Building Role Clarity by Translating Talent Insights into APS-Aligned Capabilities

Client Overview

A 500-person Australian federal government agency responsible for financial intelligence and regulation. The agency plays a key role in national security and economic integrity, managing complex regulatory responsibilities across diverse internal job families.

The Challenge

The agency had recently commissioned external consultants to produce a Talent Analysis report detailing its workforce planning priorities and anticipated recruitment needs over the next five years. However, while the report provided a high-level view of job families and labour market risks, it did not translate these findings into practical, actionable tools for internal capability development or recruitment processes.

The agency needed detailed core and technical capability definitions for each job family, aligned to Australian Public Service (APS) work level standards, to inform internal development pathways and improve hiring frameworks.

The Solution

Ben was engaged to operationalise the findings of the Talent Analysis. Drawing from the job family summaries, internal demand forecasts, and core function descriptions in the consultant’s report, he developed a structured capability framework for each of the identified job families.

For each of the 14 job families, Ben defined:

• Core capabilities aligned with APS Integrated Leadership System (ILS) and agency-specific expectations.
• Technical capabilities tailored to the distinct functions (e.g. procurement, policy, intelligence).
• Proficiency levels mapped to APS 4 through EL2 classifications, ensuring consistency with public sector work level standards.

The deliverables created a capability architecture that could be used to design job descriptions, assess learning and development needs, and support succession planning.

Results (In Progress)

The work has been adopted as the foundational layer of the agency’s workforce architecture initiative. Early outcomes include:

• Clearer guidance for internal capability uplift and career progression.
• Improved consistency and clarity in recruitment documentation.
• A scalable model that can support integration into agency-wide HRIS or planning tools.

Further benefits are expected as the capabilities are embedded into broader workforce planning and HR systems.