The Principal Project Officer at Homes NSW supports large and complex capital projects that improve the condition of social housing. Two temporary full-time positions are available in the Capital Upgrade Unit, both running to 30 June 2028. The work has a practical public purpose: helping deliver clean, safe and habitable homes for people and communities across NSW.
This guide explains how to apply for Principal Project Officer and organise your evidence within the required two-page cover letter. You also need an up-to-date resume of no more than five pages. View the official job ad for the full role details and application portal.
The two positions share a need for strong project and contract management. Position 1 focuses on procurement support and delivery of capital programs, including the SHEPI and Acquisition Upgrade programs. Position 2 adds people leadership, reporting, engagement across business units and organisations, and management of business support for the unit.
Your application should make it easy for the panel to see which position best fits your background while establishing your ability to work across complex programs. NSW Government panels assess compliance with the application instructions and the quality of the evidence provided, so stay within both page limits and use examples that show your decisions, relationships and results.
In This Guide
- Role snapshot
- NSW Government application requirements
- Application requirements for Principal Project Officer
- Candidate evidence to include
- Example cover letter structure
- What the panel will want to see
- Before you submit
- Application help
Principal Project Officer Role Snapshot
| Role title | Principal Project Officer |
|---|---|
| Organisation | Homes NSW, Department of Communities and Justice |
| Location | Parramatta, with hybrid work |
| Job reference | 85439-44383123 |
| Work type | 2 temporary full-time roles to 30 June 2028 |
| Grade | Clerk Grade 11/12 |
| Salary | $154,231 to $178,369 per annum, plus superannuation |
| Closing date | 31 August 2026 at 11:59pm AEST |
| 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 process. For this campaign, the page limits are part of that assessment. A well-written application still needs to arrive in the correct documents and within the stated maximum lengths.
Application Requirements For Principal Project Officer
- Cover letter outlining how you meet the role requirements, maximum 2 pages
- Up-to-date resume, maximum 5 pages
The cover letter is the main opportunity to interpret your experience for this role. Use it to connect your project work with the Capital Upgrade Unit’s programs, explain the scale and complexity you handled, and show how your contribution affected delivery, reporting, procurement or stakeholder outcomes. The resume should then support those claims with a clear employment history and concise achievement bullets.
Essential Role Requirements
DCJ is seeking relevant tertiary qualifications and/or comparable relevant experience. State the pathway you meet clearly in the cover letter and place any relevant qualification where it is easy to find in the resume. Equivalent professional experience should be described through the level of responsibility, project scale and specialised work you have performed.
NSW Government Candidate Requirements
Candidate requirements describe the skills, knowledge and experience the panel needs to assess through your examples. The areas below are practical evidence priorities for these two Principal Project Officer positions. Select examples that demonstrate several connected areas while keeping your individual contribution clear.
Candidate Requirements For Principal Project Officer At Homes NSW
| Evidence area | How to demonstrate it |
|---|---|
| Project and contract management | Use an example involving a substantial program, procurement or supplier arrangement. Explain the scope, governance, milestones and controls you managed, then connect your actions with delivery, quality, cost or risk outcomes. |
| Fit with the position responsibilities | For Position 1, prioritise procurement support and capital-program delivery. For Position 2, include people leadership, reporting, engagement across internal and external groups, or management of a business support function. |
| Evaluation, research or social planning | Describe how you gathered and assessed evidence to develop a project option, refine an initiative or evaluate performance. Link the work with social housing policy or another relevant community-service environment where you can do so accurately. |
| Critical analysis | Show how you weighed competing information, recognised contextual issues and reached a defensible conclusion. Name the recommendation or decision that followed and the risk or constraint you helped manage. |
| Data and management reporting | Provide evidence of managing a large dataset, checking its quality and turning it into a useful management report. Explain which measures mattered and how leaders used the resulting insight. |
| Written, oral and interpersonal communication | Choose work that involved clear reports or briefings, purposeful discussions and relationships across teams or organisations. State how your communication enabled agreement, resolved an issue or kept delivery moving. |
Example Application Structure For Principal Project Officer
The application requires a cover letter and resume, with the cover letter carrying the detailed evidence for your suitability. Keep the cover letter to a maximum of two pages and the resume to a maximum of five pages. The table below shows how to organise the cover letter around the work and requirements of these positions.
| Cover letter section | What to include |
|---|---|
| Opening paragraph | Name the Principal Project Officer position you are best aligned with, or explain your fit across both. Summarise your project and contract management experience and connect your motivation with Homes NSW’s capital upgrade work. |
| Project and contract delivery example | Set out one substantial example involving procurement, a contract or a complex program. Cover your responsibility, the delivery challenge, the controls you used and the result. |
| Analysis, evaluation and reporting example | Use a second example to show how you assessed evidence, worked with data and produced a recommendation or management report. Make the decision trail and effect on the project easy to follow. |
| Position-specific contribution | Address the responsibilities that distinguish your preferred position, such as capital-program procurement support or people leadership, reporting, engagement and business support. Include communication and stakeholder evidence within this section. |
| Qualification or equivalent experience | Confirm the relevant qualification or comparable professional experience you bring. Keep this concise and connect it with the level of work described in the letter. |
| Closing paragraph | Reinforce your fit with the Capital Upgrade Unit and the contribution you can make to safe, habitable social housing. End with a direct statement of interest in discussing the role. |
What The Panel Will Want To See In Your Examples
- Your personal responsibility within a large or complex project, including the decisions and controls you owned.
- Sound contract or procurement practice connected with an observable delivery result.
- Analysis that recognised policy, operational, community or asset-management context.
- Reliable use of data and reporting to help leaders understand performance and act.
- Relationships that supported delivery across internal teams, service providers or partner organisations.
- A clear fit with the distinct responsibilities of Position 1 or Position 2.
Before You Submit
- Keep the cover letter within two pages and the resume within five pages.
- Name the position responsibilities that best match your experience.
- Include project scale, stakeholders, constraints and results in each major example.
- Check that analytical claims are supported by a decision, recommendation or report.
- Confirm the closing time and final application fields through the official job ad.
Help With Your Principal Project Officer Application
Team 3Thirty’s free NSW cover letter template can help you shape the opening, evidence sections and close. If you want role-specific support choosing examples and fitting them into two pages, request professional application help.
Return to the official job ad before submitting to confirm the closing time and application portal requirements.