Home Policy and Planning Manager Resume template
Policy and Planning Manager resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what policy and planning managers actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most policy and planning managers should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Policy and Planning Manager with a background in public sector policy development and corporate planning. Leads teams that turn research and stakeholder consultation into practical advice for executives and ministers. Comfortable balancing long term strategy with the reporting and evaluation that keeps programs on track.
Key skills
- Policy analysis and advice
- Strategy development
- Project management
- Stakeholder management
- People leadership
- Written communication
- Presenting and data storytelling
- Microsoft Excel
- Power BI
- SharePoint
- Microsoft Project
- Tableau
Experience: example bullet points
- Directed a review of program guidelines across three business units, reducing the number of policy exemptions requested each quarter.
- Led a team of eight policy officers to deliver a major strategy refresh on schedule, coordinating input from twelve stakeholder groups.
- Built a Power BI dashboard that replaced manual monthly reporting, cutting the time spent preparing executive briefings from two days to half a day.
- Briefed senior executives and a minister on options for a contested reform, resulting in a clear preferred position and a staged implementation plan.
- Coordinated the annual corporate planning cycle for a division of 200 staff, aligning business plans with budget and performance measures.
- Established a stakeholder consultation register that improved visibility of commitments and reduced duplicate engagement across teams.
Education
A bachelor degree in public policy, economics, law or a related discipline, often followed by a postgraduate qualification in public policy, public administration or management.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- Australian Public Service
- APS
- public sector
- state government
- local government
- ministerial briefing
- Cabinet process
- National Cabinet
- portfolio budget statements
- Senate Estimates
- regulatory impact statement
- Office of Best Practice Regulation
- freedom of information
- strategic planning
- stakeholder engagement
- program evaluation
- policy analysis
- Power BI
- SharePoint
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Project
- Tableau
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.