Securing Critical Geospatial Expertise for National Emergency Preparedness

The Context

Client: Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs)

Service: Specialist Geospatial Development Recruitment Services

Sector: Federal Government – Programming and Development

The Challenge

As part of a critical partnership with the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA), Home Affairs was at a pivotal phase in developing the National Joint Common Operating Picture system – a mission-critical platform designed to coordinate Australia's emergency response capabilities across all levels of government.

This nationally strategic project required specialist Geospatial Development expertise, including enterprise-scale GIS deployment, spatial database management across on-premise and cloud environments, and complex data ETL orchestration using FME and Python. The role demanded someone who could design, optimise and maintain geospatial systems. In addition to technical alignment, Home Affairs needed a collaborative professional capable of operating within agile frameworks and contribute to cross-agency collaboration with various internal and external stakeholders.

Given the National Joint Common Operating Picture system's critical role in Australia's emergency preparedness infrastructure, securing the right candidate quickly was paramount, without compromising on the sophisticated technical and collaborative competencies required.

Our Response

Resolve worked with Home Affairs to recruit for the National Joint Common Operating Picture system, navigating the complex intersection of geospatial technology and national security requirements. The role demanded exceptionally rare technical skillsets combined with high-level security clearance, a combination that proved extremely challenging to source.

With suitable Canberra-based candidates virtually non-existent, we implemented a comprehensive national search strategy to identify professionals with the precise mix of geospatial expertise, clearance levels, and experience delivering critical government infrastructure projects.

Here’s what that looked like:

• Sourced candidates across multiple channels: SEEK, LinkedIn Recruiter, design-specific communities, and our own passive candidate network

• Conducted direct engagement with specialised geospatial communities, GIS professional networks and enterprise technology forums

• 10 considered: Qualified candidates with the relevant skills and experience

• 6 shortlisted: Each with demonstrated experience across large-scale enterprise geospatial platforms, previous government sector experience, and appropriate security clearance levels.

All shortlisted candidates went through:

• Technical interviews focused on geospatial architecture and enterprise GIS deployment

• Behavioural assessments to determine suitability to work in critical government projects

• Detailed reference checks with senior government and enterprise clients

• Reference checks with senior public sector or enterprise stakeholders

• Qualification and certification checks

We also managed the full recruitment process end-to-end:

• Coordinating interviews and preparing briefing packs for Home Affairs’ panel members

• Presenting detailed candidate summaries with capability and fit assessments

• Supporting offer negotiations, onboarding, and post-placement follow-up

The Outcome

The designer we placed hit the ground running, immediately contributing to:

• Implementing advanced geospatial analytics capabilities enabling predictive modelling for disaster response planning

• Establishing standardised GIS deployment protocols that accelerated system integration timelines

• Leading cross-functional technical workshops that aligned geospatial capabilities with broader emergency management operational requirements

• Developing comprehensive system documentation and training materials that enabled knowledge transfer and sustainable platform maintenance

Their work helped Home Affairs and NEMA progress confidently toward the development of a transformative National Joint Common Operating Picture system. They were pivotal in supporting Australia's capacity to coordinate effective emergency responses and protect communities during critical incidents..

Why Resolve

We're not here to just fill a role. This project showed what happens when recruitment is grounded in deep technical understanding, national-scale expertise, and specialised geospatial knowledge.

The right person, in the right seat, at the right time. That’s what Resolve does.