Chief Executive Officer

About the Chief Executive Officer Role:

The Chief Executive Officer position at LELAN is a key leadership role in the lived experience consumer and mental health space in South Australia. It requires the incumbent to bring their personal, professional and socio-political worlds together in unique ways to lead change. 

The Chief Executive Officer plays a critical strategic role in amplifying the voice, influence and leadership of people with lived experience of mental distress, social issues and injustice, ensuring that all projects and advocacy undertaken by LELAN is by, for and with the lived experience community in South Australia. 

The Chief Executive Officer position provides leadership within LELAN in the areas of projects, organisational strategic direction and culture, systemic advocacy, governance and business growth. Outwardly, the Chief Executive Officer actively develops strategic partnerships and influence, always informed by the collective insights and contributions of the lived experience community to achieve greater impact.

About LELAN:

LELAN is the independent peak body in South Australia by, for and with people with lived experience of mental distress, social issues or injustice. Our purpose is to amplify the voice, influence and leadership of people with lived experience to drive systemic change. LELAN has led philanthropic, state and federally funded projects as well as completed commissioned pieces of work.

LELAN’s systemic advocacy targets the mental health and social sectors in South Australia, whilst our thought leadership and expertise on lived experience expertise and leadership is borderless.

The organisation has three strategic pillars:

• Developing the capability and influence of people with lived experience.
• Nurturing organisational and sector capacity for partnering with people with lived experience.
• Impacting system improvement agendas to benefit people with lived experience.

Mobilising the power of lived experience throughout South Australia is LELAN’s vision. This underpins the work that we do and the way that we do it, embodying the knowing we have that lived experience matters. 

Our values are courage, compassion, dignity, intersectionality, leadership and social justice.

Duties and Responsibilities of the Chief Executive Officer:

Strategy and Planning:

• Co-develops and oversees the theory of change model and strategic plan of the organisation with the Board.
• Provides balanced and timely strategic advice to the Board.
• Oversees and signs-off on all operational level program and business plans.
• Oversees and signs-off on communication and other plans to achieve influence.
• Leads growth and budget planning in conjunction with the Financial Controller and the Finance Sub-Committee/Treasurer.
• Oversees planning for new initiatives.
• Plans for organisation development and change.
• Responsible for securing grant funding, fee for service and philanthropic income to ensure the sustainability and growth of LELAN.

epresentation and Partnerships:

• Represents LELAN at the highest levels and delegates responsibility for other representational roles.
• Engages and builds meaningful relationships with LELAN’s membership and broader lived experience community to ensure their collective voices are defining our systemic objectives.
• Establishes and maintains successful stakeholder partnerships.
• Creates opportunities for partnerships and collaborative ventures in line with LELAN’s strategic plan.

Impact and Influence: 

• Sets a vision and clear targets for impact, to pursue systemic reform to the South Australian mental health system and social sector.
• Leads initiatives that influence the mental health system and social sector in line with lived experience values and needs as articulated by the lived experience community in South Australia.
• Leverages lived experience voices and stakeholder relationships to realise system level impact. 
• Leads promotion and marketing of LELAN and our key policy positions. 

People and Culture: 

• Appoints to leadership roles and builds a skilled, collegiate and effective staff group.
• Designs, grows and maintains an organisational culture that is trauma-informed, inclusive and collaborative and inspires LELAN’s team to thrive and realise their full potential, allowing everyone the opportunity to lead. 
• Provides support and supervision to staff on a regular basis.
• Ensures accountability, support and performance planning process are in place across the organisation. 
• Designs and oversees organisation development and change processes. 
• Promotes learning and reflection. 
• Authorises, on a regular basis, culture surveys and other staff satisfaction and wellbeing measures.
• Ensures workplace policy is comprehensive and up to date. 

Innovation and Quality: 

• Grows and innovates, creating new opportunities in accordance with LELAN’s purpose and strategy.
• Oversees program/project design and codesign processes and implementation and exit planning. 
• Ensures all programs and projects are underpinned by the theory of change endorsed by the Board. 
• Ensures all programs meet their key deliverables, on time and within budget. 

Compliance, Safety and Reporting:

• Has a full and thorough knowledge of all compliance and reporting requirements impacting LELAN, and delegates responsibility appropriately.
• Full reporting on budget, performance and compliance to the Board, registration and funding bodies.
• Ensures adequate safeguarding of all initiatives involving community members.
• All necessary information is available for financial and accreditation audits.

Workplace and Systems:

• Provides oversight and design of a fit-for-purpose and contemporary workplace and workplace policy and procedures and information management systems.
• Provides approval of policy and user-friendly processes that effectively support program delivery and reporting.
• Ensures staff working in remote locations are well-connected, accountable and supported.
• Leads a safe and compliant workplace.

Governance:

• Effectively supports the Board and its sub-committees and ensures they receive required, timely information and advice.
• Develops and provides business cases for initiatives requiring investment or prioritisation.
• Contributes to and participates in strategic planning and other governance development activities.
• Reports to the Board on the delivery and outcomes of the Strategic and Business plans and provides informed and balanced advice as requested.
• Undertakes Board induction process. 
• Oversees and organises AGM, annual report and board nominations processes in collaboration with the Board.
• The LELAN board will set Key Performance Indicators and priorities for the Chief Executive Officer each financial year in line with the strategic plan. Progress towards the performance indicators and priorities will be included in the Chief Executive Officers monthly board report.

Skill and Experience Requirements:

• Personal lived experience of mental distress, social issues or injustice.
• Demonstrated experience of and commitment to centring and enhancing the involvement and leadership of people with lived experience, particularly consumers, towards collective action. 
• Demonstrated ability to attract and secure grants, fee-for-service and philanthropic investments.
• Demonstrated experience and high-level ability to form and maintain successful stakeholder partnerships that can be leveraged to help the organisation achieve strategic objectives. 
• Demonstrated experience leading and managing projects from idea to completion (including evaluation), with a great attention to detail.
• Highly competent at financial reporting and management. 
• Demonstrated ability to develop, lead and hold accountability for strategic outcomes at a high level. 
• Innovative and creative and able to develop ‘out of the box’ ideas.
• Experience designing and facilitating workshops and co-design processes, particularly where this is by, for and with people with lived experience. 
• Strong planning, project management and organisational skills, including establishing priorities, managing time well and delivering quality work within tight deadlines.
• Qualifications and high-level experience in peer work, mental health, social science, community development or related field.
• Negotiation skills and the ability to disrupt current policy and industry to do better.
• Commitment to the purpose and values of LELAN.
• Computer literacy, including ability to use Microsoft Office 365 programs and Asana.

We are committed to inclusion and accessibility for people with lived experience and welcome applications from people with broad distress or mental health experiences (including psychosocial disability), diverse cultural backgrounds (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people), gender or sexually diverse identities (including trans and non-binary), and other disabilities.

Submitting Your Application:

Applications must include a cover letter, document addressing each of the skill and experience requirements, resume or CV and the names and contact details of at least two referees.

Further enquiries can be made by contacting Danielle Bament, LELAN Board Chair via 0477 381 131. Additional information about LELAN can be accessed at www.lelan.org.au. 

Applications close Thursday March 21st at 5pm.

Please email to danni@aspirerecovery.com.au.