Chief Operating Officer

Doutta Galla Aged Care; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Doutta Galla Aged Services is a not-for-profit provider delivering residential aged care, home care and retirement living for older Australians. The Chief Operating Officer will lead a broad care services portfolio, driving transformation with clinical credibility and commercial discipline.

Based in Footscray with plans to relocate the Corporate Team to West Melbourne in 2027, the role reports to the CEO and sits on the Executive Leadership Team, guiding quality, workforce capability and

Qualifications

• Lead and inspire large teams to deliver high-quality aged care services.
• Demonstrated ability to drive change in complex, regulated environments.
• Strong strategic mindset with the ability to translate vision into action.
• Proven capability to engage with CEO, Board and executives at the highest level.
• Understanding of governance and clinical quality in aged care.

Responsibilities

• Lead transformation across Residential Care, Home Care and Retirement Living.
• Set operational strategy and drive performance and sustainability.
• Collaborate with CEO, Board and Executive Team to shape the organisation’s next phase.
• Ensure quality care, workforce capability and service consistency across portfolios.
• Champion innovation while maintaining compliance with regulatory standards.

Skills

Executive leadership

Change management

Strategic planning

Stakeholder engagement

Regulatory compliance

Education

Nurse registered (AHPRA)

Job description

• Lead strategic transformation across aged care services
• Drive innovation and operational excellence in a purpose-led organisation
• Shape the future of care for older Australians and make a lasting impact

Imagine a career with purpose, where your leadership can reshape services and make a lasting difference in the lives of older Australians.

Doutta Galla Aged Services is a respected not-for-profit provider with more than 30 years' experience delivering residential aged care, home care and retirement living services. With care, dignity, inclusion and choice at its heart, Doutta Galla is committed to achieving outstanding outcomes for residents, clients, families and communities.

Lead transformation. Shape the future of care.

Doutta Galla is seeking an accomplished executive to lead a significant care services portfolio and help shape the organisation's next phase. Combining strategic insight with operational discipline and sound clinical judgement, you will challenge established thinking and translate ambition into better outcomes for residents, clients and communities.

Reporting directly to the CEO and serving as a key member of the Executive Leadership Team, the Chief Operating Officer will provide visible, values-led leadership across Doutta Galla's core operations. You will build alignment, strengthen accountability and bring people with you through a period of meaningful change.

With executive responsibility for Residential Care, Home Care and Retirement Living, you will set a clear operational direction and drive measurable improvements in quality, workforce capability, service consistency and financial sustainability. The breadth of the portfolio offers genuine scope to influence how care is delivered across the organisation.

Success will require a leader who combines commercial acumen with practical clinical credibility, someone who can make considered decisions in a complex and regulated environment; inspire high performance; and create the conditions for innovation and continuous improvement to thrive.

About you

You are an accomplished enterprise leader with a strong record of leading large-scale operations and transformation in complex, highly regulated environments. Comfortable working directly with a CEO, Board and Executive Team, you bring the strategic perspective to lead across the organisation, not simply within a portfolio.

You will bring:

• A current AHPRA registration as a Registered Nurse, bringing the clinical credibility and practical judgement required to lead quality care services.


• A proven track record leading large-scale operations and inspiring high performance through others.


• Senior leadership experience in aged care or a comparable complex, highly regulated service environment.


• Demonstrated success leading significant organisational change, innovation and continuous improvement.


• Strong commercial, strategic and operational acumen, supported by sound judgement, resilience and political acuity.


• The ability to build trusted relationships, influence at executive, Board and stakeholder level, and foster a strong, purpose-led culture.


• A genuine passion for improving outcomes for older Australians.

This is a rare opportunity to step into a highly influential executive role at a defining point in Doutta Galla's evolution. With the support of an engaged CEO, Board and Executive Team, you will have the mandate to shape operational strategy, lead meaningful transformation and strengthen the organisation for the future.

The breadth of the portfolio provides genuine scope to make an enterprise-wide impact, building leadership capability, improving performance and service consistency, and embedding innovation across residential care, home care and retirement living. Your decisions will directly influence both organisational sustainability and the quality of care and experience provided to older Australians.

For an accomplished executive motivated by purpose, challenge and the opportunity to create lasting change, Doutta Galla offers the scale, autonomy and influence to build a meaningful legacy.

Location

The role is currently based in Footscray. From January 2027, the Corporate Team will relocate to Doutta Galla's newly renovated corporate office in West Melbourne.

Doutta Galla prides itself on cultural diversity and inclusion. We are an equal opportunity employer; all applicants will be considered for employment. Applicants must have the right to work in Australia and be eligible to work in Aged Care under the Aged Care Act 2024 (Cth).