Senior Nursing Advisor - Chief Nursing and Midwifery Office

The Senior Nursing Advisor plays a critical leadership role in shaping national policy and programs across nursing and midwifery, health workforce, health system reform, and health professional education. The position provides authoritative strategic advice on complex and emerging issues, contributing to policy development and implementation across a range of priority areas including primary care, mental health, aged care, and workforce reform.

Working in a dynamic and highly collaborative environment, the Senior Nursing Advisor influences national health priorities through the development of evidence-based policy, strategic stakeholder engagement, and the delivery of high-quality advice to senior executives, government, and external partners.

The role also provides leadership at national and international levels, fostering productive and enduring relationships with key stakeholders, including state and territory governments, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers, professional and regulatory bodies, academic institutions, consumer organisations, employers, and other government agencies.

• Provide expert strategic advice to senior executives, the Minister, and internal and external stakeholders on complex nursing and midwifery, health workforce, education, and health system issues.
• Lead and contribute to the development, implementation, and evaluation of policy and program initiatives that support national health priorities and workforce outcomes.
• Undertake high-level analysis of complex and sensitive issues, identifying risks, opportunities, and evidence-based solutions to inform decision-making.
• Develop, interpret, and implement policy, taking into account organisational priorities, stakeholder interests, and broader political and strategic considerations.
• Represent the Department in cross-government, interjurisdictional, international, and sector-wide forums, advocating departmental priorities and building collaborative partnerships.
• Lead and manage projects and initiatives, including planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and oversight of contracted service providers and consultants.
• Build and maintain effective strategic relationships and networks across government, academia, professional organisations, health services, industry, and consumer groups.
• Prepare and oversee the development of high-quality written materials, including briefing papers, Cabinet submissions, Ministerial correspondence, speeches, policy reports, business cases, Senate Estimates materials, and other corporate documentation.
• Contribute to a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement, providing leadership and mentoring to support team performance and organisational objectives.

To be eligible for employment with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, applicants must be an Australian citizen at the time an offer of employment is made.  

An applicant’s suitability for employment with Health will also be assessed through a variety of pre-employment check processes, such as:  

• Satisfactory completion of a criminal history check, and where relevant, a Working with Children and Vulnerable People Check,
• Completion of a medical declaration and pre-employment medical (where required),
• Providing evidence of qualifications (where required), and
• Obtaining and maintaining a security clearance at the required level.  

For this role applicants must be able to obtain and maintain a Baseline security clearance or hold a current security clearance at an appropriate level. 

To be eligible for this role, applicants must be registered as a Registered Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.

Applications close 11:30pm AEST.   

Applicants are asked to quote reference number 26-HPADIV-31822 to assist when making an enquiry.   

This recruitment process is being used to fill both ongoing and non-ongoing positions. Non-ongoing positions will be offered on a specified term basis for an initial period of up to 12 months with the possibility of being extended (this will not exceed a total of 24 months in the same or similar role). 

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing is focused on achieving better health and wellbeing for all Australians. If you would like to join our team, and can meet our job requirements, we invite you to apply for a position with us to build better health, better care and better quality for all Australians. The department is committed to providing an inclusive and diverse workplace where the experiences, skills and perspectives of all individuals are valued. We actively encourage applications from diverse backgrounds and cultures, so we can better represent the community we serve. The department welcomes applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, mature age people, people who identify as LGBTI+, and people with parenting and/or caring responsibilities.