Ready to make a significant impact in the realm of emergency services? The Project Officer Facilities role at NSW State Emergency Service is your chance to do just that! With a competitive salary and the opportunity to contribute to a vital community service, this role is a smart career move.
Now is the perfect time to apply for the Project Officer Facilities position. This role offers a unique opportunity to work with a dedicated team in a flexible location.
Learn more about the application process in our Unofficial Guide to Mastering NSW Government Recruitment and get started with our free NSW cover-letter template.
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Project Officer Facilities Salary and Overview
| Position Title | Project Officer Facilities |
| Organisation / Entity | NSW State Emergency Service |
| Location | Flexible (Rhodes, Goonellabah, Metford, Tamworth, Wagga, Dubbo, Goulburn, Wollongong) |
| Work Type | Full-Time |
| Base Pay | $110,266 – $122,058 |
| Closing Date | 07/07/2025 |
About the Project Officer Facilities at NSW State Emergency Service
The Project Officer Facilities role is pivotal in ensuring that the NSW State Emergency Service’s facilities are optimally managed and maintained. This position involves working closely with a small team to develop frameworks for effective facilities asset management, ensuring that volunteers can efficiently support their communities. The role requires a deep understanding of operational needs and the ability to define facility requirements that guide funding prioritisation and long-term planning.
Key responsibilities include defining facility standards, collaborating with Zone staff, engaging with local councils, identifying funding opportunities, and supporting condition reporting. The role is crucial in improving the condition of volunteer headquarters across more than 240 locations state-wide, which range from heritage buildings to shipping containers. The diversity of these facilities and the communities they serve adds complexity to planning and decision-making processes.
The NSW SES is a trusted volunteer-based emergency service, recognised for its versatility and commitment to community preparedness and emergency response. With over 10,000 volunteers, the NSW SES is dedicated to saving lives and creating safer communities.
Why Project Officer Facilities Is a Great Opportunity
This role not only offers a competitive salary but also provides a platform for professional growth and development within the public sector.
Here are some reasons why this opportunity stands out:
- Competitive salary range of $110,266 to $122,058 plus superannuation.
- Full-time ongoing role with flexible work arrangements.
- Opportunity to be based around the state.
- Opportunity to work in a meaningful and rewarding environment.
- Access to a range of professional development and wellbeing programs.
- Work with a diverse and inclusive team committed to community service.
Application Requirements for Project Officer Facilities
Application Process
To apply for the Project Officer Facilities role, ensure you include the following documents:
- A cover letter (maximum of one page) responding to the essential requirements.
- Responses to each of the targeted questions (maximum of one page per answer).
- An up-to-date resume of no more than four pages detailing your skills and experience.
What to Include in Your Government Cover Letter
To apply for Project Officer Facilities, you’ll need a strong, evidence-based cover letter. Include clear examples showing how you meet the criteria below.
- Have experience in the facilities management or construction industry, or a related operational support environment.
- Contribute to a collaborative team culture by bringing ideas, solutions and structured plans that reflect diverse perspectives and lead to shared outcomes.
- Deliver quality results with a degree of autonomy, working effectively with colleagues and stakeholders across multiple locations.
- Gather, analyse and interpret technical information and external factors to develop effective, data-driven conclusions.
- Use a wide range of digital tools and platforms to organise, present and communicate information clearly and effectively.
- Approach challenges with a practical and flexible mindset, applying sound judgement to identify workable solutions.
Target Questions for Project Officer Facilities
Answer the following questions in your application:
- Explain how you have contributed to the development or improvement of a policy, strategy or procedure as part of a large-scale project or within a complex organisational environment. What was your role, what challenges did you face and what was the impact of your contribution?
- Describe a project you worked on where effective communication and collaboration were critical to its success. What was your role, how did you engage stakeholders and team members, and how did you determine the best way to do this?
Project Officer Facilities Application Checklist
| ✅ | Read the full job ad — open the listing on I Work for NSW |
| ✅ | Draft with the free template — use the NSW Government cover letter template |
| ✅ | Use the STAR method — follow the STAR method guide to structure examples |
| ✅ | Really want this role? — get a $39 Cover Letter Review |
| ✅ | Submit & prep for interview — apply by 07/07/2025 and book an interview prep session |
Candidate Profile — Project Officer Facilities
Emily is a Facilities Administrator with just over three years of experience in the private logistics and property services sector. In her current role at a national freight company, she supports the management of multiple depot sites across regional NSW, assisting with maintenance scheduling, contractor coordination, and asset tracking. Emily has developed practical skills in using digital platforms to monitor facility condition reports, plan minor works, and contribute to safety and compliance reporting. Her role has required her to juggle competing priorities, coordinate with remote teams, and support operational decisions through structured, data-informed insights.
