Purpose of specific work area and position

Rural Fire Service Queensland (RFSQ) Districts are focussed on supporting a range of operational and organisational functions in the management of rural fires, enabling field-based staff and volunteers to concentrate on immediate task execution and response. Each District encompasses operational and support staff, RFSQ volunteers and rural fire brigades who provide fire management, mitigation, and response services for rural and semi-rural communities, including some urban fringe areas across the state.

The purpose of the role is to oversee operations across Area Offices (between two and four service delivery units) to drive excellence in prevention, preparedness, response and recovery activities for bushfires and other emergencies across the district.

Reporting to the Assistant Chief Officer District, you will work closely with volunteers as well as other Area, District, Regional and State stakeholders to contribute to the strategic regional and operational planning, implementation and evaluation of district-wide and department-wide, programs and initiatives to enhance rural fire management within the District. You will provide operational leadership and guidance to Area Operations teams, volunteers, and Brigades in mitigating the impact of bushfire, by promoting community awareness and education initiatives on fire prevention and ensuring appropriate oversight of operational decision making at a District level. You will ensure operational capacity and capability across the District (for staff and volunteers), enabling community protection and suitable fire management response.

Mandatory requirements

• Must meet the mandatory requirements as outlined in the generic RFSQ Superintendent role description.

Highly desirable requirements

• Knowledge of or experience in resource management appropriate to volunteers for the prevention, preparedness, response and recovery phases in community support.
• Experience in or knowledge of the concepts, strategies and issues associated with managing a volunteer environment.

Primary duties

This RFSQ Role Specification Statement appends to the generic RFSQ Chief Superintendent role description (key accountabilities and capabilities), and provides clarity on the duties of this role, and will see you lead by example and model QFD values and behaviours in the delivery of the responsibilities of the role, which includes:

• In consultation with the with Assistant Chief Officer, lead, manage, and coordinate RFSQ operations during large-scale multi-agency incidents and disasters within the District, and maintain operational awareness and oversight to ensure effective response across the District.
• In collaboration with the Regional Asset Officers and the Asset Services Division, oversee the management and purchasing of district operational assets, through financial management best practice, ensuring fit-for-purpose appliances, fleet and equipment is available to meet operational requirements.
• Oversee resources to ensure general operational capacity and capability across the District, including managing the senior on-call roster for the District.
• Liaise with Bushfire Mitigation to oversee the execution of bushfire mitigation activities in the District, including coordinating Chief Fire Wardens and leading the bushfire season debrief for the district.
• Provide District input into capability planning, regional strategic and operational planning, and contribute to the execution of these plans to meet performance requirements for the District.
• Support activities that ensure the achievement of performance requirements for the district, including the identification and management of District risk, and oversight of the financial budget.
• Monitor asset usage for compliance to asset operating standards and policy, including approval of equipment purchasing in line with delegations and the equipment plan, and the final acceptance of assets into the fleet and infrastructure / portfolio.
• Represent RFSQ at a District level during complex major incidents with a particular focus on the management of the political, economic, social, technical, legal, and environmental impacts on the local community.

Additional information

• Be able to meet the attributes of the generic Superintendent, (RFSQ) role description.
• Inspectors (FSINS) or applicants with equivalent industry experience, appropriate skills, and knowledge, are encouraged to apply.
• Volunteers and external parties with appropriate skills are highly encouraged to apply, noting that they may be asked to provide additional information to satisfy internal policies.
• Have a proven commitment to maintaining bushfire competencies and operating in a regional team environment.
• Incumbents may be required to travel and work within their area of responsibility and may also be required to undertake intrastate and/or interstate deployment and travel.
• This is a day work position yet may require flexible hours of work to meet functional demands, including working at night on weekends as part of the role.
• Incumbents appointed to this position will participate in a personal professional development programme developed in conjunction with their supervisor.
• Incumbents must have proven commitment to maintaining competencies and operating in a team environment.
• Those appointed to a role within the QDMA (Queensland Disaster Management Arrangements) framework will undertake appropriate regularly training, to maintain your role within RFS as a member of any QDMA appointed position.
• This Role Specification Statement is linked to the generic role description, that provides the ‘key accountabilities’ and ‘capabilities’ to be addressed by the applicant. Applicants are strongly encouraged to review this role specification statement with the role description and consider the requirements when preparing their application.

​​​​​​​Note: Where there is a conflict between the Role Description and the Role Specification Statement, the Role Description will prevail.

• More information on how to apply is provided in the relevant QFD Application Guide.