Introduction
The Category Specialist at NSW Treasury helps manage Waste Management Contract 9698, a whole-of-government arrangement serving thousands of sites across NSW. The work covers current supplier performance and the planning needed for the next waste and resource recovery arrangement. It suits someone who can use procurement knowledge and large datasets to explain a service problem, recommend a response and help agencies use the contract effectively.
This guide explains how to apply for Category Specialist with the waste category in mind. Your required resume needs to show the procurement or analytical work you have performed, while the application process also includes pre-screening questions. Read those questions early so you can select examples that fit their wording and any limits given in the form.
A useful example could follow a supplier performance issue through the records you checked, the discussion with the supplier and the improvement you helped secure. Applicants with a procurement analytics or business intelligence background can explain how their reporting informed a commercial decision. Keep your contribution clear and describe any sustainability or resource recovery outcomes only where you can support them with evidence.
View the official job ad and keep its application instructions open while you plan.
Category Specialist role snapshot
| Role | Category Specialist |
| Organisation | NSW Treasury |
| Location | Sydney City |
| Employment | Ongoing, full-time |
| Salary or remuneration | Clerk Grade 9/10, $133,348 to $146,945 per year |
| Job ID | 599998 |
| Closing date | 9:59 am, Wednesday 7 October 2026 |
NSW Government application requirements
Give the hiring team the documents and written responses it requests, within the stated limits. Check the application form before drafting so the final submission follows the required format.
Application requirements for Category Specialist
- Up-to-date resume detailing knowledge, skills and experience relevant to the role
- Pre-screening questions as part of the application process
Prepare your resume and check the pre-screening questions before finalising the application. The question wording and any response limits are available during the application process. A cover letter is not listed as a required document; add one only if the application form offers an optional upload and it contributes useful evidence.
Role conditions and qualifications
- Ongoing Treasury employment requires Australian or New Zealand citizenship or Australian permanent residence
- Background checks and confirmation of tertiary academic qualifications before commencement
- Relocation expenses and employer-sponsored work visas are not supported unless specifically stated in the advertisement
Candidate evidence for Category Specialist
Help manage Waste Management Contract 9698 through supplier relationships, contract governance and data analysis while contributing to the future category and renewal strategy. The evidence areas below help you choose examples for that work.
| Requirement or evidence area | How to demonstrate it |
|---|---|
| Data analysis using Power BI, Excel and reporting tools | Describe a dataset you checked and analysed, the insight you found and the procurement or supplier decision it informed. Explain how you checked the reliability of the figures before presenting them. |
| Category, procurement and supplier management | Choose a sourcing or contract example and explain your responsibility, the commercial issue and how you worked with a supplier to deliver the agreed outcome. |
| Relationships, collaboration and negotiation | Show how you reconciled different operational needs across agencies or business units and reached a workable agreement with the people delivering the service. |
| Competing priorities and ownership of workstreams | Explain how you assessed the urgency of contract issues, kept routine reporting moving and followed a difficult matter through to resolution. |
| Clear advice on complex information | Use a report or briefing example in which you explained performance or market information clearly enough for a decision maker to act. |
| Interest in sustainability and future category planning | Connect relevant work or informed interest to waste avoidance, recycling or resource recovery. Where you have done market analysis, show how it helped shape a future sourcing choice. |
Example application structure for Category Specialist
The required resume should connect your career history with the analytical and procurement work in this category. No resume page limit is stated, and you should follow any limits given for the pre-screening answers in the application form. The outline below helps you make the relevant experience easy to find while preparing those answers separately.
| Application section | What to include |
|---|---|
| Resume profile | Introduce your procurement, category or commercial analytics background and the kinds of contracts or data you have worked with. |
| Analytical achievement | Describe a Power BI, Excel or reporting contribution with the decision it supported and a result you can substantiate. |
| Supplier and contract achievement | Show your responsibility for a supplier issue, contract review or sourcing activity, including the governance steps you followed. |
| Relevant relationships and delivery | Include achievements that explain how you worked across different operational needs and completed a demanding workstream. |
| Pre-screening answers | Read each question in the application form and select the example that answers it directly, keeping within the stated response limit. |
Before you submit
Confirm the early closing time of 9:59 am on 7 October, complete the pre-screening answers and check that your resume makes the relevant analytics and procurement work easy to locate. Read the Contract 9698 User Guide and NSW Procurement Policy Framework to understand the operating context. Remove unsupported claims about savings or sustainability and keep enough detail to explain your calculations at interview.
Return to the official vacancy for the final document and deadline check.
Help with your Category Specialist application
If you want help organising your own evidence and preparing the written documents, request application support from Team 3Thirty. Bring the vacancy and your current CV so the application can address the work you have actually done.