Help shape the workforce behind one of ANZ’s most respected specialist healthcare groups - where purpose, growth and culture genuinely align.

At OnTalent, we're fortunate to partner with organisations where leadership, culture and purpose genuinely matter. Sterling Group is one of those organisations. We're proud to be partnering with Sterling to appoint a Head of Specialist Talent, a strategically important role that will help shape the people, relationships and workforce capability underpinning the Group's continued growth across Australia and New Zealand.

Reporting directly to the CEO, this is a rare chance to build a long-term talent strategy within an organisation that understands its future success will be determined by its people.

Why We Love Partnering with Sterling

Sterling is a specialist-led veterinary hospital group operating across Australia and New Zealand, providing complex referral, emergency and specialist care through a network of highly regarded hospitals and clinical teams. The Group continues to grow through acquisition, service expansion and greenfield development, with a clear ambition to become the leading network of specialty and emergency veterinary hospitals across the region.

What stands out to us is Sterling’s ability to balance ambitious growth with genuine care for people. This is reflected in the Group's commitment to attracting, developing and retaining outstanding clinicians and support professionals, recognising that exceptional patient care begins with exceptional people. That's why this role is so important, it is building the talent pipeline that will support Sterling's next phase of growth.

The Group's values of Excellence, Dependability and Collaboration are more than words on a wall. They are reflected in how leaders engage with each other, how clinical teams work together and how decisions are made. High standards are expected, but they are coupled with humility, trust, kindness and a deep commitment to supporting people to do their best work.

At Sterling, protecting and strengthening culture is considered a leadership responsibility. The Group currently employs approximately 500+ people across Australia and New Zealand and continues to invest in the people, systems and leadership capability required to support sustainable growth.

What also impresses us is the discipline Sterling brings to growth. New hospitals, service expansion and acquisitions are considered through a workforce lens, with leaders recognising that sustainable growth requires proactive planning,



long-term talent relationships and investment in capability before demand arrives. That's one of the reasons this role carries such strategic importance.

The Opportunity:

This role sits at the heart of Sterling's future growth plans.

As Head of Talent and Workforce Strategy, you will lead how Sterling is known as an employer, how it attracts exceptional talent, how it builds relationships with specialist communities, and how it develops workforce capability to support future growth.

While recruitment delivery forms part of the remit, this is fundamentally a workforce planning and talent strategy role.

Working closely with the CEO, General Managers and Clinical Directors, you will help ensure workforce realities, market intelligence and talent availability inform growth decisions early, rather than becoming challenges to solve later. Whether supporting a new hospital opening, service expansion or acquisition, you'll bring a long-term view of workforce capability and readiness to the table.

You'll lead initiatives across

- Employer brand and employment proposition
- Strategic sourcing and direct search
- Candidate attraction and experience
- Specialist community engagement and alumni relationships
- Workforce planning for acquisitions, growth and new hospital openings
- Talent pipelines across specialists, clinicians, nurses and operational leadership roles
- Workforce data, market intelligence and recruitment strategy

The role partners closely with General Managers, Clinical Directors, Hospital Managers and senior specialists, helping leaders make informed workforce decisions while creating meaningful connections across a highly specialised professional community. What Makes this Role Different?

Most senior talent roles focus on process. This one focuses on relationships. The specialist veterinary community is small, highly connected and built on trust. Success comes from maintaining meaningful relationships long before a vacancy exists and helping talented people see Sterling as somewhere they'd genuinely like to build their career.

The foundations already exist. Strong databases, established networks and highly respected clinical leaders are already in place.



What Sterling is seeking is someone who can bring strategy, structure and long-term thinking to build on those foundations and create a lasting talent advantage.

Success will be measured not only by vacancies filled, but by the strength of future pipelines, the quality of market insight, improved workforce readiness and the ability to support growth with confidence. As the Group continues to grow across Australia and New Zealand, this role will also influence how future recruitment support is designed, built and enabled.

This stand-alone role offers flexibility, genuine autonomy and the chance to build something meaningful with a highly engaged CEO and leadership team. With hybrid working arrangements available, you'll spend time working remotely, connecting with colleagues across Australia and New Zealand and periodically visiting hospitals and stakeholders in person. Regular travel across Australia and New Zealand is expected, reflecting the importance of building relationships, understanding local workforce challenges and staying connected to the communities Sterling supports.

About You

You may come from executive search, healthcare talent acquisition, professional services, specialist recruitment or another talent-intensive environment. What matters most is your ability to proactively find and engage exceptional people. You have experience building talent pipelines in candidate-short markets, influencing senior stakeholders and creating trusted relationships across complex professional environments.

You understand how employer reputation, candidate experience and workforce planning contribute to organisational success.

You'll likely bring

- Strong direct sourcing and search capability
- Experience building talent, attraction or employer brand strategies
- Exceptional written communication and storytelling skills
- Commercial and analytical capability
- Credibility with senior leaders and professionals
- A collaborative style that builds influence through trust rather than hierarchy

Veterinary experience is not required. Sterling can teach the industry. What matters is your ability to build relationships, understand people and create long-term value through talent.

How to Apply

If you are energised by the opportunity to build trusted talent relationships, shape workforce capability and contribute to purposeful growth, we would welcome a confidential conversation.

Confidential enquiries will be handled with discretion. Please contact Donna Bliss or Kayelle Po'Ona on [07 3305 5838](tel:07 3305 5838).

📌 Head of Talent & Workforce Strategy (Brisbane)
🏢 OnTalent
📍 Brisbane