Are you ready to make a significant impact in the conservation sector? This Senior Project Officer Job at Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) is an opportunity to make a career change. This is a high level organisational role in government that manages operations, not just projects.
This role is featured as part of the Project Management Professionals series – highlighting the abundance of project related roles across the NSW Government. Below, I show you exactly what you need as part of your Senior Project Officer Job Application to ensure you get through to the shortlist.
Intrigued? Check out the Unofficial Guide to NSW Government Recruitment and start your application with our free NSW cover letter template.
Table of Contents
Senior Project Officer Job Salary and Overview
| Position Title | Senior Project Officer |
| Organisation / Entity | Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) |
| Location | Sydney Region / Sydney – West |
| Work Type | Full-Time / Ongoing |
| Base Pay | Environment Officer Class 9 |
| Closing Date | 20/08/2025 |
About the Senior Project Officer Job at DCCEEQ
This position provides high-level executive, coordination, and business support to senior leaders in the Planning, Offsets and Threatened Species division of DCCEEW. It’s a varied role that combines project delivery, operational support, and process improvement to keep the division running efficiently and in line with government policies and compliance requirements. You’ll be working closely with leaders, administrative teams, and corporate services to deliver business planning, risk management, procurement, records management, and workplace health and safety functions. The role also includes financial oversight, performance reporting, and leading initiatives to enhance systems and workflows across multiple branches.
If you’ve managed projects in the private sector, your skills in planning, coordinating, and delivering results will translate well here. While the environment is policy-driven and compliance-heavy, the fundamentals—managing timelines, engaging stakeholders, balancing competing priorities, and driving continuous improvement—are the same. Experience with structured reporting, governance, and risk frameworks will be particularly valuable, as will your ability to adapt commercial project methodologies to the government’s operational and regulatory context.
Why This Senior Project Officer Job Is a Great Opportunity
This role is a great opportunity for someone looking to gain leadership experience in government. It oversees the enabling functions of a large department, ensuring operations run smoothly and effectively.
In this position, you’ll manage a diverse portfolio of projects. Rather than focusing on a single initiative and getting lost in the detail, your challenge will be to keep multiple priorities moving forward at once—balancing competing demands while maintaining quality outcomes.
With a salary range of $124,322 to $138,494, it offers competitive pay, making it possible to transition from the private sector to the public sector without taking a pay cut.
Senior Project Officer Job at DCCEEW highlights:
- Ongoing, full-time position
- Hybrid working supported.
- Ideal for candidates with strong project management experience.
- Chance to develop expertise in government protocols and systems.
- Perfect for those looking to gain public sector experience.
Application Requirements for Senior Project Officer at DCCEEW
To maximise your chances of success, it’s important to follow the application instructions exactly. Missing documents or using the wrong format could result in your application being set aside. Here’s what you need to include:
- A comprehensive resume
- A cover letter outlining your interest in and suitability for the role
There’s no specific guidance on length for this role, but I recommend a 3-page CV and a 2-page cover letter. Your cover letter should directly address the role’s capabilities, which I’ve outlined below. You can start drafting yours now using this free NSW Government cover letter template.
Candidate Requirements For Senior Project Officer Job
For this role, you must address all of the following capabilities:
- Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to collaborate with a broad range of stakeholders.
- Strong experience providing business, coordination, and administrative support to executives.
- Capacity to deliver complex projects in a high-pressure environment.
- Proficiency in delivering projects, resources, and processes to support compliance with corporate requirements, including:
- Business planning
- Program management
- Performance reporting
- Risk management and assurance
- Complaints management
- Procurement
- Records management
- Workplace Health and Safety
- Sound understanding of government budgeting and budget management processes.
- Ability to apply government protocols and engage effectively with corporate systems.
Sounds like a lot? See below example cover letter on how to address each capability clearly.
Candidate Profile — Senior Project Officer
Cal is a Project Assistant in the banking sector with five years’ experience supporting large technology and compliance projects. He coordinates schedules, manages project documentation, and works with stakeholders across multiple departments to keep initiatives moving. Known for juggling competing priorities under pressure, Cal has also introduced reporting improvements that sped up executive approvals.
His background in project coordination, risk tracking, and budget monitoring translates well to the NSW Government context. Cal is skilled in using business systems, working within governance frameworks, and communicating effectively with executives and diverse teams—making him well-equipped to manage the operational and executive support demands of this role.
Senior Project Officer Example Cover Letter
Dear Hiring Manager,
With over five years’ experience in the banking sector, I have developed a strong background in providing project coordination, documentation management, and governance support for large-scale technology and compliance programs.
