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AUSTRALIAN CONSULATE-GENERAL, CHENGDU
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About the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
The role of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is to advance the interests of Australia and Australians internationally. This involves strengthening Australia’s security, enhancing Australia’s prosperity, delivering an effective and high quality overseas aid program and helping Australian travellers and Australians overseas. The department provides foreign, trade and development policy advice to the Australian Government. DFAT also works with other Australian government agencies to drive coordination of Australia’s pursuit of global, regional and bilateral interests.
About the Position
This position supports the Consulate’s transport requirements, which includes regular afterhours work and provincial travel. As part of a small team, this position is also a mixed duties position responsible for a variety of corporate tasks such as keeping inventory records, mail and courier services, correspondence with service providers, and general administrative tasks.
Key Responsibilities of the Position-include but are not limited to:
Driver
- Carry out driving duties in a safe and professional manner in accordance with Chinese law, Work, Health & Safety (WHS) regulations, and the consulate’s official vehicle policy.
- Provide support for official visits including assisting with preparation of transport plans, receiving and transporting senior visitors.
- Assist in the maintenance and upkeep of the consulate’s vehicle fleet including coordinating repairs and servicing schedules with external contractors as required.
- Keep accurate logbooks and records for vehicle usage and manage petrol/purchase acquittals.
- Provide timely delivery and collection of invitations, Third Person Notes, mail, banking, and other items as needed.
Administrative Assistant
- Arrange all customs clearances, documentation, and handling processes for import/export consignments, including preparing, sealing, and dispatching diplomatic bags.
- Provide administrative support across office operations including answering phone calls, assisting with visitor registrations, responding to email enquiries, filing, data entry, and managing office supplies.
- Support event logistics and coordination for official visits or functions.
- Support the wider corporate team on general administrative tasks when required.
- Act as the Property Officer/LANA during absences.
Required Qualifications/Experience/Knowledge/Skills
- Well-developed written and oral communication skills in both English and Chinese.
- Experience working in an office/administrative support role at a foreign mission or similar organisation.
- Ability to use standard office computer applications including Microsoft Office suite.
- Valid Chinese driver’s license and demonstrated experience as a professional driver.
- An understanding of vehicle maintenance procedures including the ability to perform basic safety checks and repairs.
- Good knowledge of the roads and geography of southwest China (Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan and Guizhou).
- Ability to read maps, use smart phone mapping applications and plan routes.
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work as part of a small team.
- Experience working with minimal supervision to identify, prioritise, and solve problems.
Additional Information
This is an on-going position, and a probation period will apply. The successful applicant is required to complete relevant pre-employment procedures, such as health and background vetting, before commencement.
Applications are invited from both Chinese and Australian nationals. If the successful candidate is an Australian citizen, they will be responsible for their own transfer and ongoing costs associated with working in China. If necessary, the Consulate-General will provide a letter to assist in obtaining an appropriate work visa for China. Australian national employees will receive a salary loading in lieu of local benefits they are not eligible to receive.
A merit list, valid for 18 months, will be established for this position. The merit list may be used for other positions of the same level and similar capabilities.
How to Apply
Submit an application via email to [email protected]
by 5.00pm, Wednesday 15 July 2026. Applications received after the closing date and time may not be considered. The subject line of your email should include the Position Number and Position Title you are applying for.
Your application, written in English, should include:
- Completed “Application for Locally Engaged Staff Employment’. See Attachment A
- Your application pitch (maximum 500 words). See Attachment B
- Curriculum Vitae (maximum 2 pages).
Applications must be in either Microsoft Word or PDF format, with a maximum email size of 3MB.
For inquiries regarding this position, please contact the Human Resources section at [email protected].
Please note that due to the large volume of applications received, we are unable to respond to each applicant. We endeavour to respond to applicants of interest within a period of four weeks from the application closing date. If you are not requested to attend an interview, please consider your application unsuccessful.
Writing an Application Pitch
Your application pitch is a chance to tell us why you are the right person for the job. We want to know why you are interested in the role, what you can offer us, and how your skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications are applicable to the role.
Your pitch is a marketing document, promoting how you are a strong candidate for the opportunity on offer. This means you should:
- Research the opportunity: read the position description, key responsibilities, and required qualifications and experience carefully; and research the department and its role.
- Know what you have to offer that is relevant: identify your relevant skills, knowledge, experience, qualities; map your relationships with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders to identify what experience is relevant; select examples that demonstrate relevant experience using your skills and knowledge, ones that are of a level of complexity to match the position you are pitching for.
- Make a persuasive case that what you have to offer will enable you to contribute, add value and deliver results.
You do not need to use a different example to demonstrate each of the skills required in the position overview. For example, if the position description states we are looking for a confident communicator, the ability to problem solve and work as part of a team, you could use one example that demonstrates all of these skills. You could then use another example that demonstrates the other skills required.
Try not to duplicate information that can already be found in your curriculum vitae but do highlight any specific examples or achievements that will demonstrate your ability to perform the role.
Try the three-part format as a way to organise your material:
- General statement about the criterion
- Specific example/s to support the criterion
- Link to job on offer
Consider using the STAR method when detailing your examples. The STAR method enables the selection committee to determine the context of the situation, what the task was and what actions you took to achieve a result.
Situation: Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to complete. This should be a description of a specific event or situation, not a generalised description of what you have done in the past and should give enough detail for the panel to understand the context. This situation can be from a previous job, volunteer experience, university or any relevant event where you can demonstrate your skills against the position overview.
Task: What was your role? What were you responsible for?
Actions: Describe the actions you took to address the situation. Include an appropriate amount of detail and keep the focus on YOU. What specific steps did you take and what contribution did you make? Be careful that you don’t describe what the team or group did when talking about a project. For example, the team may have achieved a good result however what part did you play, what specific things did you do to contribute to the end result?
Results: Describe the outcome of your actions. What happened? How was the issue resolved or how did the event end? What did you accomplish? What did you learn and what would you do differently next time? How did the end result impact on the objective of the organisation or team?