Executive Director

National Health and Medical Research Council; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 240,000 - 340,000; Full time

Job summary

National Health and Medical Research Council in Melbourne seeks an Executive Director to lead the Research Partnerships Branch, delivering strategic policy, partnerships and grant initiatives that strengthen Australia’s health research ecosystem.

The role requires strategic thinking, strong business acumen, resilience and integrity, and the ability to engage with government, researchers and communities to implement innovative strategies and build high-performing teams.

Qualifications

• Proven ability to lead strategic policy and governance initiatives at executive level.
• Experience building partnerships across government, researchers and communities.
• Strong judgment balancing risk and opportunities in complex environments.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic direction for the Research Partnerships Branch and NHMRC.
• Lead delivery of national research translation and partnership initiatives.
• Deliver high-quality strategic advice to the CEO and Executive.
• Build and maintain effective partnerships with government, researchers, institutions and stakeholders.
• Oversee delivery of major NHMRC and MRFF programs and grants.
• Foster a positive, high-performing leadership culture.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Policy development

Governance

Team leadership

Tools

Grant management software

Job description

National Health and Medical Research Council – Melbourne VIC

The National Health and Medical Research Council is seeking a high performing and strategic executive leader to join our Executive Leadership Team as Executive Director, Research Partnerships Branch.

This Executive Director/SES Band 1 opportunity offers the chance to shape strategic policy and research initiatives, lead the delivery of nationally significant programs, and build collaborative partnerships that strengthen Australia’s health and medical research ecosystem through collaboration and partnerships.

As a member of NHMRC's Executive Leadership Team, you will provide strategic direction, lead high-performing teams, and contribute to the achievement of NHMRC's organisational priorities and objectives.

The ideal candidate will need to think strategically to deliver high-quality strategic policy insights and options that are practical and implementable, have strong business acumen, be resilient, and be forward-looking with strong personal drive and integrity. You will have demonstrated excellent judgement in complex and sensitive environments, balancing risk and opportunities.

In this senior leadership role, you will cultivate trusted partnerships across government, engage effectively with the community, researchers and research organisation. You will be a values-based leader who inspires, empowers, and drives positive change. You will lead and build high-performing teams that can develop and implement innovative strategies and approaches.

NHMRC is an inclusive and diverse employer that supports gender equity and diversity in leadership. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including people with disability, First Nations peoples, LGBTIQA+ people, mature age people and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

About the Branch

The Research Partnerships Branch is responsible for driving the translation of evidence into health policy and clinical practice through partnerships and strategic engagement. We manage grant schemes focused on translating research into policy and practice through the Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies, Targeted Calls for Research, Partnership Projects and Centres of Research Excellence grant schemes. We implement priority-driven health and medical research initiatives and bilateral and multilateral funding opportunities with international funders and manage grant opportunities for the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) working closely with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. The Branch is also responsible for NHMRC’s International Engagement Strategy, Research Translation Strategy, our health priorities, consumer and community involvement and manage a range of advisory committees.

The Branch is comprised of the Research Strategy and Engagement, MRFF A & B, Translation Programs, Research Collaboration and Research Security sections. Find out more about the Senior Executive and Leadership Team here.

Key responsibilities

As the Executive Director, Research Partnerships, your duties will include but are not limited to:

• Providing strategic leadership for the Research Partnerships Branch.
• Leading implementation of NHMRC's research translation and partnership strategies.
• Delivering high-quality strategic and policy advice to the CEO and Executive.
• Building and maintaining effective partnerships with government, researchers, research institutions and community stakeholders.
• Overseeing delivery of NHMRC and MRFF grant initiatives.
• Leading high-performing teams and foster a positive, collaborative culture.

The key duties of the position include:

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Strategic insight and advice: the ability to provide well-informed, strategic advice to senior leaders and stakeholders, applying sound judgement and anticipating risks and opportunities in the research and policy environment.
• Delivering outcomes: the ability to translate strategy into action, drive implementation and ensure delivery of high-quality results aligned with organisational goals.
• Leadership and culture: demonstrated ability to lead by example to foster a positive, high-performing culture, build capability, encourage innovation and drive continuous improvement.
• Stakeholder engagement: strong capability to build trusted relationships, manage complex interactions, and influence outcomes through collaboration and effective communication across sectors.
• Leading change: the ability to navigate complexity and lead teams through change with resilience, clarity and a focus on strategic priorities.

Further information

For further information refer to the Candidate Handbook.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a position at NHMRC, you must be an Australian citizen and be able to provide evidence of this. If successful, you will be required to undertake a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check.

Mandatory requirement

This position requires, as a condition of employment, the successful candidate to possess or be willing to obtain and maintain a Negative Vetting 1 security clearance.

Notes

Please note shortlisted candidates will be required to attend an interview in person at NHMRC’s Canberra Office.

Principles for candidate use of AI in recruitment

Candidates should familiarise themselves with the Australian Public Service Principles for candidate use of AI in recruitment they guide the ethical, responsible and transparent use of AI tools by candidates engaging in APS recruitment processes. These principles are designed to ensure that the use of AI tools by candidates aligns with the expectations outlined in the APS Values and Employment Principles and maintains the integrity of recruitment decisions and outcomes.

Getting to know the National Health and Medical Research Council

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is Australia’s leading Government agency for supporting health and medical research for the improvement of individual and population health. It does this through funding high quality research, supporting the translation of research into evidence-based practice and policy, providing guidance on responsible research practices and ethical issues, and administration of legislation governing research using human embryos. In addition, NHMRC has responsibilities in relation to implementation of the Medical Research Future Fund.NHMRC engages closely with a range of stakeholders across the health system and community to ensure that health and medical research meets the needs of the Australian community. This includes governments, researchers, biotech industries and other business leaders, medical, nursing and allied health practitioners, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and research leaders, teaching and research institutions, health services, community health organisations, consumers and carers.NHMRC’s responsibilities include engagement with the health and medical research sector and broader community to manage NHMRC’s grants system which has up to 57,000 external users and is responsible for coordinating and administering grants processes totalling more than $1.5 billion annually.NHMRC has a workforce of around 250 staff, with most located in the Canberra office, with a smaller number in our Melbourne office. NHMRC offers attractive flexible work arrangements which allow staff to work from home.NHMRC is dedicated to championing gender equity and diversity, ensuring equal opportunities for all staff in our pursuit of excellence in health research.