Introduction
This guide walks through the application task for the Manager Biosecurity & Emergency Management Communications role with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. The role leads strategic communications and engagement that support NSW biosecurity preparedness and emergency response. You can view the official job ad before preparing your application.
The Manager Biosecurity & Emergency Management Communications role suits a senior communications leader who can operate confidently during complex, sensitive and fast-moving situations. If you are working through how to apply for Manager Biosecurity & Emergency Management Communications, focus on evidence that shows strategic direction, calm judgement, trusted stakeholder relationships and leadership of a capable communications team.
The work spans public information campaigns, preparedness messaging, engagement programs and advice to senior leaders. Your examples should show how you have translated complex or high-risk information for different audiences, influenced decisions across organisational boundaries and kept communication clear when priorities changed quickly.
For this role, you need to submit an approximately four-page CV and an approximately one-page cover letter explaining how your experience and skills make you a strong fit. The closing date is 11:55pm AEST on Wednesday 12 August 2026.
Contents
- Manager Biosecurity & Emergency Management Communications role snapshot
- NSW Government application requirements
- Application requirements for Manager Biosecurity & Emergency Management Communications
- NSW Government candidate requirements
- Candidate requirements for Manager Biosecurity & Emergency Management Communications at Primary Industries and Regional Development
- Essential role requirements
- Example application structure for Manager Biosecurity & Emergency Management Communications
- Help with your Manager Biosecurity & Emergency Management Communications application
Manager Biosecurity & Emergency Management Communications role snapshot
| Role detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Role title | Manager Biosecurity & Emergency Management Communications |
| Organisation | Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development |
| Business area | Agriculture and Biosecurity |
| Location | Statewide, with preference for regionally based candidates and a focus on Queanbeyan, Armidale, Dubbo and Coffs Harbour |
| Job reference | 509955 |
| I Work for NSW job number | 591889 |
| Work type | Ongoing full-time, 35 hours per week |
| Grade | Clerk Grade 11/12 |
| Salary | $154,231 to $178,369 per annum, plus super and leave loading |
| Closing date | 11:55pm AEST Wednesday 12 August 2026 |
| Official job ad | View the official job ad |
NSW Government application requirements
Application requirements are used to check whether each candidate has followed the requested format. A strong application can still be screened out when a required document is missing, significantly over length or too generic to address the role.
For this Grade 11/12 role, the one-page cover letter has to do focused evidence work. Use the CV to show the scope and progression of your communications career, then use the cover letter to connect your strongest leadership examples directly to biosecurity preparedness, emergency response and high-profile stakeholder communication.
Application requirements for Manager Biosecurity & Emergency Management Communications
Submit:
- CV, approximately 4 pages
- Cover letter, approximately 1 page, explaining how your experience and skills make you a strong fit for the role
No targeted questions are displayed with the public application instructions. When you open the application portal, check for any pre-screening or additional questions and use the portal's exact wording when responding.
Keep the cover letter selective. At one page, it should establish your fit quickly and use concise evidence that shows the scale, complexity and outcome of your work.
NSW Government candidate requirements
Candidate requirements are the experience, skills and behaviours the hiring team wants to see through your examples. For this role, the evidence needs to show senior-level communication judgement in environments where information can be sensitive, public expectations are high and several stakeholder groups need timely, accurate messages.
The five areas below come directly from the role's description of the ideal candidate. Use them to choose examples for the cover letter and decide which achievements deserve the most space in your CV.
