Stakeholder & Community Engagement Lead (Southern NSW) (12-Months Max-Term)

Ready to make a splash in your career? WaterNSW is seeking an experienced Stakeholder & Community Engagement Lead (Full-Time, 12 months max-term) to join our Engagement & Education team.

Reporting to the Engagement & Education Manager, in this role you will lead the development and delivery of stakeholder and community engagement strategies that support some of WaterNSW's most significant infrastructure and operational projects across the state. Partnering with project teams, customers, local communities and key stakeholders, you will drive meaningful engagement initiatives that keep people informed, manage project impacts and build lasting relationships. From major infrastructure upgrades to business-critical projects, you'll develop and execute communication and engagement plans and provide strategic advice to ensure successful project outcomes.

This is a highly collaborative role that offers the opportunity to work with an essential organisation in creating a more sustainable future for the state. This role offers the opportunity to work across a diverse range of WaterNSW portfolios, helping shape how we engage with our communities while contributing to projects that deliver long-term value for NSW. Safety, collaboration and stakeholder trust will be at the heart of everything you do.

Location: We are ideally looking to have the successful candidate to be based in one of our WaterNSW Southern NSW offices with preferred office locations of Albury, Dubbo, Leeton and Wagga Wagga.


Our Perks and Benefits:

At WaterNSW, we believe that our employees should be as well taken care of as our rivers, dams, and pipelines, that’s why we offer a load of benefits:

• Flexible working
• Option to work a 9-day fortnight at full pay on the Enterprise Agreement
• Up to 16 weeks paid parental leave 
• Fertility leave 
• Corporate wear allowance  
• Professional development and educational assistance 
• Access to remote area benefit packaging (based on work location)
• Salary starting from $142,610 base + 12% Super
• And so much more! 

Position Purpose: 

Support WaterNSW’s external communication and engagement initiatives, with a focus on building trust and sustainable relationships with stakeholders and communities across urban and regional areas. This includes delivering strategic engagement plans and events, managing community and stakeholder relationships, supporting crisis and incident response, and ensuring communication materials are tailored to project needs; whilst putting safety first. 

What you'll do:

• Support and implement stakeholder and community engagement strategies and action plans to ensure timely, meaningful, and fit-for-purpose engagement aligned with WaterNSW goals.
• Develop and deliver tailored communication materials including newsletters, presentations, speaking notes, fact sheets, draft media releases and digital content to support engagement activities.
• Plan and manage engagement events and forums, including coordination with external contractors and facilitation responsibilities.
• Build and maintain relationships with customers, communities, and stakeholders, including acting as a key contact point and managing sensitive or crisis-related interactions.
• Provide strategic advice and reporting support to internal teams and senior personnel on engagement matters and maintain stakeholder databases (Consultation Manager) and ensure contract compliance with external partners. 

What we are looking for:

• Tertiary qualifications in a relevant field such as community engagement, communications, public relations or significant community engagement experience.
• Proven experience in stakeholder and community engagement, including relationship management and leading conversations across diverse viewpoints.
• Demonstrated ability to project manage engagement activities, including planning and delivering events and forums.
• Experience in developing and implementing engagement plans and tailored communication materials such as newsletters, presentations, and reports
• Current NSW Drivers Licence.
• Nice to Have: Familiarity with the water and/or agricultural industry and its relationship with regional communities.

Who we are:

WaterNSW operates the state’s dams, capturing and storing water, and then supplying it ready for distribution – for the environment, agriculture, industry and the community. With 41 major dams and hundreds of waterways across the state, we play a vital role at the source of the state’s water, delivering two thirds of all water used in NSW.   

We’re the people taking care of the state’s water at the source – capturing, storing, delivering.

How we will support you:


At WaterNSW, we balance flexibility – and the way we work – with the needs of the business, our teams, and us as individuals.  When it comes to working in an office, we work in a hybrid way. If you’re required to be in the field or on site, the benefits of flexibility can be achieved in other ways, such as through a condensed work week. We are proud to be a WORK180 Endorsed Employer and are committed to providing equal opportunities for women. Visit our WORK180 page to access our benefits and career development opportunities.



Our commitment & culture:

No matter how or where you work, safety is the number one priority. This means the physical and mental safety of you, your colleagues, and the public. WaterNSW is committed to building a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. We strongly encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Veterans, and people from all backgrounds to apply. We celebrate the unique perspectives, knowledge and lived experience you bring and are committed to ensuring an inclusive, supportive and respectful workplace for everyone.

Find out more at waternsw.com.au.