About the role

Yarra Trams is seeking a Senior Advisor, Risk to play a key role in strengthening how risk is identified, assessed, and managed across Australia’s largest tram network.

Reporting to the Manager, Risk within the Health, Safety and Sustainability Directorate, this role provides an opportunity to influence safety outcomes at scale. You will work closely with leaders, project teams, and frontline functions to embed effective risk management practices, support regulatory compliance under Rail Safety legislation, and drive continuous improvement across the organisation.

This is a senior, hands on advisory role for an experienced risk professional who enjoys working in complex, operational environments and partnering with the business to deliver practical, evidence based outcomes.

Key responsibilities

Enterprise Risk & Safety Leadership

• Lead the development and review of business and function level safety studies, including hazard identification, deep dive risk analysis, bow-tie analysis, and critical control evaluation.
• Support the identification, development, and monitoring of critical controls and control effectiveness measures.
• Develop and maintain risk profiles and dashboards to support informed decision making and continuous improvement.

Risk Frameworks, Governance & Compliance

• Support the implementation and ongoing improvement of Yarra Trams’ Enterprise Risk Management framework and systems.
• Develop and review risk related SMS processes, including those aligned to the Risk Management and Management of Change (MoC) frameworks.
• Undertake SMS gap assessments and support closure of identified gaps.
• Provide guidance to leaders and teams on practical application of risk management and governance requirements.

Technical Risk & Advisory Support

• Provide specialist risk and safety engineering advice to projects and operations, including hazard assessments, risk workshops, and technical reviews.
• Support development and implementation of governance structures to improve monitoring of risk management compliance.
• Facilitate and participate in structured risk workshops across the business.

Capability & Culture Development

• Deliver training and awareness sessions on risk management and the Yarra Trams Enterprise Risk Manual.
• Mentor and coach risk coordinators and business stakeholders to build risk capability and maturity.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of risk tools, systems, and ways of working.

General

• Undertake other reasonable duties as directed by the Manager, Risk to support Health, Safety and Sustainability objectives.

About you

You are a confident and credible risk professional who can engage effectively with senior leaders, technical specialists, and frontline teams. You bring strong judgement, analytical capability, and a practical approach to managing risk in safety critical environments.

Ideally, you will bring:

• Formal qualifications in risk management, safety, engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent proven experience.
• Demonstrated experience in senior risk, safety, or assurance roles within highly regulated, safety critical industries (e.g. rail, aviation, energy, utilities, defence, mining, major infrastructure).
• Strong understanding of risk management principles, methodologies, and standards (e.g. ISO 31000).
• Experience facilitating risk workshops and applying structured risk assessment techniques.
• Proven ability to analyse data and translate risk insights into actionable recommendations.
• Experience working within, or supporting, Safety Management Systems (SMS).
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, including working with internal and external partners.
• Experience providing training, coaching, or advisory support to build risk capability.
• Knowledge of rail safety legislation and regulatory frameworks is desirable but not essential.

Why join Yarra Trams

• Work in one of the most complex and visible transport environments in Australia
• Influence safety and risk outcomes that directly impact employees, passengers, and the community
• Collaborate with experienced professionals across engineering, operations, and projects
• Be supported with professional development and opportunities to grow your risk leadership capability