Candidate requirements for Manager Biosecurity & Emergency Management Communications at Primary Industries and Regional Development
| Requirement or capability from role | How to demonstrate it |
|---|---|
| Leading strategic communications and stakeholder engagement in complex or high-profile environments | Use an example where you set communication direction for a significant issue, program, incident or organisational priority. Explain the context, the audiences involved, the strategy you developed, how you adjusted the approach as risks emerged and the outcome your work supported. |
| Translating complex information into clear, audience-focused messages | Show how you worked with technical, operational or policy specialists to identify what different audiences needed to know. Include the communication products or channels you used and how you checked that the messages were accurate, timely and understandable. |
| Building trusted relationships and influencing outcomes across government, industry and community stakeholders | Choose an example with competing perspectives or sensitive interests. Explain how you established credibility, listened to concerns, advised decision-makers and built enough alignment to move the work forward. |
| Leading high-performing teams and fostering a collaborative culture | Describe the team you led, the expectations you set and how you developed capability across the group. Strong evidence could include improving quality, building surge capacity, strengthening planning or supporting staff through demanding delivery periods. |
| Applying sound judgement and resilience across competing priorities, emerging issues and sensitive communications | Use an example where the situation changed quickly or carried reputational, operational or community risk. Explain how you assessed urgency, escalated decisions, protected accuracy and kept the team focused under pressure. |
Essential role requirements
The role also requires:
- Tertiary qualifications in communications, media, public relations, journalism or a similar field, and/or equivalent experience
- A current NSW driver's licence and the ability and willingness to travel
- Preparedness to participate in emergency responses as part of an Incident Management Team
Final candidates may also be asked to complete reference checks, a national police check, a bankruptcy check, a health assessment or other relevant assessments. Keep these conditions separate from the examples in your cover letter, but make sure your application is accurate about the qualifications, licence and operational availability you hold.
Example application structure for Manager Biosecurity & Emergency Management Communications
This application requires an approximately one-page cover letter supported by an approximately four-page CV, so the letter needs to present a focused case for fit. Keep the cover letter to a maximum of one page unless the application portal gives a different instruction. The table below shows how to use that limited space around the five candidate requirements.
| Cover letter section | What to include |
|---|---|
| Opening paragraph | State that you are applying for the Manager Biosecurity & Emergency Management Communications role. Summarise your senior communications leadership experience, the complex environments in which you have worked and your connection to emergency, public-sector, regulatory, industry or community communication where relevant. |
| Strategic communications leadership | Give a concise example of a high-profile strategy, campaign or response you led. Name the issue, your role in setting direction, the stakeholders or audiences involved and the outcome. |
| Clear communication and stakeholder influence | Use one tightly written example to show how you translated complex information and built alignment across senior leaders, government, industry or community stakeholders. Focus on your judgement and the result achieved. |
| Team leadership | Show how you led and developed a communications team during demanding delivery. Include how you set priorities, maintained quality and supported collaboration or resilience. |
| Emerging issues and emergency readiness | Explain how you have managed sensitive or fast-moving communication, or how your experience prepares you to contribute within an Incident Management Team. Confirm your willingness to travel and participate in emergency responses. |
| Closing paragraph | Reinforce your interest in protecting NSW's economy, environment and communities through clear preparedness and response communication. Confirm the value you would bring as a strategic adviser and team leader. |
What the panel will want to see in your examples
- Personal responsibility for setting communication strategy and advising senior decision-makers
- Evidence of work in complex, high-profile, sensitive or rapidly changing environments
- Clear translation of technical or operational information for different audiences
- Credible influence across government, industry and community relationships
- Leadership that improves team capability, quality and delivery under pressure
- Measurable outcomes such as stronger preparedness, faster coordination, improved public understanding or better stakeholder alignment
Before you submit
Check that the cover letter fits comfortably on one page and makes a clear case for senior-level fit. Each sentence should earn its place by showing strategic scope, personal judgement, leadership or results.
Review the CV against the same five candidate requirements. Bring the most relevant achievements forward, quantify the scale of campaigns or stakeholder environments where possible and make your leadership contribution clear.
Open the application portal before finalising your documents. Follow the exact wording and limits for any screening questions that appear, confirm the filename and upload requirements, and submit before 11:55pm AEST on Wednesday 12 August 2026.
Help with your Manager Biosecurity & Emergency Management Communications application
Before applying, review the official Manager Biosecurity & Emergency Management Communications job ad and the final instructions in the application portal.
Team 3Thirty's NSW cover letter template can help you organise a concise one-page case for fit. If you would like direct support, our professional application-writing service can prepare the tailored CV and cover letter for this role for $497.