Introduction
The Senior Project Officer, Senior Policy Officer and Senior Analyst – Talent Pool at NSW Resources is for people who can take a complex policy or industry issue, work through the evidence, and give senior decision-makers useful advice. The work sits around the exploration and mining sector, critical minerals, the net zero transition and the long-term contribution of resources to regional NSW.
This guide explains how to apply for Senior Project Officer, Senior Policy Officer and Senior Analyst – Talent Pool roles in this campaign. It is a talent pool for current and upcoming opportunities over the next 18 months, so make a clear case for the particular senior work you can do and the value you would bring.
The campaign covers ongoing and fixed-term opportunities, with full-time, part-time and job-share options. NSW Resources is looking for people who can navigate ambiguity, research emerging issues, collaborate across government and turn complex material into concise briefings, advice, project plans and reporting.
View the official job ad before you submit. A talent-pool application still needs to make a clear case for you. Use your CV and cover letter to show the difficult issue, the judgement you applied and the result that followed.
In this guide
- Role snapshot
- Application requirements
- What to highlight
- Example application structure
- Help with your application
Role snapshot
- Role: Senior Project Officer, Senior Policy Officer and Senior Analyst – Talent Pool
- Organisation: NSW Resources, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
- Job reference number: 509972
- Location: NSW locations, including regional offices
- Work type: Ongoing and fixed-term opportunities, with full-time, part-time and job-share options
- Salary: Clerk Grade 9/10, $133,348 to $146,945 plus super and leave loading
- Closing date: Wednesday 29 July 2026, 11:55pm AEST
- Official job ad: View the official job ad
NSW Government application requirements
Application requirements are the materials used to screen whether you have addressed the role properly. For this campaign, the written application needs to show more than general policy knowledge. It needs to demonstrate that you can bring structure to an issue, work with the right people and give a senior audience advice they can act on.
Application requirements
- CV, approximately 3 to 5 pages
- Cover letter, approximately 1 to 2 pages, explaining why your experience and skills fit the role
The campaign also lists relevant tertiary qualifications and/or extensive experience in a related discipline, plus pre-employment probity screening, as conditions of engagement. Keep your cover letter focused on your evidence. Use the application form to provide any required eligibility details.
Candidate evidence areas
These are practical evidence areas to address in your application. They reflect the work described in the campaign and are presented as application guidance.
| Evidence area | How to demonstrate it |
|---|---|
| Research and analysis of complex issues | Use an example where you assessed competing information, identified risks or opportunities, and formed a sound view. Explain the sources you considered and the judgement you applied. |
| Clear executive or Ministerial advice | Show how you translated technical, commercial, legislative or policy material into a briefing, recommendation or options paper. Include the decision the advice supported. |
| Policy, strategy or project delivery | Describe a discrete piece of work you progressed from scope through to a usable output, such as a policy proposal, project plan, briefing package, consultation response or implementation approach. |
| Stakeholder collaboration | Give an example of working across teams, agencies, industry or community interests. Make your role in resolving different views clear. |
| Strategic awareness and adaptability | Show how you kept track of an emerging issue, adjusted your approach as new information arrived, and helped others understand the implications. |
Example application structure
The application asks for a CV and a cover letter, with the cover letter approximately one to two pages. Use it to make a focused argument about the senior policy, project or analysis work you can contribute. The table below shows a practical structure for that cover letter.
| Cover letter section | What to include |
|---|---|
| Opening paragraph | Name the stream or combination of streams that fits your background, then state the level and type of work you bring. |
| Complex issue analysis | Use one concise example showing the issue, the evidence you assessed, the risks or trade-offs, and the recommendation you developed. |
| Advice and communication | Show how you turned difficult material into a clear briefing, options paper or recommendation for an executive, Ministerial or other senior audience. |
| Delivery and collaboration | Explain how you kept a project or policy task moving, coordinated stakeholders and managed deadlines or changing priorities. |
| Closing paragraph | Reconnect your experience to the NSW Resources portfolio and the contribution you would make to evidence-based strategy and policy work. |
What the panel will want to see in your examples
- A specific problem with a clear decision or delivery context.
- The evidence, legislation, market information or stakeholder input you considered.
- How you identified risks, opportunities or practical options.
- Clear writing and recommendations suited to the audience.
- The result for a project, decision, organisation or community.
Before you submit
A strong application for this talent pool is selective. Choose examples that demonstrate your judgement on a difficult issue and the quality of advice you can provide at Clerk Grade 9/10. The NSW cover letter template can help you organise the written case before you draft.
If you want help shaping the examples, cover letter or written responses for this application, Team 3Thirty offers professional application writing support from a government hiring manager. Read the official job ad again before submitting, particularly if the online form requests additional fields.