Currently, as Project Assistant at Country Bank of Australia, I work closely with project managers and senior leaders to keep schedules on track, maintain accurate records, and coordinate communications between stakeholders. Previously, as Project Coordinator at North Group, I supported the delivery of multi-department initiatives by organising project resources, monitoring budgets, and ensuring compliance documentation met audit requirements. I am known for handling competing priorities under pressure, identifying ways to improve reporting efficiency, and keeping projects moving smoothly.
I bring to this role strong problem-solving skills and the ability to collaborate with a broad range of stakeholders. In a compliance technology upgrade involving five departments, I noticed delays caused by misaligned task dependencies. I suggested and helped set up joint planning workshops, captured action items, and maintained a shared progress tracker so all teams could see the latest updates. I also followed up regularly with task owners to close out outstanding items. These actions kept work on schedule and helped the project finish ahead of plan.
I have extensive experience providing business, coordination, and administrative support to executives. Supporting the Executive Manager of Technology Risk, I manage a complex calendar, prepare meeting packs, and coordinate inputs for senior-level reports. I improved meeting preparation by reorganising templates to make key points easier to find and introducing a pre-distribution process so attendees could review materials in advance. This allowed meetings to run more efficiently and improved the quality of discussions.
My role has prepared me to support the delivery of complex projects in high-pressure environments. During a major system migration for over 3,000 staff, I updated schedules daily, prepared revised documentation to reflect scope changes, and assisted with coordinating test activities when new regulatory requirements were introduced mid-project. By keeping records accurate and making sure all updates were communicated promptly to workstream leads, I helped the project team stay on track and meet its original delivery date.
I also have strong proficiency in supporting projects, resources, and processes to meet corporate compliance requirements. I maintain and update risk registers, prepare procurement documentation for review, track WHS action items, and ensure records are stored in line with governance requirements. I also collate data for performance reporting, cross-checking information with multiple sources before final submission to ensure accuracy.
With a sound understanding of budgeting and budget management processes, I regularly monitor project budget spreadsheets, reconcile expenditure against forecasts, and highlight variances for review. In one instance, while supporting a technology compliance project, I noticed during a monthly budget check that actual expenditure was tracking significantly below forecast. My task was to investigate and report the cause to the project manager. I reviewed purchase orders, confirmed invoice statuses with the procurement team, and updated the budget tracker with accurate committed costs. I then prepared a short variance report summarising the underspend and its potential impact on project resourcing. This allowed the leadership team to make an informed decision to reallocate the surplus funds to an urgent security initiative, ensuring the budget was fully utilised and priority work was completed within the financial year.
Finally, my ability to apply government protocols and engage effectively with corporate systems comes from working within structured governance frameworks and secure enterprise systems. I ensure records meet organisational and legislative requirements, follow data protection protocols, and assist in onboarding new staff to the correct processes.
I look forward to contributing my coordination skills, attention to detail, and commitment to supporting efficient, compliant project delivery within the NSW Government.
Kind regards,
Cal
How to Use the STAR Method for Senior Project Officer Job Applications
The STAR Method is a structured way of responding to selection criteria or interview questions by outlining:
- S – Situation: Provide the background or context.
- T – Task: Explain the specific responsibility or challenge you were faced with.
- A – Action: Describe what you did, focusing on your individual contribution.
- R – Result: Detail the outcome, ideally with measurable improvements or benefits.
This method ensures your responses are clear, focused, and demonstrate how your experience meets the requirements of the role. Each example should be concise yet complete, showing not only what you did but also why it mattered.
Example from Cal’s Experience:
- Situation: While working as a Project Assistant at Country Bank, I was supporting a compliance technology upgrade involving five different departments. Delays were occurring due to misaligned task dependencies and unclear communication between teams.
- Task: My role was to assist the project manager in improving coordination so that milestones could be met on time.
- Action: I suggested and helped set up joint planning workshops, took detailed notes to capture action items, and created a shared progress tracker so all teams could access up-to-date information. I regularly followed up with task owners to check progress and resolve small issues before they became larger problems.
- Result: This improved visibility across the teams, reduced delays, and allowed the project to be completed ahead of schedule while maintaining compliance standards.
When applying for NSW Government roles, structuring your responses this way ensures you address the selection criteria directly and demonstrate your capability with concrete evidence.
For more guidance, check out our STAR Method Guide.
How To Get Your Government Application Sorted
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