Physiotherapist Grade 5

Austin Health; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary packaging

Wellness program

Onsite childcare

Mentoring and career development

Job summary

Austin Health in Melbourne is seeking a Strategic Workforce Operations Lead (Physiotherapist) to provide strategic leadership and operational oversight for the physiotherapy Grade 1 and 2 workforce across campuses.

You will drive graduate and early-career workforce programs, develop sustainable models, and lead recruitment, retention, supervision, and professional development initiatives, while contributing to departmental strategy and service improvement.

Qualifications

• Extensive leadership and management experience in a complex health service.
• Experience developing innovative workforce models and service improvements.
• Strong understanding of healthcare systems and future workforce needs.
• Proven ability in workforce planning, change management and program delivery.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• Current AHPRA registration and eligibility for professional association.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight of the Grade 1 and Grade 2 physiotherapy workforce.
• Lead the development, implementation, and evaluation of graduate and early-career workforce programs.
• Support innovative workforce models that enable staff to work to their full scope of practice.
• Lead workforce planning, recruitment, retention, supervision, and professional development initiatives for junior staff.
• Provide expert clinical leadership and consultancy across physiotherapy services and multidisciplinary teams.
• Drive quality improvement, service development, and change management initiatives aligned with departmental priorities.
• Foster strong internal and external partnerships to support workforce and service objectives.
• Contribute to physiotherapy research, evidence translation, and the development of future clinical leaders.

Skills

Leadership & management

Workforce planning

Strategic program implementation

Stakeholder engagement

AHPRA registration

Job description

• Strategic Workforce Operations Lead (Grade 5 Physiotherapist)
• Full-Time, Permanent

Austin Health is the major provider of tertiary health services, health professional education and research across three campuses in the north-east of Melbourne and statewide. We have a highly engaged, diverse and collaborative workforce that is unified by our goal to help people live healthy and fulfilled lives.

About the Physiotherapy department

The Physiotherapy Department is committed to delivering the highest standards of person-centred, evidence-based physiotherapy care across all Austin Health campuses. The department provides services throughout the continuum of care, from the Emergency Department through to inpatient, rehabilitation, and ambulatory services. Staff are actively engaged in professional development, research, quality improvement, and the education of undergraduate and postgraduate students.

This position is a key member of the Physiotherapy Senior Leadership Team and reports directly to the Manager, Physiotherapy. The successful applicant will be required to work across Austin Health campuses and collaborate with leaders across Physiotherapy, Allied Health, and multidisciplinary teams.

About the role

The Strategic Workforce Operations Lead is responsible for providing strategic leadership and operational oversight of the Physiotherapy Grade 1 and Grade 2 workforce. Working closely with the Education Lead and senior leadership team, this position will drive initiatives that strengthen workforce capability, support recruitment and retention, and ensure the development of future physiotherapy leaders.

This role plays a critical part in developing sustainable workforce models, enhancing supervision and professional development programs, and ensuring physiotherapy services continue to meet the evolving healthcare needs of our community. The position also provides leadership of a clinical stream while contributing to departmental strategy, quality improvement, research, and service innovation.

A regular day will see you:

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight of the Grade 1 and Grade 2 physiotherapy workforce.
• Lead the development, implementation, and evaluation of graduate and early-career workforce programs.
• Support innovative workforce models that enable staff to work to their full scope of practice.
• Lead workforce planning, recruitment, retention, supervision, and professional development initiatives for junior staff.
• Provide expert clinical leadership and consultancy across physiotherapy services and multidisciplinary teams.
• Drive quality improvement, service development, and change management initiatives aligned with departmental priorities.
• Foster strong internal and external partnerships to support workforce and service objectives.
• Contribute to physiotherapy research, evidence translation, and the development of future clinical leaders.

About you

To be successful in this role you’ll bring with you:

• Extensive leadership and management experience within a complex health service environment.
• Experience developing and implementing innovative workforce models and service improvements that enhance patient outcomes.
• Strong understanding of contemporary healthcare systems, workforce challenges, and future workforce capability requirements.
• Demonstrated success in workforce planning, change management, and strategic program implementation.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• Current AHPRA registration and eligibility for membership with the relevant professional association.

Working at Austin Health means enjoying a strong sense of purpose, engaging in meaningful work every day. Our people also receive a variety of rewarding benefits, including:

• Greater take-home pay through generous salary packaging, for living expenses, meals, and holiday accommodation.
• A suite of wellness initiatives designed to support you, including discounted fitness memberships and special offers on health insurance, and a comprehensive wellbeing program.
• Onsite childcare at Austin Hospital, easy access via public transport and car parking options.
• Mentoring and career development opportunities.

Work with us!

We are committed to cultural safety and health equity for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People. We celebrate, value, and include people of all backgrounds, genders, identities, cultures, bodies, and abilities. We welcome and support applications from talented people identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, people with disability, neurodiverse people, LGBTQIA+ and people of all ages and cultures.

All appointments are made subject to a satisfactory National Police Check and if required, a Working with Children Check. Austin Health is a child safe organisation, committed to upholding the rights, safety, and wellbeing of children and young people in line with Child Safe Standards.If you require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, you are welcome to reach out to the hiring manager:Thomas Rollinson, Manager Physiotherapy at ***************@austin.org.au