO is a fast-paced environment that:
• Provides national policy, engagement, and leadership on environmental biosecurity issues.
• Ensures environmental and community biosecurity risks are identified and prioritised.
• Improves the maturity of Australia's environmental biosecurity preparedness, surveillance and response capacity.
• Supports effective responses to detections and incursions of environmental pests, weeds and diseases.
The EBO Policy and Strategy Section leads the development and implementation of policy that improves Australia's ability to prevent. detect and respond to exotic environmental pests, weeds and diseases entering Australia.

The Preparedness and Response Section's role is to build preparedness for plant pests and coordinate emergency responses, including through:
• Preparedness: Building departmental and national capacity and capability to prevent and prepare for responses to plant pest biosecurity threats, in collaboration with stakeholders.
• Response: Delivery of the national coordination and secretariat functions for environmental pest responses (under the National Environmental Biosecurity Response Agreement and similar arrangements) and emergency plant pest responses (under the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed and similar arrangements).

The key duties of the position include
The Job
Where you will play an important role:
There are two roles available in the EBO Policy and Strategy Section that contribute to environmental biosecurity preparedness and response.
• One role has a key focus on supporting the Australian Government's role in the high-profile Queensland Government-led National Fire Ant Eradication Program (the Program).
• One role has a key focus on supporting environmental biosecurity outcomes as part of the Australian Government's approach to One Health challenges, recognising the interconnectedness of human, animal, environmental and plant health.
There is one role available in the Agricultural Response Team in the Preparedness and Response Section. Whilst there is no 'typical day' in the Agricultural Response team, the team is currently coordinating the Consultative Committee on Emergency Plant Pests for the national eradication responses for polyphagous shot hole borer and red dwarf honey bee in Western Australia, tomato brown rugose fruit virus in South Australia and Victoria, and exotic fruit flies in Torres Strait, and the transition to management programs for varroa mite in New South Wales and banana freckle in the Northern Territory.

As a Senior Policy Officer in these roles you will:
• Support national coordination of biosecurity plant pest and environmental emergencies including liaising with consultative committees and scientific, diagnostic, surveillance preparedness and response experts.
• Prepare high quality written communication including correspondence, agenda papers, briefs, talking points, discussion papers, responses to ministerial and media inquiries, and reports.
• Provide high quality support to national technical consultative committees, their scientific advisory panels and other related ad hoc working groups, including meeting preparation and coordination, liaison with other government agencies and environmental/plant industries, drafting meeting minutes, and reporting and progressing action items.
• Build and maintain networks with colleagues across biosecurity, the broader department, other government agencies, agricultural/environmental industries and stakeholders.
• Keep your finger on the pulse of emerging issues and risks. Track and progress issues while assisting to keep the department's executive and Minister's office informed.
• Mentor, supervise and support junior members of the team.
• Contribute to the development and improvement of national emergency response arrangements.