APS Pitch CheckerEL1 pitch guide (500 words)
Short answer: For a 500-word EL1 pitch, use 2 examples of about 205 words each, between a roughly 50-word opening and a 40-word close. The panel wants results achieved through others.
What EL1 panels expect
An EL1 role means leading a team or a significant piece of work: setting direction, managing people and risk, and advising senior executives. The panel wants results achieved through others.
- Leading and managing a team, including performance and wellbeing
- Setting priorities and direction for a work area in line with strategy
- Managing risk, budgets or complex programs with significant autonomy
- Advising and briefing senior executives and negotiating with external parties
Structure and word budget for 500 words
500 words fits two examples. Keep the opening to two or three sentences and set each scene in one or two.
| Part | Words | What goes here |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | 50 | Name the EL1 role, your current role and what your examples will show. |
| Example 1: Leading a program redesign | 205 | S ~20 · T ~20 · A ~123 · R ~41 |
| Example 2: Advising the executive on a contentious issue | 205 | S ~20 · T ~20 · A ~123 · R ~41 |
| Closing | 40 | Link your evidence to this EL1 role in one or two sentences. |
Check a 500-word draft in the free checker
What to emphasise at EL1
- How you led people: direction, delegation, coaching, performance
- Strategic thinking: connecting your area's work to agency goals
- Sensitive or high-stakes advice to senior leaders
- Building capability or changing how a team works
What to avoid
- Examples where you did all the work yourself; show the team's results under your leadership
- Hiding behind 'we': still write in the first person about your leadership actions
- Too much detail on technical work at the expense of leadership and judgement
Verbs that suit EL1 (only if accurate): directed, delegated, set priorities, briefed executives, managed performance, shaped, built capability.
Coming from outside the APS? Managers outside government should translate titles into scope: team size, budget, risk and seniority of stakeholders.
Fictional example outline: Assistant Director (EL1)
An outline, not a script. The scenarios are invented. Use them to see what EL1-level evidence looks like, then write about your own experience.
Example 1: Leading a program redesign
- Situation: A program review found duplication and poor outcomes.
- Task: Lead the redesign and implementation.
- Action: Set the vision with the SES lead; formed a working group; delegated workstreams to two APS6s; managed key stakeholder negotiations; reported risks to the executive board.
- Result: Redesigned program launched on schedule with lower admin costs; stakeholder satisfaction improved in the first survey.
Example 2: Advising the executive on a contentious issue
- Situation: Proposal had divided senior stakeholders.
- Task: Provide frank, balanced advice.
- Action: Commissioned analysis from my team; tested options with legal and finance; wrote a brief setting out risks and a recommendation; briefed the Deputy Secretary in person.
- Result: Executive adopted the recommendation with one modification; I led the implementation plan.
Related guides
- EL1 · 300 words pitch guide
- EL1 · 750 words pitch guide
- EL1 · 1000 words pitch guide
- APS6 · 500 words pitch guide
- Writing to 500, 750 and 1000 words
- APS capabilities in plain English
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.
Want the full workbook and templates?
The APS Pitch Kit (A$24, made by us) adds an Excel/Google Sheets example bank, a criteria matcher with word counts for 300-1000-word limits, pitch, statement of claims and selection criteria templates, and three fictional worked pitches (APS4, APS6, EL1). One-off price, instant download, 14-day refund with no questions asked. If you got here from the free sample, code SAMPLE20 takes 20% off (A$19.20).
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