SES Pitch Writing

The difference between Executive Level 2 (EL2) and Senior Executive Service Band 1 (SES B1) is a big one. The roles are bigger, the accountabilities are wider, the stakeholders are more senior, and the consequences of decisions land much further from the decision-maker. The pitch needs to demonstrate that you operate at that level — not that you're capable of growing into it.

If you're at EL2 level now and looking to make the leap, you almost certainly know how to write a pitch about your actions and outputs. You'll have done it dozens of times to get to where you are. What this post is about is how to do something different — and harder.

The key difference between EL and SES

To harness the difference in language, you need to move away from operational activities and focus on what an SES candidate actually does: influence, hurdles cleared, resistance overcome, buy-in won, ministerial-level interactions, and the ability to use the cogs of government to get outcomes.

This is the major weakness we see in candidates who come to us after falling short of an interview after multiple SES rounds. The work they're describing is real, the achievements are genuine — but the language they're using is the language of the role they're in, not the role they're applying for.

The SES selection panel is reading for evidence of judgement under conditions where the right answer isn't obvious. They want to see how you handled a stakeholder who wouldn't move, a minister with a strong view, a media moment with policy implications, or a delivery setback that forced a strategic choice. None of that is operational. All of it is the work the panel needs to see.

Worked transformation: same story, two framings

This is the single most useful exercise for an SES candidate to study: the same achievement, written first in EL2 framing and then in SES1 framing. Same facts. Same project. Very different impression. The EL2 paragraph is fine — it would score well at EL level. It's the wrong scoring frame for SES, and that's the lesson.

Both versions describe the same underlying work. What changed:

• The verbs shifted. "Led," "managed," "set" became "leveraged," "won," "pitched," "represented," "briefed."
• The stakeholders became more senior. "At-level stakeholders" and "executives" became "ministers," "industry," "cabinet."
• The challenge became visible. The first version is a smooth-running project; the second names actual resistance, opposition, and the work of overcoming it.
• The candidate's specific contribution became clearer. In the first, the candidate could be substituted for any competent EL2; in the second, the project would not have landed without them.

The story is the same. We just moved from describing what was done to describing what it took to make it happen. That shift is the entire game at SES level.

Operational language is more comfortable to write because it's easier. You don't have to navigate explaining how you built a relationship with a resistant minister or convinced a recalcitrant agency head when you're focused on operations. But these are exactly the capabilities a panel is scoring against at SES level.

The SELC framework: what panels are actually scoring

SES applications are formally scored against the Senior Executive Leadership Capability framework (SELC) — the APSC's framework for senior executive leadership in the APS. The SELC is built around five core capability clusters, and your pitch needs to evidence each of them, even when the application doesn't ask explicitly. Most agencies hold back the framework as the implicit scoring rubric.

The SELC sits inside the broader Integrated Leadership System (ILS), which provides level-by-level descriptors for every classification from APS1 to SES Band 3. The ILS is a cumulative model — behaviours expected at one level become the floor for the level above. So everything an EL2 should demonstrate is assumed at SES1; the new behaviours layered on top are what differentiates the application.

Two practical implications:

• Cover all five clusters across the pitch. Don't write a pitch that's heavy on Achieves Results and Cultivates Productive Working Relationships and weak on Personal Drive and Integrity. That's a common pattern and it costs marks. Each cluster needs at least one anchored example.
• Lead each example with the SES-level behaviour, not the EL2 floor. If you're describing leading a team — that's an EL2 floor behaviour and worth one or two sentences of context. The marks come from what you did at the SES layer: the political navigation, the strategic call, the brokering across portfolios.

EL2 role responsibilities (the floor)

The EL2 role represents senior management within most government agencies — typically overseeing a team or division. Responsibilities vary by department, but common areas include:

SES Band 1 role responsibilities (the layer above)

SES Band 1 positions are significant leadership roles within government organisations. Responsibilities vary by department, but the consistent theme is scope: SES roles operate at the level of whole divisions or agencies, with direct interaction with departmental leadership, ministers, and external counterparts.

SES Band 1 roles require a blend of strategic thinking, leadership acumen, political awareness, and a deep understanding of the governmental landscape. The pitch needs to evidence all four.

EL2 vs SES B1: scope and responsibility differences

The main differences between an EL2 and SES Band 1 position lie in level of responsibility, influence, and scope of work. The matrix below shows the key delineations a panel will be calibrating against.

Questions to pose yourself before drafting

The first thing to do before submitting an SES pitch is determine whether you actually meet the requirements for the role. Then check the application upload format — what file type, what word limit, whether the pitch goes into a text box or a separate document. Match the formatting requirements exactly. Read the candidate information pack carefully; SES packs often contain implicit signals about what panels are most concerned with for that specific role.

