Director – Major Hazards & Dangerous Goods

- Executive Remuneration Package
- Full Time, Fixed Term opportunity
- Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung / Melbourne based role (Hybrid work from home – minimum 3 days in the office)

About the opportunity At WorkSafe we’re dedicated to supporting all Victorians to be healthy and safe at work and to recover from any workplace injury or illness as quickly as possible. Our passion for safety and wellbeing is what unites us.

Reporting to the Head of Field Operations, the Director Major Hazards & Dangerous Goods leads a team of six direct reports and manages WorkSafe’s Major Hazards & Dangerous Goods Programs.

The Major Hazards & Dangerous Goods team provide regulatory oversight of Victoria’s Major Hazard Facilities and highest risk Dangerous Goods sites via dedicated specialists and inspections teams. The team also provides expert advice to support WorkSafe’s statutory functions and operations relating to Dangerous Goods.

Key Responsibilities:

- Leading and managing the delivery of both the Major Hazards Program and Dangerous Goods Program across the business. This includes development and implementation of program strategy aligned with WorkSafe strategy, and detailed business plans to support implementation of the strategy
- Engaging with and influencing external stakeholders (other regulators, unions, industry associations and the Major Hazards Advisory Committee and Dangerous Goods Stakeholder Reference Group) to drive a collaborative approach across the Major Hazards and Dangerous Goods sectors
- Engaging directly with and influencing CEOs and senior management of Major Hazards Facilities to drive improvement within the facilities’ performance
- Acting as the WorkSafe management representative accountable for WorkSafe’s activity and resourcing in collection, storage and destruction of abandoned and expired explosives and fireworks,



including oversight of WorkSafe’s two explosives magazines
- Driving a culture of learning and continuous improvement through the Major Hazards and Dangerous Goods sectors, including benchmarking other high hazards industries, regulators and approaches
- Exercise key statutory delegations on behalf of WorkSafe, including Major Hazard Facility licensing decisions and Dangerous Goods approvals, exemptions and directions.

Please ensure you take a look at the Position Description here for additional information on accountabilities for this role.

About you

You are an experienced and strategic people leader with expertise in high hazard industries, and extensive operational experience within high hazard and regulatory environments. Your interpersonal, stakeholder engagement and communication skills are exemplary.

Additionally, you possess the following skills and experience:

- Leadership experience including monitoring and managing team and individual performance and demonstrated skills in developing and implementing business strategy, managing complex relationships, challenging existing practices, allocating resources and translating technical knowledge of Dangerous Goods into targeted action plans
- Solid critical thinking skills and thorough understanding of accident causation in complex, high risk environments
- Ability to engage professionally with a diverse internal and external client/stakeholder group in a variety of situations, using a range of influencing, negotiation and conflict resolution approaches





Qualifications

- Tertiary qualification relevant to the Major Hazards industry e.g. engineering, science
- OHS qualification preferred

Working with Us

At WorkSafe, our goal is for every employee to feel connected, safe, and valued within their team, for teams to feel appreciated in the workplace, and for WorkSafe to be respected in the community.

We believe that a diverse workforce is essential for delivering the best outcomes for the Victorian community. We strongly encourage applications from all individuals, including First Nations people, people with disabilities, those from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and individuals of all sexualities and genders.

What’s next?

Applications close 11:00pm Friday, 4th September 2026. Click the link to apply, and join us in making a difference to Victorian lives.

Only applications submitted via the WorkSafe Careers website will be considered.

Preferred candidates will be required to satisfactorily complete a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check and/or other checks as required for the position as part of the recruitment process.

Eligibility for ongoing employment with WorkSafe Victoria requires Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent residency.

Due to the volume of applications received, individualised feedback will only be provided to candidates who progress to interview stage.

To ensure a fair and open recruitment process, we request that you complete your written application and any online interviews without the use of AI tools. We want to understand your professional skills, experience and capabilities. We acknowledge that candidates may choose to use AI as part of background research.

For further enquiries please contact Talent Acquisition Specialist Will Hillgrove via email – [email protected]

📌 Director - Major Hazards & Dangerous Goods (Melbourne)
🏢 WorkSafe Victoria
📍 Melbourne