Approvals Advisor

Excited to grow your career?We value our talented workforce, and whenever possible strive to help our employees grow professionally. If you think this position is right for you, we encourage you to speak to your Leader and go ahead and apply!Our people make all the difference in our success.

About the role

This role will report to the Principal Portfolio Management in the newly established Studies and Programs team within Sustaining Capital. This role will be working in a supportive and collaborative team, the Approvals Advisor will manage Rail, Facilities and HME (Heavy Mine Equipment) approvals for Sustaining Capital, liaising with Sustaining Capital Project Leads and internal approvals team/SME’s to obtain all necessary approvals in line with project schedules and governance. This position is required to support Sustaining Capital project leads by ensuring all approvals are fit for project delivery, ensure project compliance with legislative and internal governance requirements and that all relevant stakeholders have been adequately engaged to support project implementation.

This is a dynamic role required to support the delivery of multi-disciplinary projects for Rio Tinto Iron Ore’s Rail, Heavy Mine Equipment and Facility assets, requiring ad-hoc travel to site.  

Key Responsibilities

• Screening/triage of projects to streamline the approvals process including early identification of issues, solutions, likely timelines and possible use of existing approvals where appropriate;

• Advise on Approvals Request (AR) to Project Leads to find best wholistic AR solution;

• Utilise GIS for desktop reviews, and creation of polygons;

• Early site reconnaissance with Project Lead, Construction Advisor to identify project AR issues and become familiar with the project site;

• Travel to site to assist in resolving AR issues that arise, or meet with stakeholders ie Traditional Owners, government department representatives etc;

• Create and maintain stakeholder relationships with Project Leads, Approval Team and SMEs;

• Coordination of approvals with stakeholders including attendance, presenting  and coordination at team meetings;

• Facilitate establishment of separate project/subject meetings/communications as appropriate;

• Submission and appropriate management of specific project ARs; 

• Review, problem solve and communicate changes in approval requirements/timelines from either SMEs or the project team;

• Participate in RTIO improvement projects ie LAMS etc, as requested;

• Forecast project planning support provision; and

• Conduct in field AR auditing activities, if required, by regular ad hoc site trips to support projects.

What you’ll bring:

• Knowledge of ARCS, Approvals processes with existing professional relationship with Rail SME’s preferred;

• Background in an AR SME discipline i.e. environment, heritage, bio, tenure etc required (environment preferred);

• Strong people and communication skills, with the ability to build relationships and facilitate approvals and project needs;

• Ability to travel to site (and Perth if Karratha based), as required;

• Ability to work effectively in an environment with fast changing priorities;

• Ability to problem solve complex situations and forward planning;

• Knowledge of rail network and rail/facilities construction is preferable; and

• A current ‘C’ class driver’s license.

Key Interfaces

• Project Teams: Support teams with Approvals required for their project;

• Delivery Teams: Coordinate efforts between projects and provide high level guidance;

• Sustaining Capital: Studies & Programs and Engineering; and

• Subject Matter Experts: Inform prioritisation and alignment.

Where you’ll be working:

The Sustaining Capital project team delivers sustaining, improvement and technology projects across our Pilbara Operations incorporating 17 mines, 4 ports and 2,000km of rail infrastructure. This is a 5 day on 2 days off roster (Mon to Fri) with adhoc site travel.

Applications close on the 28th of November 2024 Rio Tinto reserves the right to remove advertised roles prior to this date.

Salary Band

Every Voice MattersAt Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQIA+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.