Then sit with these eight categories of question before you start drafting:

1. Understanding the role and organisation

• What are the core responsibilities and expectations of this SES Band 1 position?
• How does this position align with the mission and priorities of the department or agency?
• What are the key challenges and opportunities facing this role and the organisation right now?

2. Matching skills and experience

• How do my past experiences demonstrate the competencies the SELC framework asks for?
• What specific examples can I provide that illustrate strategic thinking, judgement, and decision-making at the level required?
• How have I led complex programs or policy reform — what were the actual outcomes and what was my contribution?

3. Stakeholder engagement and communication

• What examples do I have of brokering between parties with conflicting interests?
• What examples show me communicating with influence at ministerial, board, or senior industry level?
• What examples evidence me handling resistance — and what did I actually do to overcome it?

4. Strategic vision and innovation

• What is my vision for this role, and how does it align with the agency's strategic direction?
• How have I encouraged innovation or driven continuous improvement in previous roles — and what changed because of it?
• What strategies would I employ to lead change or address specific challenges in this role?

5. Personal qualities and cultural fit

• What personal qualities or values make me a strong fit for this position and the organisational culture?
• How does my leadership style and approach align with the expectations of this SES Band 1 role?
• How have I demonstrated resilience, adaptability, and integrity — particularly when under pressure?

6. Financial and resource management

• How have I managed budgets, resources and risk in previous roles to achieve strategic objectives?
• What strategies would I employ to ensure financial stewardship and accountability in this role?

7. Potential challenges and objections

• What gaps in my experience might be raised — and how can I address them honestly?
• How can I articulate my potential to grow in areas where I lack direct experience without sounding evasive?

8. Authenticity and motivation

• Why am I genuinely passionate about this role, and what motivates me to pursue this SES Band 1 position specifically?
• How can I convey genuine interest and commitment — without falling into formulaic public service applicant language?

Pitch structure and word allocation

Introduction (10–15% of pitch)

• Purpose: Clearly state the pitch's purpose, identifying the specific SES Band 1 position you're seeking.
• Connection: Briefly highlight your connection to the role or organisation, providing context for your interest.
• Overview: A short overview of your key qualifications — what makes you a strong candidate at this level.
• Alignment: Briefly align your background with the core responsibilities and challenges of the SES Band 1 role.

Inner body content (75–80%)

• Demonstrate capabilities: Use succinct STAR-structured stories, calibrated to the SELC clusters. See how to structure a STAR response for public sector jobs for the proportions that work.
• Use space wisely: A 600-word pitch usually fits 2 — possibly 3 — strong stories. A 1,000-word or two-page pitch fits 4–5. Don't try to fit more; depth wins over coverage at SES level.
• Use STAR every time you demonstrate. Situation, Task, Action, Result. The Action is where you get hired. At SES level, the Action should foreground the political and stakeholder navigation, not the operational delivery.
• Cover the SELC clusters across the pitch as a whole. Not every story has to evidence all five — but the pitch as a whole should cover them, with at least one strong example anchored to each.

Closing statement (5–10%, optional)

• Not always required: If you're tight on word count, this is the section to omit. Your application won't fall flat for missing it — and the word count is better used demonstrating capabilities.
• Drop additional information here: A good place to flag short role-relevant information that didn't fit elsewhere — for instance, "I bring a current Negative Vetting 2 clearance" or "Available to commence within the standard four-week notice period."
• Encourage action: A short closing line — "I'd welcome the opportunity to discuss the role further" — gives the pitch a finished feel.

A closing note for SES candidates

SES recruitment is a long road. Most successful candidates have been in the EL2 layer for several years and applied for multiple SES roles before landing one. The first one or two applications often fail not because the candidate isn't ready, but because the pitch is still calibrated for the level they're at, not the level they're applying for. The transformation example earlier in this post is the single most useful exercise to study — same achievement, two framings, and the difference between an EL2-tier and SES-tier application.

If you've been through one or more SES rounds without converting to interview, the most useful diagnostic is to read your last pitch back through the eyes of the panel: where in this document does the candidate demonstrate the political, stakeholder, and judgement work that's invisible to me at EL level? If you can't underline those passages clearly, the panel didn't see them either.

For the structural fundamentals on STAR pitches at the EL level (the foundation everything sits on), see how to write a 2-page pitch for APS roles. For framework-specific deep dives, see how to address Achieves Results — that capability sits inside the SELC framework as well as the EL ILS, and the EL → SES escalation pattern in the worked example there mirrors the one in this post.

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