Policy graduate careers
Brochure
Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, February 2011
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Policy graduate careers - brochure [PDF 356 KB]
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade needs your talent, commitment and knowledge.
Do you want a unique career in the international arena?
A graduate position within DFAT offers you the opportunity to implement your extensive academic and personal skills to develop and implement policy that advances Australia’s interests, both in Australia and overseas. The graduate program allows you to continue to develop and expand your knowledge in a broad range of areas — from international legal and security issues to international financial cooperation, trade negotiations and public affairs.
Is this you?
- Will you have a bachelor or higher degree in any discipline by the end of the year?
- Are you an Australian citizen (or will be by 31 May)?
- Would you like to live and work overseas?
- Can you maintain the highest standards of conduct and ethics?
- Are you flexible enough to work on new issues every few years?
If you answered yes to these questions, you could be the graduate we are looking for.
The opportunity
Working in a diverse and challenging environment, Policy Graduates are in the ultimate position to advance their careers as generalist policy officers. Policy staff in the Department take on varied functions including bilateral economic and political relations, bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations, international security and public diplomacy. DFAT staff also have the opportunity to represent Australia on overseas assignments.
We offer graduates support and training to excel in their career.
Are you the right graduate?
Our graduates are resourceful team players who have advanced communication abilities and are flexible and open to change.
If you have a broad range of experiences in any field, have a keen interest in the work we do, and are ready to learn new skills and face exciting challenges, then you may be the right graduate for us.
We are interested in graduates from varied backgrounds. Previous graduates have had degrees in Arts, Asian Studies, Business, Commerce, Economics, International Relations, Language Studies, Law, Science and Medicine.
Professional training
Our graduates undertake a comprehensive two-year professional development program in Canberra, combining work placements with formal training modules and regional travel. Work placements are in a variety of areas including international economic and financial cooperation, international legal, security and strategic issues, trade negotiation and public affairs. The Department provides intensive academic training to recruits with no previous exposure to areas such as international law and economics.
Work overseas
After completing the training program, graduates commence a placement in Canberra and are eligible to apply for overseas postings. Graduates overseas enjoy diverse and varied responsibilities. Typical roles for policy graduates include advocating the Government’s foreign, trade and environmental policies, negotiating bilateral trade agreements and working on UN or WTO committees.
Unbeatable variety
DFAT encourages officers to change roles and master new areas of work every two to four years, creating work place variety and professional satisfaction.
Our graduates are team players who have initiative, advanced communication abilities, and are flexible and open to change.
Competitive salaries and conditions
The Department’s employees enjoy highly competitive pay and conditions including:
- comprehensive superannuation,
- 22 days paid rec leave,
- paid maternity/paternity leave
- three months paid long service leave,
- on-site gym and
- on-site childcare.
The Department offers equity and fairness in the workplace and opportunities for professional development.
Indigenous Australians
In support of the Government’s Closing the Gap: Indigenous Economic Partnership Agreement, the Department is committed to increasing the recruitment of Indigenous Australians including through the use of the APS Special Measures provision.
People with disability
The Department is committed to providing equal employment opportunities, access, equity and social inclusion for people with disability.
Employee profile: Jan
Jan joined the Department in 1998 as a policy graduate and is currently Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in Washington DC.
Jan has a Bachelor of Economics (University of Tasmania), and a Masters of International Relations (Monash University). She has had previous postings in Brussels and with the Peace Monitoring Mission in Bougainville.
Here’s what Jan has to say about working in the Department:
“I would highly recommend DFAT as a career for an economist. As an economist in the Department, I have always felt that my skills have been valued, perhaps more so than if I was in a department full of economists.
Having a good understanding about macro-economic issues and micro-economic reforms held me in good stead whilst on posting to Australia’s Mission to the European Union in Brussels.
My economics experience again proved useful in my next position with the Free Trade Agreements taskforce, where I participated in negotiations with China, Japan and Korea.
I think of my current job, as the head of the Congressional Liaison Office in our Embassy in Washington, as ‘my best job ever’ and wonder what could ever top it. This is a thought, however, that I have had many times before during my time in DFAT.
The opportunities and experiences are endless, often unforeseen and sometimes unexpected.
Life is never dull.”
The recruitment process
Please visit the Department’s website at www.dfat.gov.au/ jobs/graduates to learn more about the graduate recruitment process and how to apply for the Department’s graduate programs.
Corporate Graduate Program
The Department also offers a unique program for graduates with accounting, commerce, ICT and HR management qualifications who are interested in pursuing a corporate career. For details on the Corporate Graduate program, see our brochures or visit our website at www.dfat.gov.au/jobs/graduates.
Indigenous cadetships
The Department s Indigenous Cadetship Program is a sponsorship program that provides Indigenous students with financial assistance during their studies and practical work experience during their summer break.
Information on the Indigenous Cadetship Program is available at: www.dfat.gov.au/jobs/cadetship/.
Need more information?
Visit our website: www.dfat.gov.au/jobs/graduates
Phone: (02) 6261 2736
Email: gradrec@dfat.gov.au
Face to face: We will be visiting your university around March. For information on dates and venues, visit the DFAT website www.dfat.gov.au/jobs/graduates
Alternatively contact your university Careers Centre.