Program Director, Workforce Planning

NSW Health; St Leonards; Hybrid; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work arrangements

Inclusive workplace

Job summary

NSW Health is seeking a senior leader to head the central Workforce Planning function, guiding strategic direction and governance across the system.

You will oversee frameworks and tools for high-quality workforce plans, partner with agencies and executives, and drive evidence-based planning and workforce redesign initiatives to stabilise and optimise the state’s health workforce.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience leading workforce planning, strategy or transformation initiatives within a large and complex organisation.
• Deep expertise in workforce planning and workforce optimisation, including skill mix, workforce redesign and contemporary skills-based approaches.
• A track record of establishing workforce planning frameworks, governance and capability that improve decision making and workforce outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Lead NSW Health's central Workforce Planning function, providing strategic direction, leadership and oversight across the system.
• Establish and continuously improve workforce planning frameworks, methodologies, standards and tools that support consistent and high-quality workforce planning.
• Provide expert advice on workforce planning, workforce strategy, optimisation, skill mix and redesign opportunities.
• Lead a team of workforce planning specialists and foster workforce planning capability across NSW Health.
• Partner with Health Agencies, clinical leaders and executives to align local priorities with statewide needs.
• Identify emerging workforce risks and translate them into practical workforce strategies and actions.
• Assure the quality and consistency of workforce plans and strategies across NSW Health.
• Identify, evaluate and scale workforce initiatives and better practices for sustainable outcomes.

Skills

Workforce planning

Strategy development

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Change management

Job description

Join the Workforce Planning and Analytics team at Ministry of Health for an exciting ongoing opportunity and be part of the team enriching health in millions of ways every day.

About us

• Our core values of collaboration, openness, respect, and empowerment are more than just words – they are the guiding principles that shape every aspect of our work.
• While regular office presence is essential, we offer flexible work arrangements to support your needs.
• Committed to fostering diverse and inclusive workplace for all.

To learn more about the Ministry and what benefits we offer, access our Employee Benefits Handbook.

About the role

With your skills and experience, you can contribute to the millions of ways we are enhancing health and wellness while developing your career as part of the largest health organisation in Australia.

This is an opportunity to lead a newly established central Workforce Planning function that will shape how workforce planning is undertaken across NSW Health.

Reporting to the Director, Workforce Planning and Analytics, you will lead a team of workforce planning specialists responsible for establishing a consistent and strategically aligned approach to workforce planning across one of Australia's largest and most complex workforces.

You will oversee the development of workforce planning frameworks, methodologies, tools and governance that support high-quality workforce plans and workforce strategies across NSW Health. Working closely with Health Agencies, senior executives and key stakeholders, you will help identify workforce risks, emerging priorities and opportunities to improve workforce sustainability through evidence-based planning, workforce optimisation and workforce redesign initiatives. Including establishing the approaches which underpin more sophisticated skills and needs based workforce planning and provide the foundation for future workforce optimisation, skill mix and workforce redesign strategies.

This role is ideally suited to a workforce planning leader who combines deep technical expertise with the ability to influence, partner and drive change across a large and federated organisation.

For more information, please read the full Role Description.

What you will be doing

• Lead NSW Health's central Workforce Planning function, providing strategic direction, leadership and oversight of workforce planning activities across the system.
• Establish and continuously improve workforce planning frameworks, methodologies, standards and tools that support consistent and high-quality workforce planning.
• Provide expert advice on workforce planning, workforce strategy, workforce optimisation, skill mix and workforce redesign opportunities.
• Lead a team of workforce planning specialists and foster workforce planning capability across NSW Health.
• Partner with Health Agencies, clinical leaders and executive stakeholders to support the development of workforce plans and workforce strategies that align local priorities with statewide needs.
• Identify emerging workforce risks, trends and opportunities and translate these into practical workforce strategies and actions.
• Assure the quality and consistency of workforce plans and workforce strategies developed across NSW Health.
• Identify, evaluate and scale workforce initiatives and better practices that deliver sustainable workforce outcomes across the system.
• Lead strategic workforce projects, including the implementation of statewide position and establishment management approaches that support improved workforce governance, planning and optimisation.

About you

We are seeking motivated and committed individuals who can support the work of NSW Health with:

• Extensive experience leading workforce planning, workforce strategy or workforce transformation initiatives within a large and complex organisation.
• Deep expertise in workforce planning and workforce optimisation, including skill mix, workforce redesign, role redesign and contemporary skills-based workforce approaches.
• A track record of establishing workforce planning frameworks, governance and capability that improve organisational decision making and workforce outcomes.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with proven experience partnering with executives to drive strategic workforce priorities and system-wide change.
• Strong strategic leadership capability, with the ability to identify emerging workforce challenges, develop practical solutions and translate successful initiatives into scalable approaches across a complex organisation.

For role related queries or questions contact Rian Thompson at *************@health.nsw.gov.au and quote REQ690924.

As an organisation we are committed to creating an accessible and inclusive workplace. If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, please contact **************@health.nsw.gov.au.

For more information about adjustments for individual needs, please visit the Adjustments for individual needs | I Work For NSW and Inclusive recruitment of people with disability | NSW Government.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion

At the Ministry of Health, we are committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, and flexible environment which reflects the community and customers we serve. We actively promote the employment of women, people with a disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, LGBTIQ+ community and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. For more information, please visit Diversity Inclusion Belonging.

If you identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and would like assistance with your application or to obtain more information on how to apply, please visit The Stepping Up Initiative.

To be eligible for employment in these roles

To be eligible for employment in these roles you must be an Australian citizen, or a permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen, or hold a valid visa with permission to work in Australia.

Additional information

• This recruitment may be used to create a Talent Pool for similar future roles (ongoing or temporary) that may arise over the next 18 months.
• For more information on applying visit the our career portal.
• Please note that the selection process will include a range of comparative assessment techniques to assist in determining your suitability for the role.

Applications Close: Wednesday 14 October 2026 (11:59PM).