• Australian and New Zealand National Council for fire and emergency services in East Melbourne (close to Parliament Station)
• Fixed Term Contract until 31 December 2024
• Flexible working environment, supporting a hybrid WFH/Office balance

About AFAC

AFAC is the National Council for fire, land management and emergency service authorities in Australia and New Zealand, representing 33-member organisations totalling 290,000 firefighters and emergency workers. AFAC supports the sector to create safer, more resilient communities, driving national consistency through collaboration, innovation and partnerships.

The Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS) Program has redesigned the forecasting of fire danger in Australia. The AFDRS is a project of national significance developed collaboratively across state, territory, and Commonwealth governments and launched on 1 September 2022. AFAC, through the National Projects and Innovation Directorate, is responsible for facilitating the ongoing operations and governance of the AFDRS.

The Role - Manager, AFDRS

The Manager, AFDRS will be responsible for management of the AFAC components of the AFDRS. This includes ongoing operations and general oversight of the AFDRS program. This role will oversee the AFAC secretariat duties, coordination of the AFDRS Committee, and play a national facilitation role on behalf of the jurisdictions, collating future development ideas and general AFDRS enquiries.

The role will manage the documenting of risk and change management, evaluation and reporting. The role will play a key consultation role with AFAC members and work with potential funders to address the priorities of the AFDRS.

The position will engage closely with the NSW RFS AFDRS Operational Support team, contractors and the AFAC Predictive Services Group.

Key Responsibilities

Program planning and delivery:

• Support the AFDRS ongoing operations in conjunction with the NSW RFS operational support team.
• Manage contracts, resourcing and expenditure for the program.
• Maintain a risk register, issues log and change management practices for the program.
• Manage stakeholder engagement and collaboration with AFAC member agencies.
• Liaise with AFAC Communications to meet the communications needs for the program.
• Produce and maintain regular reporting to AFAC Director, National Projects and Innovation, and AFDRS Committee.
• Manage IP licensing and other Service Level Agreements that support the AFDRS operational arrangements
• Manage evaluation techniques and review of AFDRS system, to support improvements in the AFDRS that meet Agency requirements.
• Collate future development ideas and manage priority setting for updates.
• Manage general enquiries regarding the AFDRS.

AFDRS Governance:

• Oversee the successful governance of the AFDRS, ensuring the outcomes align with strategic objectives.
• Facilitate secretariat duties for the AFDRS Committee and governance structure.
• Ensure successful transition from AFDRS Program Board to AFDRS Committee.
• Produce and seek approvals for Program Development Plans for additional project phases.

Industry engagement:

• Manage industry engagement and approaches to AFAC relating to AFDRS fire and emergency project proposals for innovation, and support information flow between providers and the sector where appropriate.
• Attend, present or represent AFAC at various events, where required.

The Culture at AFAC

AFAC is a vibrant, active and flexible workplace. AFAC is a not-for-profit organisation based on an all-inclusive collaboration model and office values of respect, communication, results and teamwork.

For more information contact Joe Pennisi at [email protected] using the subject line: Manager - Australian Fire Danger Rating System enquiry via EthicalJobs.

A position description is attached.