Candidate information pack: Assistant Director, Communications and Media

• Candidate information pack: Assistant Director, Communications and Media (MS Word, 1.1 MB)
• Candidate information pack: Assistant Director, Communications and Media (PDF, 1.3 MB)

Position number: TBA
Position title: Assistant Director, Communications and Media
Group / Team: Communications and Engagement / Communications 
Employment type: Ongoing, Full-time
Classification: Executive Level 1 (EL1)
Salary range: $124,681 to $137,803 per annum plus 15.4% superannuation
Location: Melbourne or Canberra (other locations may be considered). Hybrid and flexible work options are available
Reporting to: Director, Communications and Engagement
Agency Employment Act: Public Service Act 1999
Contact person: Julie Pearce (03 8306 2567)

Applications close on Sunday 27 September 2026 at 11:45pm (AEST).

About us

The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) is Australia’s independent national quality assurance and regulatory agency for higher education. TEQSA protects the interests of students and the reputation and standing of Australian higher education.

As an independent quality assurance and regulatory agency, TEQSA adopts a risk-based approach that is guided by the principles of necessity, risk, and proportionality, and which supports quality, diversity, innovation, and excellence in higher education.

TEQSA has three strategic objectives in delivering its purpose:

1. Promote and support good practice and effective self-assurance across the sector.
2. Identify, analyse, and respond to risks to the sector.
3. Ensure compliance with applicable legislation through effective and efficient regulation.

Our culture

Our organisational culture reflects our Culture Plan 2023 and the core values and behaviours that guide how we approach our work and interact with each other.

The core values by which we operate include:

• Trust – We have confidence in each other to do our best. We encourage open and honest conversations that focus on the issue, not the person. We promote a supportive and safe workplace environment.
• Respect – We approach every situation with kindness, compassion, and an open mindset. We value people, the range of views and experience they bring, and the work they undertake.
• Accountability – We hold ourselves and each other accountable for our actions, how we work together, and the quality of what we deliver. We gather feedback, reflect, and act on opportunities for improvement.
• Collaboration – We draw on our collective strength by encouraging each other to contribute to the achievement of shared objectives. We provide context and information to help others succeed.

At TEQSA, we are building a working environment that aligns with our cultural values and cultivates a rewarding, stimulating, and engaging workplace. If our organisational culture resonates with you, we want to hear from you.

How we value our employees

TEQSA is committed to investing in its people. So, what’s on offer for you?

• A full-time role in a for-purpose organisation that protects the interests of students and the reputation and standing of Australian higher education.
• Flexible working arrangements, including working from home to balance work and personal life.
• Conveniently located spacious office close to public transport in the heart of Melbourne CBD or in the Parliamentary Triangle Canberra.
• Generous leave entitlements, including study leave to support your professional development, personal leave, and paid time off over Christmas!
• Competitive superannuation at 15.4% and remuneration.
• Professional development that is supported and encouraged so your career continues to grow as you enhance your technical and leadership skills and capabilities and build a career at TEQSA.
• Free Employee Assistance Program for you and your immediate family members. Our external partner is a leading provider of wellbeing and mental health support services.
• Workplace diversity and inclusion. TEQSA welcomes people with diverse skills, experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds. TEQSA encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, people with disabilities, people that identify as LGBTQIA+, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Communications and Engagement Group

TEQSA’s Communications and Engagement Group is responsible for:

• leading TEQSA’s internal and external communications and engagement, including media engagement, website content and digital channels, brand management, social media, internal communications and communication planning and advice
• coordinating the end-to-end production of TEQSA publications and communication products, including planning, content development and refinement, editing, design, production and distribution, in partnership with relevant business areas and subject matter experts
• building and maintaining productive relationships between TEQSA and key external stakeholders, including the Department of Education, other regulators and government agencies, higher education peak and professional bodies, students, employers and the Australian public, and international quality assurance agencies
• coordinating TEQSA’s external engagements and events, including its annual conference and webinars, external speaking engagements, international delegation visits, and other significant engagement opportunities.

About the position

The Assistant Director, Communications and Media leads a small, highly skilled team of multidisciplinary communications professionals delivering TEQSA’s strategic and operational communications.

A key focus of the role is leading and enabling an established, capable team: setting priorities, triaging competing demands, managing workflow and resources, and ensuring high-quality communications are delivered in a timely and coordinated way.

The Assistant Director provides clear direction and support while empowering team members to continue to apply their expertise and take ownership of their work.

The role has a strong focus on media and issues management. You will lead TEQSA’s day-to-day media function, manage reactive and proactive media activity, identify and respond to emerging issues and provide timely, trusted strategic advice to the CEO, senior executive team and other leaders.

You will exercise sound judgement in complex and sensitive matters and identify and manage communication risks.

You will also oversee the planning, development and publication of TEQSA’s key communication products and publications, ensuring work is well coordinated, audience-focused, accurate and delivered to appropriate standards and timeframes.

