Key details ?Ultimo, Sydney ?️ Starting January 2027 ? Hybrid work ?? Inclusive leave & wellbeing benefits Every brand is a publisher now. Far fewer have a story worth owning. If you'd like to run the agency that helps them find it, read on. Heads & Tales is looking for a Managing Director to join our team in Sydney or Melbourne. You'll be accountable for the whole business: strategy, P&L;, clients, people and culture. Your mandate is to build H&T; into a growing, profitable and distinctive content business, and to make it the natural home of owned media within the Hardie Grant Media (HGM) network. We're an owned media agency and we've been smart storytellers for over 25 years, because we believe the craft of storytelling can change the world for the better. This is a hands-on leadership role. You'll report to the Group Managing Director of HGM, sit on the HGM leadership team and head up a senior team of four: our Client Partnerships Director, General Manager
- Custom Publishing, Design Director and Head of Content. You'll inherit award-winning work, a team known for its craft and client partnerships that run for decades. The role Key components of the role are:
• Set the direction
- shape and own a explicit, credible strategy for H&T;, grounded in our clients and market, and aligned to HGM's 2030 vision
• Own the P&L;
- build the annual budget, track performance transparently, act early on variances and take personal accountability for gross margin
• Run a disciplined commercial engine
- keep pricing documented and consistent, the pipeline weighted with rigour, work planned against real capacity and a reliable three-month forecast in place, all in Productive as our single source of truth
• Grow the business
- front new business where it matters, from senior relationships to major pitches, and make the case for new capability or investment
• Bring the whole owned media mix together
- be as at home with custom magazines and books as with video, social and web, and show clients how they work as one owned media strategy
• Partner across the network
- work alongside our in-house production studio Sherpa and sister agencies Reload Media, Keep Left, Tide and Chapter One Consulting on the integrated work that keeps clients with us for the long haul
• Grow your people and the culture
- give your direct reports clear direction, regular feedback and real support, build manager capability and succession (including your own), and set the standard for Hardie Grant's values and our ESG,



RAP and D&I; commitments
• Embed AI enablement
- track how AI is changing content and client value, use it to shape our service mix, pricing and ways of working, and champion responsible use so the team has more headspace for the craft, while the thinking and final call stay human. In short, help the agency embrace AI to better the work, not get left behind by it. Who we think would be a good fit Our ideal candidate has:
• Significant experience leading an agency, business unit or practice, including running a P&L.;
• A clear understanding of how a content or creative business makes money, and ease moving between a client boardroom, a pitch and a margin review
• Genuine expertise in content and where it's heading, from print through to video, social and web
- content, publishing, creative and brand backgrounds are all equally valid routes, but regardless of your background, you have solid demonstrable knowledge across the whole owned media ecosystem
• Strategic thinking paired with commercial discipline, and a view that operations are your job too
• A track record of building capable managers and divisions, giving clear and actionable feedback, and treating culture as an outcome of your leadership
• Strong senior client relationships and experience winning and growing new business
• A proactive approach to managing competing priorities and deadlines in a busy, rapid-moving environment
• A curious, responsible approach to AI
- you're keen to use it to work smarter and think wider, and you know the original idea, the fact-check and the final call are human
• Familiarity with Productive (or a similar agency operations platform) and experience within a multi-agency network will be a bonus The opportunity
• Build the next chapter
- we have a 25 year legacy for you leverage as the agency moves into its next chapter, and you’ll be the one to shape what that looks like.
• Real range in your work
- from strategy and insights to digital content hubs, social, video, podcasts, custom magazines and high-end custom books – we span the whole range of owned media,



and how this ecosystem continues to evolve in in line with how content consumption is changing is what’s exciting.
• Award-winning work
- our Zoos Victoria publications were named Mumbrella Custom Publication of the Year 2024, and our Mercedes-Benz work was shortlisted at the 2023 Content Marketing Awards.
• Long-term partnerships with some of Australia's most respected brands
- like Mercedes-Benz (for over 20 years), Zoos Victoria, HCF, and ANZIIF. We become part of their team, which is when the best stories happen.
• A people-first AI Charter
- we embrace AI as part of our toolkit, but we don't lose our heads. AI supports us, it's never the author, and it will never replace creative roles. The opportunity you’ll have is to how to continually innovate how AI helps with delivery in our agency, without falling trap to the ‘sea of sameness’. Staff benefits We could talk about all the great things about working at Heads & Tales all day, but here's some of the key ones you should know about right now:
• Hybrid work setup
• Additional leave opportunities, including purchased leave options
• 3 months paid parental leave (on top of the standard Government program)
• Free counselling for work/personal matters for you & members of your household
• Socially-conscious policies – menstrual & menopausal leave, volunteer leave, blood donation leave, fertility treatment leave, gender transition leave (and more), all supported by our active Reconciliation Action Plan, Diversity & Inclusion and ESG committees.
• 50% discount on all Hardie Grant published book titles Be yourself, we like you that way At Heads & Tales, authenticity is at the heart of everything we do. We know that diverse and inclusive teams have a positive impact on our culture and our business, and on the stories we tell. We celebrate multiple approaches, points of view and backgrounds. We work hard to build a culture that encourages, supports and celebrates the ability of everyone to be their full authentic selves at work. At any point in the application process, please feel safe to let us know of any accommodations that will make it more accessible for you. We encourage you to share your pronouns and anything else you would like us to know that will make this an enjoyable experience. All applications handled confidentially Want to explore further? Apply directly or reach out to [email protected] with your CV to organise a confidential chat.

📌 Managing Director (Sydney)
🏢 Heads & Tales Content Agency
📍 Sydney