Associate Director – Media Engagement

• Full time, permanent role
• Hybrid flexible working arrangements, attractive paid leave provisions and professional development support offered
• Applications closing: Wednesday, 11 March 2026, 12:00 pm AEDT

Agency overview

Infrastructure Australia (IA) is an independent statutory body within the Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts portfolio. 

Our mandate establishes us as the Australian Government’s independent advisor on nationally significant infrastructure investment planning and project prioritisation. We are a high performing organisation with an engaged, collaborative and flexible culture, and we are held in high regard by our peers and stakeholders. 

Our core values are fundamental to the way we work and are embedded across our products and processes.

Primary purpose of the role 

The Associate Director - Media Engagement plays a key role in enabling Infrastructure Australia's proactive and effective engagement with its diverse suite of stakeholders including media, all levels of government, industry and the community. Working closely with the Director – Communications & Engagement, the role is responsible for promoting and influencing public debate on infrastructure in Australia through the media and other channels in support of the organisation’s strategic objectives.

The ideal candidate will have strong relationships with national infrastructure and political journalists, a proven track record of developing and executing successful media strategies, good understanding of the political landscape in Australia and strong experience in reputation management and proactively identifying and managing issues.

The role is responsible for providing strategic advice and support across various aspects of Infrastructure Australia’s engagement and executing IA’s responsibilities to Parliament including Senate Estimates, correspondence with the Minister’s Office and Questions on Notice. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Support the Director – Communications & Engagement by managing communications and engagement plans for each of Infrastructure Australia's key stakeholder groups; collaborating with externally facing positions across Infrastructure Australia
• Research and develop proactive story pitches to achieve Infrastructure Australia's media objectives and enhance reputation.
• Lead the development, execution and evaluation of communication and media campaigns for public launches, including the development of key messages and products, and managing emerging media and communications issues, including dealing tactically with day-to-day issues and media inquiries as well as effectively identifying and managing risks
• Provide briefings and advice to the CEO and executive about media issues, strategies and media engagements
• Develop a variety of compelling content communications and stakeholder engagement deliverables to inform and support effective engagement with the media and stakeholders (e.g. speeches, web content, policy documents, fact sheets, op-eds, newsletters, press releases and presentations, and briefing documents and reports)
• Develop strong working relationships across a range of stakeholders both internally and externally to enhance IA’s reputation
• Support the team with regard to its responsibilities to Parliament including Senate Estimates, correspondence with the Minister’s Office, Questions on Notice and appearances at Senate Inquiries
• Lead the day-to-day management of Infrastructure Australia’s brand including the maintenance of brand guidelines and the production of publications, and oversee Infrastructure Australia’s mass communication channels including the website, e-newsletters and social media in line with the Corporate Affairs strategy and brand guidelines
• Monitor media and proactively track all relevant media coverage to inform the development of communications outputs, advice and briefing to Infrastructure Australia leaders regarding external engagement activities
• Prepare engaging, high quality and strategically aligned messaging and content across traditional and digital media channels, within a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Manage Infrastructure Australia's online presence, including the website, social media accounts and email communications, drawing on external providers as required, ensuring alignment with Infrastructure Australia's brand and Corporate Affairs strategy.

Essential Requirements:

• Tertiary qualifications in a relevant discipline and/or significant experience in senior media, Public Relations or Communications roles
• Must be an Australian Citizen
• Strong media-savvy, political acumen and demonstrated experience successfully engaging political and senior government stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to identify, engage and maintain productive relationships with key stakeholders across a range of industries with diverse and potentially competing interests
• Excellent communication skills including advanced writing and editing abilities and an ability to engage effectively with diverse stakeholders using a range of channels and media.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across functions to achieve shared goals and to translate organizational goals into stakeholder engagement strategies and communications plans
• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute effective communication and engagement strategies

Benefits of working at Infrastructure Australia:

• We are committed to supporting employee health and wellbeing and offer a range of initiatives including genuine hybrid and flexible working arrangements to help you balance your professional and personal life.
• Attractive leave provisions including 20 days paid annual leave, 15 days of paid Personal Leave, 18 weeks of Parental Leave for parents at full pay or 36 weeks at half pay (for eligible employees) and up to 3 additional days of paid leave when our offices close over the Christmas period.
• Professional Development support offered through extensive in-house training and external training/education support.
• We have a positive, collaborative, respectful, innovative and inclusive culture evidenced by staff surveys which show that our employees feel empowered, autonomous and proud to work here.
• At IA we foster a safe an inclusive workplace where every individual can participate, learn and develop and be their authentic self, regardless of age, cultural background, First Nations status, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, marital or family status, religious belief or sexual orientation.
• IA is currently in the second phase, “Innovate” of our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), in this stage we are implementing systemic change in our organisation to support the mission of reconciliation for First Nations people. We are passionate about change and making progress towards better outcomes for First Nations people.

How to apply

• Please reach out to Jacob Young at careers@infrastructureaustralia.gov.au for salary band, position description and any questions regarding the recruitment
• Upload ONE document (Covering letter + Resume) via LinkedIn
•  Closing Date: Wednesday, 11 March 2026, 12:00 pm AEDT

We welcome and encourage applications from diverse backgrounds, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, LGBTQI+, people with disability, people with caring responsibilities, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

To find out more about our current and upcoming Job opportunities follow us on LinkedIn #InfrastructureAustralia