This unit supports the attainment of skills and knowledge required for managers and senior technical practitioners from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds who are applying their skills to the management of a function, team or division within the water organisation.

ELEMENT

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

1Plan the project.

1.1 Clarify project brief with relevant personnel.

1.2 Identify and quantify human and financial resources to support management of project.

1.3 Assemble and brief project team.

1.4 Negotiate and finalise organisational requirements and procedures for management of project.

1.5 Identify and address legislative requirements relevant to project in the planning process.

1.6 Develop project goals, objectives and performance indicators in consultation with relevant personnel and stakeholders and follow organisational procedures.

1.7 Plan project according to organisational requirements and using appropriate planning tools.

2Manage the project.

2.1 Communicate project plan to project team and clarify and allocate resourcing and accountabilities.

2.2 Monitor, record and report progress of project against milestones of project plan and according to organisational requirements.

2.3 Integrate range of tasks that comprise project to ensure efficient completion.

2.4 Consult stakeholders regarding progress of project and inform development.

2.5 Negotiate, record and communicate required changes to project plan.

2.6 Finalise project according to project plan and organisational procedures.

3Manage project risk.

3.1 Identify potential risks to successful completion of project through extensive consultation with relevant stakeholders and personnel.

3.2 Analyse identified risks for likelihood of occurrence and their potential consequences.

3.3 Develop risk management or control plans to eliminate or reduce potential for risk events and consequences.

3.4 Review risk management or control plans periodically during life of the project and assess them for their adequacy, timeliness and effectiveness in risk mitigation.

4Deliver quality project outcomes.

4.1 Identify and record quality requirements for successful completion of project and communicate them to project team members.

4.2 Identify and use quality management methods, techniques and tools to support and manage project.

4.3 Assess outcomes of project for compliance with required quality standards.

This describes the essential skills and knowledge and their level, required for this unit.

Required skills:

apply advanced project management skills

apply quality management principles and techniques

apply risk management principles and techniques

use project management software and tools

coordinate activities

communicate effectively with a wide audience inside and outside the workplace

plan effectively

prepare a range of internal and external reports

solve problems.

Required knowledge:

technical and industry knowledge relevant to project being managed

legislation relevant to project being managed

project management, quality management and risk management techniques

relevant industry trends, including emerging technologies

infrastructure capacity and capacity planning

organisational processes and reporting requirements.

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, the range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

The candidate should demonstrate the ability to lead a complex project within the water industry including:

managing a complex project and delivering required project outcomes

effectively coordinating activities of project team members to deliver required outcomes

preparing, monitoring and revising plans

applying principles of quality and risk management to completion of project

communicating with stakeholders.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Access to the workplace and resources including:

documentation that should normally be available in a water industry organisation

relevant codes, standards and government regulations.

Where applicable, physical resources should include equipment modified for people with disabilities.

Access must be provided to appropriate learning and assessment support when required.

Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate, and appropriate to the language and literacy capacity of the candidate and the work being performed.

Validity and sufficiency of evidence requires that:

competency will need to be demonstrated over a period of time reflecting the scope of the role and the practical requirements of the workplace

where the assessment is part of a structured learning experience the evidence collected must relate to a number of performances assessed at different points in time and separated by further learning and practice

a decision of competence should only be made when the assessor has complete confidence in the person's competence over time and in various contexts

all assessment that is part of a structured learning experience must include a combination of direct, indirect and supplementary evidence

where assessment is for the purpose of recognition (RCC/RPL), the evidence provided will need to be authenticated and show that it represents competency demonstrated over a period of time

assessment can be through simulated project-based activity and must include evidence relating to each of the elements in this unit.

In all cases where practical assessment is used it will be combined with targeted questioning to assess the underpinning knowledge. Questioning will be undertaken in a manner appropriate to the skill levels of the operator and cultural issues that may affect responses to the questions, and will reflect the requirements of the competency and the work being performed.

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Add any essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts.

Legislative requirements may include:

relevant federal legislation, including:

National Water Commission Act 2004

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

relevant state or territory legislation relating to water and resource management

relevant state or territory legislation and regulations relating to OHS, including:

protective clothing and equipment

use of tools and equipment

workplace environment and safety

handling of materials

use of fire fighting equipment

use of first aid equipment

hazard control and hazardous materials and substances

relevant local government by-laws

relevant government and non-government policies and regulations such as:

National Water Initiative

Murray Darling Basin Water Agreement

relevant community planning and development agreements, such as land care agreements.

Plan project to address all facets of activity, which may include:

budgets

timelines

human resource requirements

project milestones

project accountabilities

project reporting processes and schedules

contingency arrangements

risk management requirements

quality requirements.

Planning tools used to support project:

may be:

proprietary software packages

commercial software packages

may generate and track:

project milestones

resourcing lists

staffing lists

budgets.

Leadership

This unit of competency contains employability skills.