The organisation:
The Uniting Church in Australia (the Church) is a large uniquely Australian Christian denomination in Australia with heritage from historical reformed evangelical denominations. In Queensland, the Uniting Church has around 250 congregations and has early childhood, schools, colleges and large community services (such as UnitingCare Queensland and Wesley Mission Queensland).
The Uniting Church is multicultural, committed to reconciliation with First Peoples, calls for reconciliation across its communities and aims to use its people and property resources wisely and in the furtherance of God’s mission in the world.
Position purpose:
The purpose of this role is to provide specialist project management and change leadership across a program of work, consistent with the Uniting Church Office of the Synod portfolio and project management (PPM) framework, combining strong project management capability and end-to-end change management leadership to enable adoption and embedding of new operating models, service delivery approaches, and ways of working across the Synod Office.
Key responsibilities:
- Develop and actively manage detailed project plans for the program of work, aligned with existing program management methodologies including scope, schedule, risks, issues and dependencies.
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Develop and actively manage a detailed project plan for individual projects, as part of the larger program of work, aligned with existing program management methodologies.
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Develop and lead a comprehensive change management strategies and plans aligned to program objectives, operating model pillars (service model, structure, process, technology, people) and recognised frameworks.
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Analyse stakeholder engagement level data to monitor sentiment throughout the program, analysing trends, risks and opportunities.
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Establish and support executive sponsor alignment and change champion networks.
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Prepare project documentation and reporting outputs, including project artefacts, recommendations and information requests in line with the project’s size and scope.
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Liaise and engage in effective communication with internal and external stakeholders, facilitating workshops, discussions and decision-making forums, including problem solving and negotiation skills to achieve project results.
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Undertake administrative and logistical tasks associated with the allocated projects, including arranging project meetings as required.
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Identify and report on project, issues and risks that may impact on project outcomes.
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Lead business and system requirements gathering activities including stakeholder interview, workshops and process walkthroughs to analyse current state and future state processes, translate business needs into clear, structured requirements. Work collaboratively with users, SMEs, enablers and vendors to validate and refine requirements.
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Lead and embed effective change management practices to support successful adoption of project outcomes acting as a trusted change partner, addressing resistance and reinforcing new ways of working.
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Assess change impacts on people, processes, systems and ways of working by supporting the development of change approaches including communications, engagement, training and transition planning.
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Apply human-centred design principles to understand user needs, experiences, pain points and developing solutions that ensure solutions are practical, inclusive and focused on delivering value to end users.
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Model the values of the Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod in day-to-day work, including in interactions with managers, lay staff, ministry agents, clients and stakeholders.
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Work within the policies and procedures of the Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod and the provisions of the Workplace Health and Safety and other relevant legislation, including reporting hazards/incidents, support for injured workers and full participation in return-to-work plans.
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Undertake other duties as and when directed within the scope of the role and the capabilities of the incumbent.
Key performance indicators:
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For 100% of assigned projects, establish and maintain Synod PPM-compliant project artefacts (Scope statement, schedule, RAID log and governance cadence) within 10 business days of project initiation, and keep them updated as per project cadence requirements.
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Deliver at least 85% of project milestones on or before the baseline due date each quarter (or approved re-baseline date), with schedule variance and corrective actions documented in the project status report.
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Human-centred design (HCD): For 100% of projects that introduce or change user-facing processes/systems, complete HCD discovery within 6 weeks of initiation (or prior to solution design sign-off), including at least 5 user/stakeholder interviews (or agreed sample), synthesis of insights (personas/journey map and top pain points), and validation of proposed concepts with users (e.g., playback/prototype review) with documented outcomes and agreed actions.
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Maintain stakeholder engagement and change adoption by: (a) achieving an average stakeholder sentiment score of at least 4.0/5.0 (or agreed baseline +10%) on monthly pulse checks for active projects; and (b) delivering agreed change deliverables (communications, training and transition plan) by their due dates for 100% of releases.
Reporting relationship and delegations:
This position reports to the Strategic Portfolio and Performance Manager.
Key relationships include team members – specifically the Secretariat, Office of the Synod staff, church and agencies.
Delegation Level: As per project scope.
Selection criteria:
1. Qualifications:
1.1. Tertiary degree in business or related field
1.2. Certificate 4 or Diploma in Project Management an advantage
2. Experience and Skills:
2.1 Prior project-based experience, preferably across a wide variety of projects and including demonstrated planning, management and reporting skills. Previous experience with a project methodology an advantage.
2.2 Demonstrated business analysis and system requirements gathering skills, including documentation and validation, to support project planning and prioritisation.
2.3. Demonstrated ability to research and gathering information, including synthesising, summarising and presenting relevant key facts.
2.4. Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, trouble-shoot and to meet short and long-term deadlines.
2.5. Ability to work effectively as a team member or independently.
2.6. Familiarity with Microsoft Office suite of software programs.
2.7. Demonstrated change management capability supporting adoption of new systems, processes or ways of working.
2.8. Practical understanding and application of human-centred design principles.
2.9. Service: personable with a commitment to initiating and building strong relationships with key stakeholders/customers across the Church and its agencies, boards and committees of the Synod
2.10. Responsibility: demonstrated attention to detail, timeliness, analytical and focussed on outcomes.
2.11. Respect: highly developed verbal and written communication skills with the ability to manage competing views.
2.12. Integrity: demonstrated ability to act with impartiality and honesty.
2.13. Commitment to working within the purpose and values of the Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod and adhering to the policies, organisational requirements and processes.
Additional requirements:
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Suitability Card for Child Related Employment (Blue Card) – All adults who work with people under 18 years in QLD in regulated employment are required to undergo a “Working with Children Check” under the screening provisions of the Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act. Presentation of a current Suitability Card must be made before appointment to the position can be confirmed.
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The successful applicant must be eligible to legally work in Australia and proof of eligibility may be requested.
- Behave in accordance with the values of the Office of the Synod.
