APS6 pitch guide (1000 words)

Short answer: For a 1000-word APS6 pitch, use 3 examples of about 273 words each, between a roughly 100-word opening and a 81-word close. The panel wants judgement where there was no obvious answer, stakeholder management and clear written advice.

What APS6 panels expect

An APS6 role involves complex work with limited supervision, often across teams or organisations. The panel wants judgement where there was no obvious answer, stakeholder management and clear written advice.

Managing projects or complex matters with limited supervision
Building and maintaining relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders
Providing considered written and verbal advice, including on risk
Supervising, mentoring or quality-assuring others' work

Structure and word budget for 1000 words

1000 words usually means three examples in different contexts, so the panel sees breadth rather than one strength repeated.

Part	Words	What goes here
Opening	100	Name the APS6 role, your current role and what your examples will show.
Example 1: Managing competing priorities across a branch	273	S ~27 · T ~27 · A ~164 · R ~55
Example 2: Handling a sensitive issue	273	S ~27 · T ~27 · A ~164 · R ~55
Example 3: Improving written advice across a team	273	S ~27 · T ~27 · A ~164 · R ~55
Closing	81	Link your evidence to this APS6 role in one or two sentences.

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What to emphasise at APS6

Judgement: options you weighed and why you chose one
Stakeholders with different interests and how you brought them along
Written advice that informed a decision by someone senior
Supervising or developing others, if you have done it

What to avoid

Examples where the complexity isn't explained: say what made it hard
Lists of stakeholders without what you did with them
APS5-style examples that only show efficient delivery

Verbs that suit APS6 (only if accurate): managed, negotiated, advised, evaluated, led (a project), mentored, resolved.

Coming from outside the APS? Senior project, policy, consulting or professional roles (e.g. a senior nurse, engineer or account manager) often give APS6-level judgement examples.

Fictional example outline: Assistant Director-track Project Manager (APS6)

An outline, not a script. The scenarios are invented. Use them to see what APS6-level evidence looks like, then write about your own experience.

Example 1: Managing competing priorities across a branch

Situation: Three urgent projects competed for the same specialists.
Task: Recommend a schedule the branch head could accept.
Action: Mapped dependencies; met each project lead; modelled three options; recommended staged delivery; documented the agreed plan.
Result: All three delivered within a month of target with no extra staff.

Example 2: Handling a sensitive issue

Situation: A data breach risk was identified in a third-party system.
Task: Contain the risk and advise leadership.
Action: Confirmed facts with the vendor; engaged the privacy and security teams; drafted an incident brief; coordinated notifications as advised.
Result: Risk contained within 48 hours; the incident review found the response appropriate.

Example 3: Improving written advice across a team

Situation: Briefs were often returned for rework.
Task: Raise the quality of the team's briefs.
Action: Analysed common feedback; built a template and checklist; ran two short workshops; reviewed drafts for a month.
Result: Rework requests fell noticeably; the template was adopted across the branch.

Related guides

Free download: a worked APS5 pitch (PDF)

A complete 500-word fictional APS5 pitch with notes on why each paragraph works, plus a one-page STAR planner. Email is optional. You can download it straight away either way.

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