Chief Executive Officer

Human Outsource; City of Brisbane; Hybrid; AUD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Responsible Wood is seeking a CEO to lead the organisation’s strategic direction, overseeing standards development and engagement with national and international forums. You will report to the Chair, steer the strategic plan, and manage a small leadership team from our Kedron, Brisbane base, with hybrid or remote options for the right candidate.

You will play a critical role in maintaining accreditation, advancing policy engagement, and representing Responsible Wood on the global PEFC stage

Qualifications

• Demonstrated senior leadership in forestry, sustainability, or certification.
• Experience developing strategy and managing business outcomes.
• Experience in standards development or certification programs.
• Senior stakeholder engagement at national and international levels.
• Understanding of PEFC systems and international standards.
• Excellent verbal and written communication; ability to lead a small team.

Responsibilities

• Strategic leadership and board advice on policy and risk.
• Standards development and accreditation maintenance.
• PEFC and international engagement.
• Stakeholder engagement and advocacy.
• People leadership and succession planning.
• Governance and compliance and board reporting.

Skills

Senior leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Standards development

Technical leadership

PEFC expertise

Strategic thinking

Education

Forestry degree

Environmental science

Governance studies

Job description

A rare opportunity to lead Australia and New Zealand's peak forest certification body shaping national standards, driving international engagement, and setting the strategic direction for an organisation with genuine, lasting impact.

About Responsible Wood

Responsible Wood is Australia's leading forest and forest products certification scheme, operating under the internationally recognised PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) framework. With a certification footprint covering 17.5 million hectares and over 250 Chain of Custody certificate holders, Responsible Wood is an outstanding and successful national member scheme within the global PEFC network.

We are a small, passionate member-based not-for-profit organisation, deeply committed to promoting sustainable forest management and ensuring Australian and New Zealand timber and forest products are among the most sustainably sourced in the world. Our work is important, linked to the global climate change agenda, our impacts are real and our team is exceptional.

About the Role

As CEO, you will lead the strategic direction of Responsible Wood, working closely with and reporting directly to, the Chair of the Board. You will be the organisation's most senior representative and primary custodian of its technical expertise in sustainable forest management certification and standards development, representing Responsible Wood in national and international forums.

With the support of the Business Operations Manager and Sustainability Manager who report directly to you, you will be empowered to focus principally on standards development, high-level stakeholder engagement, advocacy, and the development and implementation of business strategy. You retain ultimate accountability for the organisation's performance, compliance, reputation and culture.

This is a role for an experienced, credible leader who can operate confidently at board level and on the international stage, while remaining genuinely engaged with a small, high-performing team.

What you will be working on

Strategic leadership: leading the implementation of Responsible Wood's Strategic Plan and annual Business Plan and providing strategic advice to the Board on policy, risk and emerging opportunities.

Standards development and technical leadership: leading the maintenance, review and development of AS/NZS 4708 and AS 4707 and maintaining Responsible Wood's accreditation as a Standards Development Organisation.

PEFC and international engagement: representing Responsible Wood at PEFC assemblies and international meetings and maintaining relationships across the PEFC global network and Asia-Pacific region.

Stakeholder engagement and advocacy: leading advocacy for the credibility and value of sustainably sourced Australian timber and building strategic relationships with government, industry and community stakeholders.

People leadership and succession: managing staff performance and development in partnership with the Business Operations Manager and mentoring senior staff for long-term succession planning.

Governance and compliance: ensuring statutory, prudential, risk management, WHS and governance obligations are met and overseeing high-quality board reporting.

About You

You are a credible, senior leader with deep technical knowledge of sustainable forest management and chain of custody certification and the gravitas to represent Responsible Wood at the highest levels domestically and internationally. You combine strong strategic thinking with hands-on engagement and you're comfortable translating complex technical content for a wide range of audiences.

You will bring

Tertiary qualifications in Forestry, Environmental Science, Natural Resource Management or a related discipline

Demonstrated senior leadership experience, preferably in the forestry, sustainability or certification sector, with demonstrated experience in developing strategy and managing business outcomes

Experience in Standards development or technical aspects of certification programs

A proven record of senior stakeholder engagement at national and international levels

Sound understanding of PEFC systems and international Standards frameworks

Strong oral and written communication skills, with the ability to lead and develop a small, high-performing team

Highly regarded

Postgraduate qualifications in management, governance or a related field

Why Join Responsible Wood?

Meaningful work.

Responsible Wood's mission sits at the intersection of environmental sustainability, industry credibility and global supply chain integrity. The work you do will have tangible, lasting impact.

A great team.

You will be joining a small, talented and deeply committed group of people who genuinely care about what they do and who they do it with.

National and international influence.

As the organisation's most senior representative, you will shape standards development and represent Australia and New Zealand on the global PEFC stage.

A well-supported leadership role.

You’ll be backed by a capable Business Operations Manager and Sustainability Manager, freeing you to focus on strategy, standards and stakeholder engagement.

Work Location.

This role is based at our Kedron, Brisbane office; however, we welcome applications from candidates outside Brisbane, with hybrid or fully remote working arrangements available for the right candidate.