Head of Operations

Be Recruitment; Shellharbour City Council; On-site; AUD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary packaging

Professional development

Wellbeing leave

Additional annual leave

Job summary

Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre seeks a Head of Operations to provide strategic oversight across people, systems, and operational functions. You will work with the CEO, Board and Leadership Team to enable growth and long-term impact within a feminist, trauma-informed framework.

The role focuses on strengthening organizational capability, improving processes, and ensuring sustainable infrastructure to support ongoing growth and service delivery for women affected by domestic, family and

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience across operations, P&C, quality, compliance and WHS.
• Experience strengthening organisational systems and leading through growth or transition.
• Strong stakeholder engagement with CEO, Board, leaders and staff.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership across corporate and operational functions to support growth.
• Lead People & Culture, including workforce planning, employee relations and compliance.
• Oversee quality, accreditation, and continuous improvement.
• Strengthen WHS and organisational risk frameworks.

Skills

Senior leadership

People & Culture

Quality & compliance

WHS & risk

Stakeholder engagement

Education

People & Culture/Management degree

Job description

Be Recruitment is proud to partner with the Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre to recruit a newly created Head of Operations.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing, purpose-led organisation at a pivotal stage of its development and help shape the organisational foundations that will support its future.

Working alongside the CEO, Board and Leadership Team, you will bring together the people, systems, quality, compliance and operational infrastructure required to support the Centre’s continued growth and long-term impact.

About the Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre

The Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre supports women impacted by domestic, family and sexual violence through trauma-informed counselling, case management, group programs and holistic recovery supports. As an Australian-first holistic recovery and healing service, the Centre provides an innovative model of support, co-designed with women with lived experience and centred on the needs, experiences and recovery journeys of women.

The Opportunity

This is a newly created and influential senior leadership role with the opportunity to help shape the next stage of the Centre’s growth. Working closely with the CEO, Board and Leadership Team, the Head of Operations will provide strategic oversight across the organisation’s people, systems and operational functions, including People & Culture, quality and compliance, WHS and risk, and organisational sustainability. You will play a key role in strengthening organisational capability, improving systems and ways of working, and ensuring IWTRC has the infrastructure and operational foundations to support its continued growth and long-term impact.

You will:

• Provide strategic leadership across corporate and operational functions, supporting organisational growth and change.
• Lead People & Culture, including workforce planning, employee relations, performance, capability and employment compliance.
• Oversee quality, accreditation, organisational compliance and continuous improvement.
• Strengthen WHS and organisational risk frameworks, including psychosocial safety and wellbeing.
• Work with the CEO and Board to strengthen financial resilience, funding diversification, partnerships and long-term organisational sustainability.

About You

You will be a senior operational leader with broad organisational capability, ideally developed within social services, community services, health, women’s services, mental health or the wider not-for-profit sector.

• Senior leadership experience across a combination of operations, P&C, quality, compliance and WHS.
• Experience strengthening organisational systems and leading through growth, change or transition.
• Strong generalist P&C capability and confidence navigating workforce and employee relations matters.
• Experience with quality frameworks, policies, accreditation and continuous improvement.
• Sound commercial and financial acumen, with an understanding of organisational sustainability.
• The ability to move comfortably between strategic thinking and practical implementation.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, including the ability to work effectively with a CEO, Board, leaders, staff and external specialists.
• Alignment with feminist, trauma-informed and social justice principles.
• Qualifications in People & Culture, Business, Management, Operations, Quality Improvement or another relevant discipline.
• Current driver’s licence and access to a vehicle.

Experience within the not-for-profit or social services sector and an understanding of domestic, family and sexual violence will be highly regarded.

What the Centre Offers

• A collaborative and values-driven team environment.
• Professional development and growth opportunities.
• Salary packaging.
• Additional annual and wellbeing leave.
• The opportunity to work within an Australian-first holistic recovery and healing service and make a meaningful impact on the lives of women.

This is a women-only position. Being female is a genuine occupational qualification for this role under Section 31 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW). Having a criminal record will not automatically exclude your application. We recognise that women can have experiences with the criminal justice system that are discriminatory and unjust. For example, women may be misidentified as a primary offender in DFSV situations. We also acknowledge that women can move on from their past. We are committed to ensuring an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you require any adjustments or support during the interview or assessment stages, please let us know and we will be happy to accommodate your needs.