Transition Specialist

Join our Downer Professional Services team and play a key role in delivering complex defence and national security projects that safeguard Australia’s future.  

Downer Professional Services is comprised of two business units, our Technical, Advisory, and Capability consulting practice and Team Downer, a major service partner to Defence. Together, we are a multi-disciplinary advisory and delivery partner of choice for our clients in Defence and National Security. 

About the Role

We are seeking a proactive and organised Transition Specialist to support the planning, coordination and delivery of capability transition activities for a major materiel program transitioning into sustainment within a complex Defence environment.

Working closely with the Transition Lead, you will play a key role in supporting the program through this transition, coordinating activities across engineering, logistics, commercial and sustainment functions and ensuring technical, supportability and operational considerations are brought together throughout transition planning and delivery.

Previous CASG experience, particularly supporting the transition of Defence capability or materiel programs into sustainment, will be important for this role. You will understand the complexities of working across an SPO and be able to navigate Defence stakeholders, competing priorities, dependencies and delivery requirements.

This is a hands-on role for someone comfortable operating with a degree of autonomy in a multidisciplinary, matrix environment. You will bring together information from multiple sources, coordinate stakeholders, identify and monitor risks and dependencies, and take ownership of assigned activities and workstreams to ensure they continue progressing towards agreed transition milestones.

Importantly, the role is focused on enabling transition outcomes and strengthening delivery across the SPO. You will work closely with the Transition Lead as a capable second-in-command, helping coordinate work, support engineering and sustainment activities and independently progress assigned workstreams.

If you are a self-starter with CASG and transition-to-sustainment experience who enjoys bringing structure to complex Defence environments and turning plans into practical outcomes, this is an opportunity to make a tangible contribution to a significant capability transition.

What You'll Do

Working as a key member of the Transition team, you will support the Transition Lead while taking ownership of assigned activities and workstreams. You will help maintain transition plans, schedules, artefacts and reporting, coordinate stakeholder, and engineering inputs, and support the readiness activities required to achieve transition outcomes.

You will:

• Take ownership of assigned workstreams and progress activities through to completion.
• Follow up actions and maintain momentum against agreed transition milestones.
• Gather and consolidate information from multiple sources to support planning and decision-making.
• Identify, monitor and escalate risks, issues and dependencies.
• Facilitate and participate in meetings, workshops and working groups.
• Prepare clear and concise reports, briefs, presentations and management papers.
• Support senior stakeholders with analysis, reporting and information management.
• Contribute to investigations and analysis where required to support transition and sustainment outcomes.
• Identify opportunities to improve transition processes, coordination and ways of working.

About You

You are a highly organised professional who can take ownership, coordinate multiple stakeholders and manage competing priorities. You build strong relationships, work confidently with autonomy and turn complex information into clear actions and practical outcomes.

Just as importantly, you are someone who can build productive working relationships across organisational boundaries and keep people and activities moving towards a common outcome.

You will ideally bring:

• Experience supporting transition, implementation, change, project coordination or capability delivery activities.
• Strong planning and organisational skills, including maintaining schedules, actions and reporting.
• Experience coordinating multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
• Experience working across multidisciplinary or matrix teams.
• Strong stakeholder engagement, communication and interpersonal skills.
• The ability to gather, analyse and synthesise information from multiple sources.
• Experience identifying and monitoring risks, issues and dependencies.
• Strong written communication and experience preparing quality reports, briefs and management products.
• The ability to take ownership of assigned activities and drive them through to completion.
• The ability to manage competing priorities and deliver quality outcomes within agreed timeframes.
• A collaborative approach, initiative and sound judgement.

Qualifications & Experience

You will have one of the following:

• A Diploma or Advanced Diploma in a relevant discipline; or
• A Bachelor’s degree in Business, Project Management, Management, Information Management, Logistics, Engineering or Information Technology; or
• Demonstrated equivalent experience within Defence, Government, industry or another complex operational environment.

Relevant experience could include capability transition, implementation, project coordination, PMO, sustainment, capability support, operational support, logistics, engineering, information management or process improvement.

Military experience within planning, operations, logistics, communications, intelligence or support functions may also provide relevant transferable experience.

Why This Role?

This is an opportunity to work at the centre of capability transition, connecting the people, information and activities needed to move complex Defence capability towards successful transition and sustainment.

You’ll have the opportunity to take genuine ownership of your work, operate with autonomy and work closely with engineering, sustainment and other specialist teams while helping strengthen transition delivery capability across the SPO.