Chief Executive Officer

Barnardos Australia 

Barnardos Australia strives to support families to keep children and young people safe at home, ending child abuse and neglect. Barnardos helps children and young people to recover and thrive, especially those who have experienced trauma. Where there is risk of abuse, safe homes are found. Barnardos extensive range of services include family support and preservation, domestic and family violence support, counselling, transitional accommodation, parent education, youth support, foster care and open adoption. 

Barnardos is strongly committed to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Placement Principle through empowering First Nations children and young people, upholding their rights to be cared for within their own communities, and through transferring care to, and strengthening relationships with Aboriginal community-controlled organisations. 
  
All Barnardos work is underpinned by their strategic plan, with associated planning and implementation of key objectives. The research and services Barnardos provides to support mothers and families are proven to deliver significant impact, guided by Barnardos’ Theory of Change, which also places domestic violence as one of the key threats to child safety and wellbeing.  
  

The Role 

As the CEO you will fearlessly advocate for the voice, rights, and needs of all Australian children to achieve Barnardos vision through campaigns, programs, and collectively through partnership and collaboration with the sector. 
 
Working with the board and your executive team you will lead comprehensive planning that will shape a bold, long-term vision to maximise organisational impact and reach, addressing the direct needs of vulnerable children and families.  

You will lead the organisation through the shifting Australian charity landscape to diversify and increase impact through philanthropy, policy and thought leadership whilst navigating legislative constraints that impact the organisational workforce and operations. You will also challenge the systems, institutional and socio-economic inequalities faced by Indigenous children.


Skills Required 

You’re a visionary leader who brings strategic clarity and a proven track record in organisational and executive leadership development. You have progressed your executive career within a like-minded agency or sector, advocating and building relationships with stakeholders, including community, sector partners, funders, government, regulators and the media.  
 
You’re politically astute with innate advocacy and engagement skills, committed to cultural safety, inclusivity, and intersectionality in leadership, decision-making, and organisational processes. Ideally, you’ll have an excellent understanding of the federal, state and local government policy context for the delivery of family, youth and children’s services, particularly in the area of out of home care. Additionally, you can demonstrate the following skills and experience:  

• Entrepreneurial approach to diversifying and maximising income without compromising impact 
• Astute cultural competency to support the self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, families and communities, including working with the Aboriginal community-controlled sector to drive sustainable reform
• Oversight of program development and delivery to ensure effectiveness and evidence-based impact for children and families 
• Executive leadership and team management skills to develop capability and a high-performance environment, top-down
• Accountability and responsibility for organisational finances with a focus on sustainability and growth
• Oversight of risk management and regulatory and governance requirements 

Barnardos is a culturally safe and inclusive workplace that values a diverse range of skills, backgrounds, and lived experience, and provides support for cultural leave and kinship care. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander candidates in particular are encouraged to apply.  

If advocating and driving strategy to improve the lives of vulnerable children, young people and their families is your next career and personal challenge, please contact Richard Green at NGO Recruitment on 02 8243 0570 to receive a candidate information package or to have a confidential discussion, or apply by submitting your resume with a cover letter addressing the skills required section above quoting reference #1361109 

Please note there is no formal closing date for this role, if you are interested, we would encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

NGO Recruitment values equitable recruitment practices and is committed to representing candidates reflective of the diverse organisations and communities we work with. We welcome and encourage applications from all backgrounds, ages, and identities, and are happy to adjust our recruitment process to support accessibility needs. If you are interested in this position and have most of the skills or experience we are looking for, please go ahead and apply.