Director Operations (Chief Operating Officer)

The Treaty Authority is an independent entity with a mandate to facilitate the formation of treaties between the State of Victoria and First Peoples in Victoria. 

The Treaty Authority’s work is grounded in Aboriginal culture, lore and law and led collectively by a panel of five Members committed to Aboriginal self-determination and empowerment. It engages with a broad cross-section of stakeholders including the State of Victoria, the First Peoples’ Assembly and Traditional Owners in Victoria. 

The objects of the Treaty Authority’s work are to:

• Facilitate the journey towards reconciliation, mutual respect and tolerance between First Peoples and other people of the State and to 
• Maintain, promote and advance the self-determination and empowerment, culture and human rights of First Peoples.

The Director Operations (Chief Operating Officer) provides strategic leadership and direction across the Treaty Authority’s finance, governance, technology and human resource functions. The role will be pivotal in driving operational excellence, financial stewardship and organisational effectiveness in supporting the company’s growth and success.

This senior executive role will work directly with the senior leadership team, CEO and Members to ensure operational excellence is in place to support the strategic direction of the organisation within its financial resources. The person will drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance operational effectiveness, innovation and agility, whilst ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and financial best practices.

This is a three-year fixed-term opportunity, based at our offices in Collingwood.

• Partner with the CEO to lead and drive strategic plans, operational plans and supporting initiatives and drive their implementation and achievement.
• Collaborate with leaders to address business priorities, ensuring oversight of business planning and KPI frameworks.
• Oversee the efficient and comprehensive management of the day-to-day business operations and administration under the Operational Plan. 
• Oversight of the budget and financial performance and the management of its property, assets and capital.
• Oversee financial, procurement and contract management, systems and controls, ensuring effectiveness, rigour and helping to optimise coordination and communication between business and program functions.
• Implement strategies to strengthen the organisation’s financial security and sustainability to support programs, services and operations.
• Accountable for preparation, monitoring and reporting on the annual budget and forecasts in consultation with CEO and senior leadership team.
• Ensure governance policy, systems and process support is provided to the organisation while ensuring the organisation’s governance requirements are met.
• Lead the development and implementation of an effective procurement framework to ensure the procurement of goods and/or services are effective and compliant.
• Accountable for the IT strategic plan and architecture, IT policy and procedures, information security and cyber security, IT business continuity, crisis and disaster recovery planning.
• Lead the management of IT infrastructure and platforms across the organisation to ensure they support the delivery of the strategic plan.
• Ensure an effective plan for human resources and people initiatives is developed and aligns with strategic goals.
• Oversee the development and implementation of best practice human resources strategies and approaches.
• Accountable for compliance, safety and risk governance across the Treaty Authority.
• Ensure the consistent implementation of workplace health and safety practices for the organisation and oversee compliance with those practices.
• Actively promote and advocate the vision and initiatives of the Treaty Authority within and outside the organisation as a member of the executive leadership team.
• Play a key leadership role in fostering positive team engagement and inspiring an inclusive and high-performing culture across the Treaty Authority.

• Relevant tertiary qualifications (eg Finance, Business, IT, Project Management, CPA/CA accreditation or similar) and/or substantial and broad experience in a similar role. Postgraduate business qualifications (eg MBA).
• Extensive project management experience.
• Previous or lived experience working with First Peoples’ communities preferably in Victoria, with sound working knowledge of First Peoples’ community-controlled organisations, Traditional Owner groups, legislative and regulatory regimes, First Peoples’ histories and leaders, democratic processes, machinery of government and the Victorian Public Service.
• Dedicated and passionate about using skills and experience to improve professional development and career outcomes for First Peoples.
• Extensive experience at an executive, general management or senior management level overseeing and leading the delivery of corporate services, finance or operations, preferably in a community or for-purpose organisation.
• Exceptional capabilities in financial management and analysis with demonstrated experience in development and implementation of financial strategies.
• Broad experience across Finance, Strategy, HR and Technology, with the capability to steer the organisation to align day-to-day operations with overarching strategy.
• Extensive experience in the development of organisational strategy and business plans.
• Experience with data governance, knowledge management and information management.
• Proven ability to develop and implement qualitative infrastructure that facilitates a culture of continuous improvement.
• Experience leading enterprise-wide project prioritisation, project delivery, change management, reporting, and risk management.
• Highly developed people leadership skills and experience and the ability to coach and develop direct reports.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and oversee programs of change management across the organisation. 
• Highly developed people management, interpersonal and relationship management skills.
• Strongly developed stakeholder engagement capabilities and capability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, with an ability to gather evidence and insights and deliver reports that guide strategic thinking and business planning along with highly analytical with strong ability to interpret data.

This position is commensurate with a SES1 range starting at a salary of $216,376 including super, depending on the successful applicant’s experience.

This position is open to everyone; however the nature of the Treaty Authority’s work means we strongly encourage First Peoples to apply.

If you feel you could contribute well in this role, click the Quick Apply button to submit your application with a copy of your resume along with a brief cover letter explaining why you are interested in this opportunity.

Applications close 12 July 2024.

General EOI: If you are interested in working with the Treaty Authority in any capacity, please send us an expression of interest with a copy of your resume to ****@treatyauthority.au.