Vacancy Details

Agency Purpose

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is an independent statutory authority established by the Australian Government to maintain an impartial and independent electoral system for eligible voters through active electoral roll management, efficient delivery of polling services, and targeted education and public awareness programs.

The AEC’s values and commitments

The AEC values and commitments are an essential component of our operating environment and frame how AEC staff work. The AEC's focus is on electoral integrity through the values of quality, agility and professionalism.

The Team

The Command Centre is a newly built and fit-out facility within our centrally located Canberra Office. It is a state-of-the-art, purpose-built Centre focused on providing support to the Agency in the delivering on electoral integrity for the Nation.

This position sits within the AEC’s Media and Digital Engagement Section who are responsible for monitoring, analysing and responding to media and social media coverage and engagement related to election processes. The Team manages AEC media releases, fields media enquiries, creates digital information products and provides briefing notes to AEC spokespeople, among many other things.

This position works closely with the Principal Media Advisor for the AEC and the Command Centre Watch Keeper.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to be a part of something huge and revolutionary for the AEC. The Centre is of great importance to the AEC’s daily operation and provides an experienced Media Officer with an opportunity to play a legitimately impactful role within the agency. It is an opportunity to use your media nous to inform important decisions and protect the reputation of Australia’s electoral system.

Responsibilities of the role include, but are not limited to:

  • Undertaking research and help with the preparation of documentation and activities regarding pertinent media issues. This may include issues briefing notes, media releases, media enquiries, media training of AEC Spokespeople, and other related activities. 
  • Providing media advice and proactively inform the Watch Keeper of trends.
  • Providing advice and considerations alongside the intelligence and information provided to support the Watch Commander.
  • Assisting with the management of proactive media engagement initiatives. 
  • Compiling reporting upon request to ensure that all media activities are captured. 
  • Assisting in the projection of media monitoring information up on to the large digital screens.
  • Maintaining situational awareness of the election and/or incident/crisis.

The Media Officer operates within the Media and Digital Engagement Section of the newly-formed Electoral Integrity & Communications Branch but will be located in the AECCC on a rotational basis (including during an Election Mode and Incident and Crisis Management Mode) and report to the Watch Keeper during that time.

To excel you’ll have:

  • A willingness to work outside of standard business hours as required during Election Mode
  • Knowledge and experience of Canberra and Australia wide media.
  • A communications or other qualification relevant to public relations. 
  • Knowledge and experience in successfully completing allocated tasks, accepting stated importance of tasks and to a compliant standard while delivering results within competing timeframes and priorities. 
  • Community management skills within a complex media environment, demonstrating resilience and calm when dealing with complaints or a challenging situation.
  • Analytical abilities with the ability to obtain accurate conclusions and apply innovative initiatives to address any issues that arise during the Election period. 

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.