The Comms & Engagement Specialist at Transport for NSW is a part-time, temporary opportunity for an experienced communicator who can shape clear strategies, advise senior stakeholders and build support for complex infrastructure and transport initiatives. To understand how to apply for Comms & Engagement Specialist, start by mapping your strongest examples to the role’s eight focus capabilities and the practical communication work described in the role description.
This Transport Grade 8 position sits in the Communications Partnering team within the Roads and Infrastructure portfolio. The successful applicant will support high-profile initiatives connected with Western Sydney Airport, Renewable Energy Zones and frontline engagement, working with stakeholders across Transport for NSW and other NSW Government agencies.
The work pattern matters. This is a two-day-per-week role, with Monday and Tuesday required, for up to 11 months. The position also includes an expectation of 50 per cent workplace presence at Macquarie Park.
The role closes at 11:59 pm on Thursday 3 September 2026. Read the official Transport for NSW vacancy and role description before submitting so your examples reflect the accountabilities, work pattern and capability levels.
Role Snapshot
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Role | Comms & Engagement Specialist (Part Time Temporary Opportunity – up to 11 months) |
| Organisation | Transport for NSW |
| Grade | Transport Grade 8 |
| Salary | $137,551 to $154,055 |
| Location | Macquarie Park |
| Work pattern | Part-time, Monday and Tuesday, with 50% workplace presence |
| Duration | Temporary opportunity for up to 11 months |
| Reference | 109450 |
| Official role | View the Transport for NSW vacancy |
| Closing date | 11:59 pm Thursday 3 September 2026 |
Contents
- Application Requirements
- Essential Role Requirements
- Assessment Items and Focus Capability Alignment
- Example Application Structure
- Examples to Prepare for the Interview
- Get Help with Your Application
Application Requirements
No specific application document or written-response format is stated before the sign-in stage. A tailored two-page cover letter is a practical way to present your fit for the role and connect your evidence to the Grade 8 focus capabilities.
Prepare the following before you open the application form:
- an updated resume that makes your communications, engagement and government-project experience easy to identify
- a tailored two-page cover letter that addresses the role’s priorities and strongest capability requirements
- clear dates, outcomes and stakeholder details for two or three substantial examples
- confirmation that you can work Mondays and Tuesdays and meet the Macquarie Park workplace requirement
The manual application route requires an account sign-in. Check whether the portal adds screening questions and follow each instruction exactly as it appears in your account before you submit.
Essential Role Requirements
- Tertiary qualifications in Communications, Journalism, Marketing or a similar discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
- Availability to work the required Monday and Tuesday part-time pattern.
- Capacity to meet the stated 50 per cent workplace-presence expectation at Macquarie Park.
Assessment Items and Focus Capability Alignment
The hiring team has set two main assessment themes. The first tests the depth and relevance of your professional background. The second tests how effectively you communicate, engage stakeholders, build relationships, influence outcomes and deliver communication strategies in a complex environment.
Use the alignment below to decide what each part of your application needs to prove. The links to focus capabilities are strongest where the assessment wording describes the same behaviour. Qualifications and length of experience should still be stated clearly, even where they do not map directly to a behavioural capability.
| Assessment item to address | Clear focus capability alignment | Evidence to use |
|---|---|---|
| Five or more years of experience in communications, media, marketing or stakeholder engagement | Communicate Effectively (Advanced); Deliver Results (Adept) | Establish the length and relevance of your experience, then use one or two substantial examples that show the quality and impact of your work. |
| Government experience, where applicable | Work Collaboratively (Advanced); Act with Integrity (Adept), when your example demonstrates these behaviours | Show that you understand government decision-making, accountability, diverse stakeholders and the need for clear, balanced advice. If your background is outside government, use an equally complex regulated, infrastructure or public-facing environment. |
| A degree in Communications or a related discipline, or equivalent experience | Qualification or equivalent-experience requirement; no direct focus capability alignment | State your qualification or explain the professional experience that provides the equivalent foundation. Keep this factual and concise. |
| Exceptional communication and stakeholder engagement skills | Communicate Effectively (Advanced); Work Collaboratively (Advanced) | Use an example that shows how you understood different audiences, chose suitable messages and channels, and maintained productive stakeholder relationships. |
| Ability to build strong relationships | Work Collaboratively (Advanced) | Explain how you established trust across teams, agencies or delivery partners and kept people working towards a shared outcome. |
| Ability to influence outcomes | Influence and Negotiate (Adept) | Describe the concerns or competing interests involved, how you adapted your approach and what agreement or decision you helped secure. |
| Ability to deliver effective communication strategies in a complex environment | Communicate Effectively (Advanced); Deliver Results (Adept); Plan and Prioritise (Adept); Project Management (Adept) | Use a strategy example with a clear objective, audience insight, delivery plan, risks, stakeholder roles, channels, measures and result. |
Act with Integrity and Manage Self remain official focus capabilities, although they are less explicit in the two assessment statements. Support them through examples of frank advice, accountable decisions, resilience and reliable delivery when priorities or stakeholder expectations change.
