Defence Force Senior Officer
What the work is
Plans, organises, directs, controls and reviews the strategic direction, day-to-day operations, and major functions of organisational units of the Australian Defence Force through subordinate officers.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Provides strategic direction and management, and develops operational plans for the Defence Force
- Consults with other senior officers and directs subordinate officers to organise and coordinate the deployment of personnel and resources for Defence Force operations
- Assesses situations, reviews recommendations and reports, and responds accordingly by issuing commands and directives to subordinate officers
- Reviews and evaluates the performance of subordinate officers and Defence Force units, and directs and oversees the training and development of personnel
- Decides or approves Defence Force appointments
- Represents the Defence Force at negotiations and official events or engagements, and liaises with external stakeholders
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a fictional regional logistics and supply operation, and the senior leaders who oversee its many units. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- All the departments you lead deliver on the same day, and nobody had to chase anyone
- A manager you promoted two years ago runs her first big project without your help
- You turn a long-running argument between two units into a plan both can live with
Hard days
- Two excellent managers want the same resource and you can only give it to one
- Hearing about a problem last, after everyone else already knew
- Making decisions on incomplete information, then explaining them to everyone
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 121232, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.