This position is open to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants only, under Section 14 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW).

- Location: Fully remote, ideally based in Wollongong, Sydney or Newcastle, with other locations in Australia considered for the right candidate
- Employment: Permanent
- FTE: 0.8 - 1.0
- Salary: Circa $150,000 per annum FTE, plus superannuation
- Reports to: Chief Operating Officer
- Lead the work of connecting the social enterprise ecosystem to plan, act and learn together
- Facilitate and strengthen First Nations leadership, authority and self-determination across Australia’s Social Enterprise Strategy
- Work as part of the Executive Team of an ambitious, values-led peak body

Social Enterprise Australia

Social Enterprise Australia is the national peak body for social enterprise. We're for an economy that puts people and the planet first, and for unlocking the power of social enterprise to help get us there. We connect, build and advocate for the sector, and coordinate its national strategy. Our direction is set by the sector, and we provide a way for it to partner with the Australian Government and others to grow impact.

Social Enterprise Australia develops paths and partnerships to:

- Connect the ecosystem to plan, act and learn together
- Build and share sector data, insights and practical supports
- Advocate for the customers, capital, policy and investment the sector needs

We are an impact and values-led national team, working remotely with high autonomy and trust. We are a four-year-old organisation that has grown fast and built strong foundations. The sector has just launched a co-owned national strategy, and Social Enterprise Australia has built relationships and paths to connect, advocate for and build the sector. We're now taking a conscious step from start-up into more structured ways of working. This is a reimagined Executive role at the heart of that next chapter.

The opportunity

As Head of Collaboration, you will lead our work to connect the social enterprise ecosystem to plan, act and learn together. You'll engage diverse sector actors, hold the tensions of complex, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and find pragmatic paths through challenge to build shared direction and collective action.

At the heart of the role is facilitating First Nations leadership, authority, influence and decision-making within our Connect function and the National Strategy, including its First Nations roadmap and self-determination impact area.

First

Nations ways of knowing, being, doing and valuing inform how the whole role is practised, from collaboration design and decision-making to relationship development, learning and system stewardship, while recognising the diversity of First Nations communities and adapting to local cultural contexts.

The role’s core focus is on broad sector engagement:



convening the sector, holding collaborative practice, and building sector voice and influence across the whole social enterprise ecosystem. First Nations leadership is woven through that work. You'll also contribute to organisational strategy, planning and culture, and evaluation and learning.

This is a hands-on Executive role. The Connect team doesn't have other members yet, so you'll be responsible for driving the work yourself to begin with. You'll work as a member of our Leadership Team, reporting to the Chief Operating Officer.

What you'll lead

Strategy, culture & learning: Help develop our strategy and Connect plan, leveraging the sector's First Nations commitment as a strategic asset and articulating how it can contribute to Indigenous affairs and Closing the Gap. Apply relationality, fostering accountable relationships between people, communities, organisations, Country and systems, and model accountability to community, Country and cultural obligation. Work as a team-oriented member of the Executive Team, and participate in learning and reporting in ways appropriate to community and cultural context.

Connect the ecosystem: Lead engagement and participation of diverse actors, including marginalised voices, in the National Strategy. Lead and grow engagement with First Nations peoples and organisations, including convenings that shape the strategy's First Nations roadmap, ensuring the process is driven and owned by them. Head our events, consultations, codesigns and other pathways for people to engage and co-create around sector priorities.

Hold collaborative practice: Hold the tensions of complex, multi-stakeholder collaboration, finding pragmatic paths through challenge and building shared motivation for collective action. Oversee the collaborations we coordinate and our connection with Labs and Networks run by others. Draw on Indigenous governance principles and Indigenous Knowledge Systems as a core evidence base for collaboration design and decision-making.

Lead collaboration processes and tools that are fit-for-purpose and strengthen First Nations leadership, authority and decision-making.

Sector voice & influence: Represent Social Enterprise Australia and cultivate the relationships and partnerships key to sector collaboration, including with First Nations-led enterprises, organisations and leaders. Develop compelling communications about our collaboration efforts,



lead initiatives that strengthen First Nations leadership and influence in the social enterprise ecosystem, and stay across impact networks and systems change best practice.

Responsibility for organisation-wide cultural events, Reconciliation activities, cultural capability initiatives and external First Nations advocacy sits with relevant team leads, unless otherwise agreed.

Who we're looking for

What matters most is skill in bringing diverse people together, building shared direction and collective action, and a real belief in the power of social enterprise to build a fairer, more sustainable economy.

You’ll bring

- 5+ years' experience leading convening, network or movement-building, community development, or cross-sectoral partnership work
- demonstrated standing and relationships within First Nations communities, organisations and enterprises, and experience partnering with them in ways that centre their leadership and self-determination
- lived experience, understanding and application of First Nations ways of knowing, being, doing and valuing, including Indigenous Knowledge Systems, relational accountability, cultural authority, reciprocity and community-led decision-making, and the ability to translate these into collaboration, governance, strategy and systems-change practice
- excellent facilitation and interpersonal skills - able to engage, organise and motivate people to work collaboratively in complex environments, and to hold and navigate dynamic tensions
- clear communicator, including crafting and editing accessible written and spoken content
- knowledge of systems innovation and the Australian for-purpose sector
- outstanding organisational skills, with the ability to brief and report to inform, advise and make recommendations at CEO and Board level
- a collaborative leadership style that values people, values learning and development over being right, and puts purpose at its core
- the ability to plan, turn ideas into action, and reflect, learn and adapt while doing
- the ability to work as part of a distributed team and undertake infrequent travel

Working at Social Enterprise Australia

We’re a fully remote, nationally distributed organisation. We work with a high degree of autonomy and trust, and we invest in the tools, practices and face-to-face connection that make distributed collaboration genuinely effective.

We are a small team with big ambitions, and everyone carries real responsibility and has genuine scope to shape how we work. We value and create space for reflection and learning in our team, and strong capability to engage with and role model these practices will be essential to success in this role.

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] using the subject line: Head of Collaboration (Identified) - Remote / Work from Home enquiry via EthicalJobs.

📌 Head of Collaboration - Identified Role (Australia)
🏢 Social Enterprise Australia
📍 Australia