The Role

The Director, Reform leads Gayaa Dhuwi’s national reform and implementation work across Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing, mental health and suicide prevention. The role carries senior leadership responsibility for the implementation of major national reform priorities, including the Gayaa Dhuwi Declaration Framework and Implementation Plan 2025–2035, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy 2025–2035, and the National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Mental Health and Social and Emotional Wellbeing 2026–2036.

This is a strategic and operational leadership role as it requires the ability to translate broad reform directions into practical workplans, partnerships and deliverables. It builds the planning systems that give the organisation, the CEO, and external stakeholders genuine visibility over progress, risks and milestones across a ten-year implementation horizon.

The Director, Reform leads a team of three direct reports and is a member of the executive leadership team alongside the Director, Policy and the General Manager. The role works in close partnership with the Director, Policy to ensure reform implementation is connected to and guided by Gayaa Dhuwi’s policy positions and informed by evidence.

This role will suit a senior leader who brings deep subject matter knowledge, strong planning discipline, clear communication, and a genuine commitment to building the capability of the people they lead. They will be comfortable operating in a complex, fast-moving national policy environment and will understand that long-term reform work requires persistence, careful relationships, and the ability to maintain momentum.

Selection Criteria

1.        Demonstrated ability to work respectfully within an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership organisations, including understanding the importance of culture, self-determination, community control, member informed priorities, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership.

2.        Demonstrated understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing, mental health and suicide prevention, including the policy, service system, and reform context relevant to this work.

3.        Demonstrated experience leading reform, implementation or strategic projects, including the ability to translate priorities into practical workplans, deliverables, reporting processes, and implementation activity.

4.        Demonstrated ability to understand complex systems, identify risks, and opportunities, exercise sound judgement and provide clear advice in sensitive policy, cultural and organisational contexts.

5.        Demonstrated ability to lead staff, manage competing priorities, review work, maintain momentum across a complex work program, and communicate clearly through high-quality written and verbal advice.

About Gayaa Dhuwi

Gayaa Dhuwi is the national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing, mental health, and suicide prevention. As a members based, community-controlled organisation, we are governed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experts and peak bodies.

Our vision is the highest attainable standard of social and emotional wellbeing, mental health, and suicide prevention outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Our role is to lead and advocate for systemic change that places the voices, strengths, and needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples at the centre of national policies and reforms.

We work in a fast-paced national policy and reform environment where priorities can shift quickly in response to government processes, parliamentary inquiries, sector developments, member priorities, emerging evidence, and national reform opportunities. As a result, our team needs to be made up of individuals who can understand complex policy and service systems, work respectfully within an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership and organisations, and produce high-quality work across social and emotional wellbeing, mental health, and suicide prevention.

Gayaa Dhuwi’s work is long-term with progress often requiring sustained advocacy, careful relationships, strong evidence and the ability to keep work moving over time. People who thrive at Gayaa Dhuwi are steady, thoughtful, organised, respectful, clear in their communication and able to maintain perspective while working on issues that matter deeply to our peoples and communities.

https://www.gayaadhuwi.org.au

**APPLICATIONS CLOSE 24th June 2026**