Introduction
The NSW Department of Education is recruiting a Senior Policy Officer to help shape how it manages its capital budget. This ongoing role sits in the Capital Policy & Frameworks team in Parramatta, with flexible working arrangements available. It suits a policy professional who can work confidently with financial information and explain its implications to colleagues across the department.
Your application needs to show how you turn financial requirements into policies people can use. Experience developing guidance, researching a difficult budget issue or helping a team apply a new framework can provide useful evidence. The department also asks for a 300-word response about using financial systems and data, so choose that example before drafting the rest of your application.
This checklist explains how to apply for Senior Policy Officer and organise the required documents. View the official vacancy and check the role description before you write. Applications close on 23 September 2026 at 11:59pm.
In this guide
- Role snapshot
- Application requirements
- Evidence to highlight
- How to structure your application
- Before you submit
Role snapshot
| Role | Senior Policy Officer |
|---|---|
| Organisation | NSW Department of Education, Finance, Capital Services |
| Location | Parramatta, with flexible working arrangements |
| Employment | Ongoing full-time, Clerk Grade 9/10 |
| Salary | $133,348 to $146,945, plus superannuation and annual leave loading |
| Closing date | 23 September 2026 at 11:59pm |
| Vacancy | Official advert, source ID 599080 |
Application requirements for Senior Policy Officer
Prepare the following written material. The resume has a five-page limit, while the targeted response has its own 300-word limit. The published instructions do not specify a cover-letter page limit; check the application form before finalising that document.
- Resume, maximum five pages.
- Cover letter.
- Response to one targeted question, maximum 300 words.
Targeted question
Describe your experience using financial systems and data to support financial management, reporting, policy development or decision-making. (300 words)
Use a focused example that lets the panel follow your contribution from the financial information through to a decision or practical policy outcome. If you draw on several systems, name the ones that matter and explain what you did with their information.
Evidence to highlight
The position combines policy development with capital-budget management. Select examples that show you understood the financial context, tested your analysis and worked with the people responsible for putting the guidance into practice. The following are suggested evidence areas drawn from the role’s work.
| Financial policy | Explain a policy or guideline you developed, the financial requirement it addressed and how you checked that colleagues could apply it consistently. |
|---|---|
| Analysis | Describe how you investigated an issue in financial data, compared possible responses and supported your recommendation. |
| Clear advice | Show how you explained a financial concept to people with different levels of finance knowledge. Include the decision or action your explanation supported. |
| Implementation | Use an example of working with finance and operational teams to introduce guidance, resolve concerns and respond to an emerging risk. |
Knowledge and essential requirements
The work requires a good understanding of Australian Accounting Standards, the Government Sector Finance Act and Regulations, and NSW Treasury pronouncements. Financial or budget-management experience is relevant, along with substantial experience interpreting policy and developing resources. Applicants also need knowledge of, and commitment to implementing, the department’s Aboriginal Education Policy and its partnership agreement with the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group.
Essential requirements include qualifications in a relevant discipline or demonstrated equivalent knowledge, skills and experience, and an understanding of the value of public education. For this ongoing appointment, eligible applicants are Australian citizens or permanent residents, or New Zealand citizens. Pre-employment screening includes a National Criminal History Check. Successful applicants who are not already department employees must provide a valid Working with Children Check clearance number; check the vacancy instructions for the conditions applying to a non-child-related role.
How to structure your application
Begin your cover letter with the connection between your policy background and capital-budget work. Develop an example showing how you interpreted a financial requirement and turned it into guidance, then explain how you worked with others to put that guidance into use. Keep the letter focused on the position and give enough detail for the panel to distinguish your contribution from the team’s work.
For the 300-word answer, establish the financial issue briefly, identify the systems or data you used and devote most of the space to your analysis. Explain the checks you made, how you resolved gaps or inconsistencies and how the resulting advice was used. Finish with the outcome you can substantiate. A clear account of one relevant piece of work will let the panel assess your judgment within the word limit.
Use your resume to support those examples with responsibilities and achievements from relevant roles. Give the scale of budgets or reporting work where you can disclose it, and identify policy or guideline work clearly. Keep confidential figures and personal information out of your application.
Before you submit
Check the resume is within five pages and the targeted response is within 300 words. Read the application form for any further instructions, confirm your documents use the correct role title and allow time to upload them before 11:59pm on 23 September. For a question about the role, the vacancy lists Brienne Roberts at brienne.roberts1@det.nsw.edu.au.
Team 3Thirty can help you organise your application evidence and explain your contribution clearly. You can also compare this position with our current NSW Government policy roles or read the NSW public sector recruitment guide before applying.