Build the evidence base for a long term strategy to sustain the NSW RFS Volunteer Workforce
Business, Economics and Management
ABOUT THE INDUSTRY PARTNER
NSW Rural Fire Service is the world’s largest volunteer firefighting service and the lead combat agency for bushfire across rural NSW. The intern will be hosted by the Workforce Strategy and Analytics team within the People and Culture Directorate at RFS Headquarters, Sydney Olympic Park. Core activities include workforce planning, HR policy development, workforce analytics, change management and delivery of Champions of Change initiatives, the Inclusion Strategy and Reconciliation Action Plan.
This opportunity is delivered by Natural Hazards Research Australia (NHRA) in partnership with APR.Intern, with funding provided by NHRA to support industry-linked research placements that translate academic knowledge into real-world impact.
NSW RFS is a Participant of NHRA and is hosting this placement to support the next generation of researchers to apply their expertise in a practical setting and contribute to real-world outcomes.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
The intern will build advanced applied research capability across the full strategic workforce planning cycle: scoping, mixed-methods design (workforce data analytics, demand forecasting, qualitative consultation), stakeholder engagement at scale (volunteers, Districts, Areas, executive), risk and gap analysis, environmental scanning, and translation of findings into a coherent strategic narrative. They will gain direct exposure to public sector workforce strategy, emergency services governance and the NSW Government Strategic Workforce Planning Framework. Practical learning includes participating in volunteer consultation forums, shadowing recruitment and capability planning activities, observing Field Operations and engaging with the AFAC working groups. The intern will leave with demonstrable experience in long-horizon workforce strategy, evidence synthesis, and producing research that is useful, usable and used directly aligned to the NHRA’s mission and to academic and practitioner career pathways in disaster resilience and workforce research. Specific examples are below:
- Building Professionalism: structured exposure to executive-level briefings, business writing coaching from the Workforce Strategy and Analytics team, opportunities to facilitate working group meetings and present findings to the Executive Leadership Team and the Volunteer Workforce Strategy steering group. Leadership and Management: project sponsorship by the Deputy Commissioner People and Corporate Services; day-to-day supervision by the Manager Workforce Strategy and Analytics; mentoring on stakeholder management across operational, corporate, volunteer and external Emergency Service Organisation networks; project management coaching using NSW Government strategic workforce planning methods.
- Technical/Research in Business: access to RFS HR information systems, volunteer membership and training datasets, Microsoft 365 and Power BI; secure remote access; co-design with the Workforce Insights team on quantitative methods.
- Organisational Knowledge and Core Compliance: full induction including WHS, Code of Conduct, information security and privacy training.
- Exposure to key sector subject matter experts: Field Operations leadership, Volunteer Services, volunteer and industry associated including RFSA and AFAC, SPMO, and external Emergency Service Organisations through benchmarking work.
The intern will be embedded within a collaborative People and Corporate Services Directorate that values evidence-based practice. Regular SME meetings, access to the NHRA intern peer network, attendance at relevant internal and external events and the opportunity to observe brigade operations and volunteer training activities will broaden professional networks and translate research into operational context.
RESEARCH TO BE CONDUCTED
NSW Rural Fire Service is the world’s largest volunteer firefighting service and the lead combat agency for bushfire across rural NSW, with approximately 70,000 volunteer members organised through more than 2,000 brigades. The RFS volunteer workforce deliver bushfire prevention, preparedness, response and recovery across NSW. It is well known that volunteering patterns are shifting nationally due to episodic participation, ageing demographics, regional drift and changing community expectations, while operational demand intensifies under climate change. The NSW Premier’s Department Review of Emergency Volunteering (May 2024) issued thirteen formal recommendations and Enterprise Risk ERR 2 (Workforce Capability and Capacity) is rated significant. RFS does not currently hold a consolidated, forward focused evidence base linking volunteer capability and availability to projected operational demand.
Without a clear, evidence-based long term year strategy, RFS risks erosion of volunteer numbers, capability and diversity, reducing its ability to sustain services as demand grows. The internship will build the evidence base that identifies the real and practical challenges that underpin the Strategy.
The objectives NSW RFS hopes to achieve through the internship are below:
- Build the evidence base for the NSW RFS Volunteer Workforce Strategy: including Volunteer Workforce Profile, Volunteer Lifecycle Analysis, Workforce Supply and Demand Analysis, External Environment Scan, and a Volunteer Risk and Gap Assessment.
- Synthesise findings from consultation, surveys and workshops into a Volunteer Experience Insights report and a Priority Workforce Challenges Summary that clearly articulates the key problems the Strategy must address.
- Translate the evidence into prioritised, implementable input to the draft Volunteer Workforce Strategy and its implementation roadmap, ensuring alignment with operational realities, the NSW Government Strategic Workforce Planning Framework and the NHRA Research Plan.
SKILLS WISH LIST
If you’re a postgraduate research student and meet some or all the below we want to hear from you. We strongly encourage women, indigenous and disadvantaged candidates to apply:
- A higher degree research candidate in public policy, organisational psychology, sociology, human resource management, workforce economics, social research or a related discipline.
- Mixed-methods skills (workforce data analytics, demand forecasting, qualitative consultation and thematic analysis).
- Strong written communication, comfort engaging diverse stakeholders (including volunteers and operational personnel) and a demonstrated interest in volunteering, emergency management or public sector workforce strategy.
RESEARCH OUTCOMES
The project will deliver a consolidated evidence base on the current and future NSW RFS volunteer workforce.
Expected outputs include:
- a Volunteer Workforce Profile Report covering size, demographics, skills, roles and geographic distribution; a Volunteer Lifecycle Analysis spanning recruitment, onboarding, training, retention and exit;
- a Workforce Supply and Demand Analysis aligning current and projected operational need with future demand drivers (climate, community expectations, volunteering patterns);
- an External Environment Scan benchmarking volunteering and workforce participation trends;
- a Volunteer Risk and Gap Assessment;
- a Volunteer Experience Insights synthesis from consultation, surveys and workshops; and a Priority Workforce Challenges Summary that articulates the key problems the Strategy must address.
These outputs feed directly into the development of the draft Volunteer Workforce Strategy.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
The intern will receive $3,300 per month of the internship, usually in the form of scholarship payments.
It is expected that the intern will primarily undertake this research project during regular business hours and maintain contact with their academic mentor throughout the internship either through face-to-face or phone meetings as appropriate.
The intern and their academic mentor will have the opportunity to negotiate the project’s scope, milestones and timeline during the project planning stage.
Please note, applications are reviewed regularly and this internship may be filled prior to the advertised closing date if a suitable applicant is identified. Early submissions are encouraged.
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