What The Role Is
Reporting to the Director, Assurance & Risk, you will provide leadership across the division's key functions, spanning audit management, process and governance reviews, enterprise risk management, and quality management. You will serve as a trusted advisor and thought leader to senior management and key governance bodies, translating complex risk and compliance insights into clear, actionable recommendations that support sound organisational decision-making.
You will take ownership of ensuring that VITAL's internal control environment remains robust, relevant, and fit for purpose, and that risk management and compliance practices are aligned with whole-of-government requirements and evolving organisational needs. You will lead the development of risk culture across the organisation, encouraging staff and leaders to understand how different parts of the organisation connect, anticipate the broader impact of risks and decisions, and address root causes rather than symptoms. You will also represent VITAL in engagements with external regulators, auditors, and whole-of-government counterparts, bringing credibility and confidence to these interactions.
What You Will Be Working On
1. Audit Management & Oversight
- Provide direction over internal and external audit activities, ensuring the audit workplan reflects the organisation's risk priorities and provides meaningful coverage across key risk areas
- Serve as the principal interface between internal auditors, external regulatory bodies, and senior management, driving effective audit coordination, timely resolution of findings, and organisational learning from audit outcomes
- Synthesise audit insights across engagements to identify systemic trends, emerging risks, and opportunities for strengthening the organisation's control environment
2. Process & Governance Reviews - Lead independent reviews of operational processes and governance frameworks, providing objective assessment of control effectiveness and driving meaningful enhancements where gaps are identified
- Provide well-considered and independent advisory to business functions and senior leadership on policy implementation, internal controls, and compliance requirements
- Provide governance leadership to the Assurance Committee, ensuring robust oversight, effective decision-making, and disciplined follow-through on committee commitments
- Extend assurance coverage to IT systems from a controls and governance perspective, including independent reviews of system access controls, user permission matrices, and system workflows, to ensure these remain adequate and aligned with organisational risk and compliance requirements
3. Advisory & Assurance - Serve as a trusted advisor and subject matter expert to senior management and business functions on risk, audit, and compliance matters
- Provide oversight of control remediation efforts, ensuring that audit findings and operational lapses are addressed effectively, sustainably, and with due regard for underlying root causes
- Champion the use of data analytics to enhance the depth, timeliness, and value of assurance insights
4. Enterprise Risk Management - Provide leadership of VITAL's enterprise risk management framework, driving organisation-wide risk identification and assessment, risk register development, and the design of robust control and mitigation measures
- Oversee the Risk and Control Self-Assessment framework, ensuring assessments are rigorous, consistent, and reflective of the organisation's evolving risk landscape
- Maintain and continuously enhance the Risk Incident Escalation Framework, ensuring systematic incident reporting and effective management response
- Provide governance leadership to the Risk Management Committee, supporting informed decision-making and effective risk oversight at the senior leadership level
5. Quality Management & Continuous Improvement - Provide leadership of VITAL's ISO 9001 Quality Management System, driving a culture of quality, continuous improvement, and operational excellence across the organisation
- Champion the implementation of process improvement initiatives and the strengthening of documentation standards, ensuring these efforts translate into tangible and sustained improvements in organisational performance
- Provide governance leadership to the ISO Management Committee, ensuring effective oversight and accountability for quality management commitments
6. Risk Culture, Capability Building & Organisational Development - Take ownership of shaping and sustaining a strong risk management culture across VITAL, embedding risk awareness and accountability as organisational norms rather than compliance obligations
- Develop and implement knowledge and competency frameworks that build organisational capability in risk management and quality management
- Encourage staff and leaders across the organisation to look beyond immediate issues, understand how their work connects to the broader organisation, and consider the wider impact of their decisions
- Build and sustain a high-performing assurance and risk team, fostering a culture of learning, innovation, and professional excellence
What We Are Looking For
- Degree in a relevant field. Professional certifications in accounting, audit, or risk management such as CIA or equivalent are preferred
- Proven leadership experience in assurance, risk management, or a related field, with a track record of operating effectively at a senior level in a corporate or public sector environment
- Strong knowledge of corporate governance standards, internal controls, risk assessment methodologies, and regulatory frameworks, including whole-of-government policies
- Demonstrated ability to think and operate at an organisational level, with the capacity to influence senior stakeholders and drive meaningful outcomes across functions
- Strong ability to see the bigger picture, understand how different parts of the organisation connect and affect one another, and develop well-rounded and sustainable solutions to complex challenges
- Strong analytical acumen, with experience in leveraging data analytics to enhance assurance and risk management outcomes
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to engage with confidence and clarity at senior leadership level, and to represent the organisation credibly in external engagements
- Proven ability to build and lead high-performing teams, drive cultural change, and develop organisational capability
- Familiarity with quality management frameworks such as ISO 9001 and business process improvement methodologies
We regret to inform that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.