Working closely to support the Director Communications and Engagement, you will help implement and further develop TEQSA’s communication strategy and translate organisational and regulatory priorities into effective communications.

You will build strong relationships across TEQSA to help distil complex information into clear, consistent and trusted messages that support transparency, understanding of TEQSA’s regulatory role and confidence in the quality and integrity of Australian higher education.

This is a hands-on leadership role. While your primary responsibility is to lead, prioritise and coordinate the work of the Communications team, you will also draw on your own communication and media expertise when issues, priorities or workloads require it.

Interstate travel may be required and, on occasion, international travel.

In summary, you will lead the agency’s communications function with a strong focus on external communications, media and issues management, digital communications, stakeholder engagement and social channels while overseeing aligned internal communication planning and delivery.

Duties

As Assistant Director, Communications and Media, you will be responsible and accountable for:

• leading and managing the Communications team, setting priorities, triaging competing demands and managing workflow and resources; building team capability; and ensuring communication products and services are timely, coordinated and of a consistently high standard
• leading TEQSA’s day-to-day media and issues management, including proactive and reactive media activity, monitoring and identifying emerging issues, managing media enquiries and providing strategic advice on communications and reputational risk
• overseeing the planning and delivery of TEQSA’s communications, including key publications and communication products, website and digital content, social media and internal communications, ensuring they are accurate, accessible, audience focused and consistent with TEQSA’s brand, editorial and relevant Australian Government standards
• strengthening TEQSA’s communications capability and relationships, including implementing and continually improving communications strategies and plans, building productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders, monitoring communication outcomes, and representing TEQSA in relevant cross-agency and sector forums.

Our ideal candidate

TEQSA is looking for high-performing and agile team members who are committed to TEQSA’s role in assuring the quality and integrity of Australian higher education and protecting students’ interests.

Our ideal candidate will have:

1. Demonstrated leadership and people management capability, including setting priorities, managing workflow and performance, building team capability, supporting continuous improvement and ensuring high-quality and timely outcomes.
2. Demonstrated experience in media relations and issues management, including providing strategic media advice, managing proactive and reactive media engagement, responding to complex and sensitive media enquiries, and identifying and managing emerging issues and reputational risks.
3. Demonstrated experience developing and delivering communication strategies and plans that support organisational priorities, working collaboratively with subject matter experts and managing competing priorities and complex projects.
4. Demonstrated ability to build and maintain productive, trusted relationships with senior leaders and key internal and external stakeholders, and to understand and respond to developments in a complex regulatory, government or public policy environment.
5. Sound judgement, resilience and political awareness, with demonstrated ability to work with a high degree of autonomy and provide high-quality, strategic communication advice on complex, sensitive and emerging issues, often within tight timeframes.
6. High level written and oral communication skills, including the ability to translate complex, technical or sensitive information into clear, accurate and compelling communications tailored to diverse audiences, and strong editing and proofreading capability.
7. Sound knowledge of, or the ability to quickly develop knowledge of, the Australian Government and APS operating environment, including relevant communication, accessibility and publishing requirements.

Qualifications and experience

The following experience or qualifications will be highly regarded:

• relevant tertiary qualifications in communications, journalism, or related discipline, and/or substantial relevant professional experience
• communications experience in government, a regulatory environment, higher education or another complex public-facing organisation
• demonstrated experience working across contemporary digital communication channels and platforms
• experience managing complex communications projects and competing priorities
• digital and website content and publications production skills and experience
• project or change management experience.

How to apply

Your application must include the following items:

1. a TEQSA job application cover sheet
2. a current resume (maximum two pages)
3. a two-page cover letter (pitch) (maximum 1,000 words) detailing how your skills and experience address the ‘our ideal candidate’ section (i.e., what makes you the best candidate for the position), and the value you can add to TEQSA.

Once prepared, please submit your completed application to recruitment@teqsa.gov.au.

Handy hints

• Your pitch should be succinct and showcase your skills, knowledge, experience, and qualifications.
• For assistance with preparing your response, you may wish to refer to the Australian Public Service Work Level Standards relevant to the Executive Level 1 (EL1) classification level and Cracking the Code.

Eligibility

The successful applicant must:

• be an Australian citizen
• be able to complete a satisfactory National Police Check
• be able to obtain and maintain an Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA) clearance to Baseline status, supported by TEQSA.

Failure to satisfy any of the above conditions may result in the withdrawal of an offer of employment or termination of employment.

Additional information

• This recruitment process is being conducted to fill an ongoing vacancy.
• A merit pool of suitable applicants will be created from this process and may be used to fill similar ongoing and non-ongoing vacancies. It is active for 18 months from the date of this advertisement.
• Before commencing in the role, the successful candidate will be required to disclose details of any material personal interests in connection with their employment at TEQSA via a Declaration of Interest form and seek approval to undertake any outside employment (paid or unpaid) via an Outside Employment application.
• For further information on this role, please contact Julie Pearce on 03 8306 2567 or email recruitment@teqsa.gov.au.