Now seeking a move into the public sector, Emily is motivated by the opportunity to support essential community infrastructure and work within a purpose-driven organisation like the NSW SES. She is eager to apply her growing knowledge of facilities planning in a setting that values collaboration, flexibility and continuous improvement. With a strong work ethic, a practical approach to solving problems, and confidence in engaging a range of internal and external stakeholders, Emily is well-prepared to take the next step in her career as a Project Officer supporting vital emergency service assets across NSW.
Example Cover Letter — Project Officer Facilities
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am excited to apply for the Project Officer Facilities role with the NSW State Emergency Service. With over three years of experience in facilities administration within the logistics sector, I bring a practical, hands-on understanding of operational environments, a collaborative working style, and a deep interest in contributing to meaningful infrastructure projects that support communities across the state. I am particularly drawn to the NSW SES’s commitment to volunteer-based service and would welcome the opportunity to help improve the facilities that support its frontline response.
I have experience in a facilities management support environment, having worked as a Facilities Administrator for a national freight company. One of my key responsibilities was supporting the maintenance and upgrade schedule for 12 depots across regional NSW. When several sites began experiencing compliance delays due to outdated records, I was tasked with coordinating a reporting and scheduling refresh. I reviewed existing asset registers, engaged contractors to conduct inspections, and collated a master maintenance tracker using Excel and the company’s FM platform. As a result, the business restored full compliance across all sites within eight weeks and reduced the average time-to-repair by 20%.
I consistently contribute to a collaborative team culture by bringing forward structured, practical solutions. During the development of our annual depot works plan, I noticed that our centralised team often missed key input from regional supervisors. I proposed a simple workshop model and coordinated a series of virtual meetings where local staff could feed in issues directly. I created a shared summary report that grouped suggestions by theme (e.g. safety, functionality, cost impact) and presented this to senior leadership with recommendations. This process led to the inclusion of several priority projects previously overlooked, and strengthened engagement across our wider operations team.
I have demonstrated the ability to work independently and deliver quality outcomes across geographically dispersed teams. When a roof leak at our Wagga depot caused repeated operational disruptions, I was asked to coordinate the response. With minimal supervision, I arranged an urgent site inspection, briefed the local operations manager, sourced quotes from regional contractors, and negotiated a temporary workaround while waiting for repairs. Throughout, I provided regular updates to management and ensured minimal service downtime. The job was completed within three weeks, and my proactive handling was acknowledged in the company’s monthly performance review.
I regularly analyse technical information and external factors to support decision-making. For example, when helping prepare a business case to upgrade three rural depot sites, I was responsible for gathering site usage data, maintenance history, and estimated contractor costs. I combined this with qualitative feedback from staff and developed a comparison table showing operational risk and cost-benefit for each option. This analysis was used to justify a staged investment approach, which was approved by the leadership team and integrated into the next capital works plan.
I am confident using a range of digital tools to present and communicate information. In my role, I’ve used tools like SharePoint, MS Planner and our internal FM system to manage contractor bookings, asset registers and compliance tasks. I also maintain project dashboards and reporting spreadsheets in Excel, which are shared weekly with our operations managers. For a recent depot upgrade project, I used PowerPoint and Canva to create a visual progress update that helped non-technical stakeholders easily understand key issues and timelines.
Finally, I pride myself on bringing a practical and flexible mindset to day-to-day problem solving. When COVID-related delays disrupted a key maintenance window at one of our depots, I worked with the site supervisor to adjust the scope and reprioritise critical repairs. I rescheduled non-essential work, liaised with contractors about new dates, and adjusted budget forecasts accordingly. These changes kept the project on track while ensuring we met our core safety obligations. My ability to remain adaptable under pressure helped us avoid escalation and unnecessary cost.
I have also prepared a response to the two target questions for this role below.
I am excited by the opportunity to bring my private sector experience into a community-focused environment and would welcome the chance to contribute to the important work of the NSW SES. I look forward to the opportunity to discuss my suitability further.
Thank you for considering my application.
Warm regards,
Emily
Target Question Response Examples — Project Officer Facilities
Explain how you have contributed to the development or improvement of a policy, strategy or procedure as part of a large-scale project or within a complex organisational environment. What was your role, what challenges did you face and what was the impact of your contribution?