Official Focus Capabilities: What Your Evidence Should Show
| Focus capability | What your evidence should show |
|---|---|
| Act with Integrity (Adept) | Frank, balanced advice and responsible handling of sensitive, contested or high-profile communication issues. |
| Manage Self (Adept) | Initiative, resilience and reliable delivery when priorities, stakeholder expectations or timeframes change. |
| Communicate Effectively (Advanced) | Exceptional audience-centred communication, including the ability to turn complex information into clear strategies, messages and content. |
| Work Collaboratively (Advanced) | Strong relationships across teams, agencies and delivery partners, with practical evidence of trust and shared ownership. |
| Influence and Negotiate (Adept) | A deliberate approach to stakeholder concerns, competing interests and decisions that leads to an agreed outcome. |
| Deliver Results (Adept) | A communication strategy that was implemented well and produced a clear, measurable result. |
| Plan and Prioritise (Adept) | Sound judgement across competing projects, risks, dependencies and urgent communication needs in a complex environment. |
| Project Management (Adept) | Structured delivery of communication initiatives, including objectives, scope, resources, risks, reporting and evaluation. |
Example Application Structure
No specific application documents are stated before the sign-in stage, so a tailored two-page cover letter is a practical way to present the evidence the role needs. Keep the letter to a maximum of two pages unless the portal gives you a different limit. Organise the letter around the two assessment themes. Use the focus capabilities only as a cross-check for the quality of your evidence.
| Section | Purpose | What to include |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Establish your fit quickly | Name the role, summarise the communications experience you bring and state why the Roads and Infrastructure portfolio interests you. |
| Assessment theme 1: Professional background | Address the experience and professional-foundation requirement | Confirm your five or more years of experience across communications, media, marketing or stakeholder engagement. Mention government experience when it forms part of your record, then state your relevant degree or explain your equivalent professional experience. |
| Assessment theme 2: Communication, stakeholder engagement and influence | Show how you communicate, build relationships and influence outcomes | Use one substantial example involving different stakeholder interests. Explain the communication challenge, how you built trust, how you adapted your approach and the decision, agreement or engagement outcome you achieved. |
| Assessment theme 2: Strategy delivery in a complex environment | Show how you develop and deliver an effective communication strategy | Use a second example with a clear objective, audience insight, delivery plan, risks, channels and measures. Explain your personal contribution and quantify the result wherever possible. |
| Role conditions | Confirm practical availability | Confirm that you can work Mondays and Tuesdays and meet the Macquarie Park workplace-presence expectation. |
| Closing | Reconnect your evidence to the role | Summarise how your experience, stakeholder approach and strategy-delivery record would support the Communications Partnering team. |
Across the two examples, check that your evidence also demonstrates the relevant focus-capability behaviours, especially advanced communication, collaboration, influence, delivery, planning and project management. This keeps the application centred on the assessment themes while still reflecting the Grade 8 standard.
Examples to Prepare for the Interview
Prepare five or six examples that you can adapt to behavioural questions. Strong options include:
- developing and delivering a communication strategy for a major infrastructure, service-change or public-facing initiative
- advising a senior stakeholder when the preferred message or timing created communication risk
- building agreement across agencies, delivery partners or frontline teams with different priorities
- turning complex technical or policy information into clear content for several audiences
- managing urgent communication activity alongside longer-term projects and demonstrating how you prioritised
- using research, feedback or performance data to improve a campaign or engagement approach
For each example, be ready to explain the situation, your personal responsibility, the choices you made, the stakeholders you influenced and the result. Include concrete measures where possible, such as engagement rates, reduced complaints, faster approvals, improved employee understanding or delivery against a critical milestone.
Get Help with Your Application
If you want a practical starting point, use Team 3Thirty’s free NSW cover letter template to organise your evidence. If this role is a priority, Team 3Thirty can prepare the complete written application for $497 through the Complete Government Job Application service.
Before submitting, return to the official Transport for NSW vacancy and confirm the closing time, portal questions and final instructions shown in your account.