You will join a team of a highly motivated and collaborative professionals that work in the Enterprise Transformation Group (ETG). The ETG is made up of two Divisions, the Chief Information Officer Division (CIOD) and the Enterprise Strategy and Transformation Division (ESTD), that have been established to drive the AEC’s transformation agenda, and to deliver the Election Systems Modernisation Program (Indigo Program) on behalf of the agency.

The Indigo Program is the AEC’s once in a generation digital transformation which is modernising core systems used to deliver elections and maintain the electoral roll. Key goals of the Indigo Program are to improve experiences for AEC staff and citizens, and to ensure that the integrity of Australia’s democratic systems is maintained into the future.

The Indigo Product and Design Branch (IPDB) within ESTD ensures new solutions delivered by the Indigo Program meet the strategic goals of the agency, improve services for end users, meet business needs and follow industry standard best practice.

IPDB is committed to establishing and maintaining a high performing and positive workplace culture. You will operate in a fast paced, dynamic environment, working closely with Directors, Assistant Commissioners, First Assistant Commissioners, and all areas across the ETG.

The Opportunities

Assistant Director, Product Management

Working closely with the Assistant Director, Product Assurance and the Director, Product Management, this role operates within the Product Management Centre of Excellence (CoE) and is responsible for developing and setting standards of best practice; promoting consistency of design across different multi-disciplinary agile delivery teams; ensuring stakeholders (both business owners and end users) are informed and engaged on the products; and representing the CoE and Branch in agile ceremonies and program management forums.

Above all, the Assistant Director, Product Management is an ambassador for the product delivered back to the broader agency, serving as a conduit between the business and the development.

The Assistant Director, Product Management is also part of the Solution Management Team (SMT) on behalf of the CoE, providing not only the voice of the business but that of the other Product Owners and Managers. As a result, to succeed in this role, the successful candidate will have strong stakeholder management skills, with an ability to take in a broad variety of perspectives, process and then communicate them back to different audiences.

Key position responsibilities

The Assistant Director, Product Management will work with limited direction to support the delivery of the Indigo Program. This includes:
Developing best practice guidelines and training for product management within the AEC.
Managing User Advisory Groups for each product to ensure each multi-disciplinary team has a trusted end user network to draw upon.
Representing the Product Management CoE within the SMT to balance priorities between solutions and work packages and provide trusted advice on priorities, value and risk.
Building and maintaining strong relationships with key business and Program stakeholders to ensure the Product Management CoE has the moral authority to represent the broader agency and end users within the agile development process.
Preparing governance committee and position papers on behalf of the CoE.
Serving as a broader leader within the Program, setting standards of behaviour, quality, and contributing to a high-performing team environment.
When needed, acting as a Product Owner or Product Manager within a development team.
This position will have direct reports which may include both APS staff and contractors.

Assistant Director, Product Assurance

Working closely with the Assistant Director, Product Management and the Director, Product Management, this role operates within the Product Management Centre of Excellence (CoE) and is responsible for ensuring the quality of the bespoke solutions developed by the multi-disciplinary agile delivery teams align with the strategic vision of the Indigo Program and meet the needs of the end users and business owners.

As part of this, the Assistant Director, Product Assurance leads and manages the user acceptance testing (UAT) process, bringing a strategic product minded perspective as well as an eye for detail and exceptional organisational skills. This role will also play an active role in ensuring product management best practices are followed throughout the development lifecycle so feedback is received regularly and early, and UAT runs smoothly.

Key position responsibilities

The Assistant Director, Product Assurance will work with limited direction to support the delivery of the Indigo Program. This includes:
Providing quality assurance on behalf of the Product Management CoE, ensuring practices and processes have been followed such that solutions meet the necessary standards for release.
Leading and administering the UAT process for the Indigo Program, which will include managing UAT for multiple products concurrently and testing product and service integration across an end-to-end user experience.
Working closely with Product Owners and Product Managers and other delivery team members to ensure user stories and business requirements are defined and documented ahead of user testing.
Building and maintaining strong relationships with key business and Program stakeholders to ensure the Product Management CoE has the moral authority to represent the broader agency and end users within the agile development process.
Serving as a broader leader within the Program, setting standards of behaviour, quality, and contributing to a high-performing team environment.
When needed, act as a Product Owner or Product Manager within a development team.
This position will have direct reports which may include both APS staff and contractors.

To excel you’ll have:

Assistant Director, Product Management

Mandatory

Experience working in a product management role within a large program (ie, one with multiple multi-disciplinary agile delivery teams working simultaneously).
Excellent project management and organisational skills, with a proven ability to plan and deliver a complex project with shifting priorities, interdependencies, and risks.
Strong stakeholder management skills, with an ability to build and maintain relationships in business owners, with end users, and program delivery staff, and negotiate outcomes within those stakeholder relationships.
Excellent critical thinking skills, with an ability to communicate complex concepts and communicate those to a range of audiences.
Aptitude to quickly learn and digest technical information relating to bespoke application design and development.
Experience improving business practices as part of a continuous improvement environment.
Experience of succeeding in an environment working under limited direction, including managing and prioritising a complex workload.
Ability to effectively manage staff in addition to delivering own work, including daily supervision, setting deliverables, and developing staff.
Desirable

Experience working in a product management role.
Experience in electoral event planning and/or delivery.
Relevant tertiary qualifications and/or industry recognised certifications.
Assistant Director, Product Assurance

Mandatory

Experience with delivering UAT for a complex IT product, ideally in an in-house development context.
Excellent project management and organisational skills, with a proven ability to plan and deliver a complex project with shifting priorities, interdependencies, and risks.
Strong stakeholder management skills, with an ability to build and maintain relationships in business owners, with end users, and program delivery staff, and negotiate outcomes within those stakeholder relationships.
Excellent critical thinking skills, with an ability to communicate complex concepts and communicate those to a range of audiences.
Aptitude to quickly learn and digest technical information relating to bespoke application design and development.
Experience improving business practices as part of a continuous improvement environment.
Experience of succeeding in an environment working under limited direction, including managing and prioritising a complex workload.
Ability to effectively manage staff in addition to delivering own work, including daily supervision, setting deliverables, and developing staff.
Desirable

Experience of delivering user acceptance testing and/or release management for a bespoke product.
Experience in electoral event planning and/or delivery.
Relevant tertiary qualifications and/or industry recognised certifications.
Eligibility

AEC employees must be Australian citizens.
Any person who is, and seen to be active in political affairs, and intends to publicly carry on this activity, may compromise the strict neutrality of the AEC and cannot be considered.
Applicants are required to consent to, undergo, obtain and maintain a character clearance.
Applicants are required to consent to, undergo, obtain and maintain the security clearance required for this role.