In my role as a Facilities Administrator with a national logistics company, I played a key role in improving our depot maintenance planning procedure, which was part of a broader project to enhance asset reliability across over 30 sites.
The original approach relied on individual depot managers to flag maintenance needs, leading to inconsistent reporting, duplicated works, and a lack of strategic oversight. I was asked to support the development of a more structured, forward-planning model that could be scaled across all regional sites. My role involved reviewing historical work order data, identifying gaps in preventative maintenance, and collaborating with our compliance and operations teams to design a repeatable, data-informed procedure.
One major challenge was the variation between depot sizes and operational demands, which made it difficult to apply a single model. To address this, I developed a flexible framework based on three tiers of site criticality, with each tier assigned a tailored inspection and maintenance schedule. I also helped design a simple template to track upcoming works, integrated with our asset register system. After piloting the framework at five regional depots, we refined the process and rolled it out nationally.
The impact was significant: scheduled maintenance compliance increased by 35% in the first quarter, emergency repairs dropped, and site managers reported greater confidence in planning and budgeting. My contribution helped embed a clearer, risk-based approach to facilities upkeep and supported the long-term asset planning goals of the business.
Describe a project you worked on where effective communication and collaboration were critical to its success. What was your role, how did you engage stakeholders and team members, and how did you determine the best way to do this?
One project where communication and collaboration were vital was the refurbishment of one of our older freight depots in regional NSW, which required coordination between contractors, head office, and local staff to minimise operational disruption during works.
As the Facilities Administrator, I was the main point of contact for coordinating works and updating stakeholders. The depot was a high-volume site, and management was concerned about any impact on freight movements. At the same time, the site had recurring drainage issues that needed urgent rectification. My role was to ensure the project stayed on track while balancing safety, operational continuity, and contractor availability.
To engage stakeholders effectively, I began by mapping all the key players — local supervisors, safety officers, head office managers, and contractors. I scheduled a virtual kickoff meeting to align expectations and proposed a communication rhythm that included weekly progress emails, a shared online schedule, and a site-based contact sheet for urgent queries. I created a visual Gantt chart in Excel that showed work phases alongside operational impacts, helping the local team plan ahead.
A key success factor was being proactive in adapting the communication based on feedback. For example, when the local team said they were overwhelmed by technical detail, I simplified the updates to focus on what was happening, when, and what impact it would have. When a last-minute change to contractor availability emerged, I brought all parties together for a 15-minute huddle call to quickly agree on an adjusted sequence.
Thanks to this structured yet flexible approach, the project was completed on time with minimal disruption to depot operations. The site manager later commented that it was the smoothest upgrade they had been involved in — a result I credit to strong upfront planning and clear, inclusive communication throughout.
How to Use the STAR Method for Project Officer Facilities Applications
The STAR method — Situation, Task, Action, Result — is used to structure responses in public sector applications. It helps the selection panel clearly understand how a candidate has applied their skills in real-world situations.
In Emily’s response to the first targeted question, she uses this structure effectively:
- Situation: The company’s depot maintenance planning process was inconsistent across more than 30 sites, leading to compliance gaps and operational inefficiencies.
- Task: Emily was asked to contribute to the development of a scalable, data-driven procedure that would support long-term maintenance planning across the business.
- Action: She analysed historical maintenance data, engaged with compliance and operations teams, and designed a tiered planning framework aligned to site criticality. She also created user-friendly templates and led the pilot rollout across five depots.
- Result: The new procedure increased scheduled maintenance compliance by 35% in the first quarter and reduced emergency repair frequency. The process was rolled out nationally and recognised as a key operational improvement.
Emily’s use of STAR clearly demonstrates her ability to assess operational needs, work collaboratively, and implement sustainable, evidence-based solutions in a complex, multi-site environment.
If you are preparing your government application, get your cover letter reviewed to make sure that your STAR method example meets the hiring manager requirements. All reviews include cover letter and responses to target questions.
Preparing for Your Project Officer Facilities Government Interview
NSW government interviews typically involve a panel of interviewers and focus on STAR-based questions to assess your suitability for the role. It’s essential to prepare thoroughly, practicing your responses to potential questions.
Practice interview questions:
- How do you prioritise tasks when managing multiple projects?
- Can you provide an example of a time you improved a process?
- Describe a situation where you had to adapt to a significant change at work.
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Get Your Project Officer Facilities Application Ready Now
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