About Inner West Council

Inner West Council is among Sydney’s larger local government agencies looking after a vibrant community of 201,000 people living in some of the inner city’s most vibrant, creative, liveable and diverse suburbs.

As we continue to deliver quality, innovative and inclusive programs and services, we would love it if you can join in our journey towards becoming the best council for our community.

We are committed to the principles of Equal Employment Opportunity, WHS, sustainability, continuous improvement and business excellence. The community is at the heart of the organisation and Council puts its values of Integrity, Respect, Innovation, Compassion and Collaboration at the centre of everything that we do.  We are here to be of service to the community and make Inner West a great place to be. We expect commitment to these values from all employees in performing their respective roles.

We offer flexible career life balance with hours that allow you to relax and recharge. We offer a variety of flexible work arrangement options (e.g. flexible hours and working from home) where appropriate giving you even greater quality of work life balance.

Permanent employees benefit from our great value gym membership from $15.50/week giving access to a vast network of gyms in Sydney.

About the role

The Environment and Sustainability Group is responsible for operations, strategic and annual planning and implementation of programs, projects and policy for the Inner West Council to deliver the outcomes and goals of the Community Strategic Plan. The role of Environment and Sustainability is to provide expert advice and guidance on matters relating to best practice environmental management across a range of areas, including water quality and waterway health, integration of flood management issues in the public and private domain, energy and climate change, biodiversity and the role of urban areas in providing ecosystem services including habitat protection and restoration, local food production, waste recovery and minimisation, transport and community engagement.

The Urban Ecology Team is focused on the health and integrity of ecosystems in the Inner West. The team provides technical, practical and engagement expertise working with other Council teams and with the community (business and residents) on improving natural capital. The team responds to water, soils, flora, fauna and biodiversity issues and will be focused on forward planning, policy and local and regional partnerships as well as community engagement.

The Senior Planning and Policy Officer will work collaboratively on integrated water and biodiversity strategies, management plans and community programs, mainly through the development and implementation of a place-based planning program in partnership with communities and Council groups. The role includes identifying and developing projects resulting from place-based planning. It is responsible for capacity building via education and information exchange between Council, the community and regional groups on biodiversity, urban water management and soils through education, incentives, community action and strategic planning. The role is responsible for progressing major policy projects such as Council’s Biodiversity Policy and working closely with professional disciplines such as town planners and engineers to provide expert environmental advice on the development and planning of the local built environment.

The Senior Planning and Engagement Officer reports to the Coordinator Urban Ecology and supports the Manager and staff across Council on sustainability projects as directed.

Please read the Position Description to familiarise yourself with all the requirements and conditions of the role. 

Remuneration

$88,970.44 - $99,637.72 + Superannuation

Some of the required skills, experience and qualifications 

1. Tertiary qualifications in a field such as Environmental Science or Natural Resource Management Ecology, Planning, Sustainability or a relates discipline and relevant industry experience.
2. Good knowledge of key urban ecology challenges and opportunities e.g. biodiversity and threatened species management and human behaviour change, climate resilience.
3. High standard of communication including interpersonal, presentations, written and verbal communication skills and the capacity to prepare project reports, educational and engagement materials, grant applications and program evaluation.
4. Experience in community consultation and community engagement, especially in a local government local capacity building context.

Enquiries

Luke Murtas, Senior Manager Environment and Sustainability on 9392 5202

Closing Date

Sunday 11 June 2023, 11:30PM

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How to Apply

We recommend you read the Position Description for the role to make sure your application addresses the requirements of the position. Council is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all applicants. Please advise us within the application if you need support, reasonable adjustments to participate successfully in the recruitment process.

All new workers must be and remain fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to beginning their work or hold a valid medical contraindication.

Eligibility for employment/Pre employment Checks

Successful applicants must be eligible to work in Australia and agree to provide information for pre-employment checks as required for the position. This may include police records checks, certified copies of relevant qualifications, Driver’s Licence and proof of work rights in Australia (please refer to the Position Description for the specific qualifications/requirements for the role).  Copies of any sighted documents will be kept by IWC for its records as proof of verification.

For more information about work rights in Australia please visit the Department of Home Affairs website.

Inner West Council is a Diversity employer. We encourage applications from all candidates.

Council is committed to reconciliation and strongly encourages Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and mature aged workers to apply.