Position: People and Operations Director

Senior Leadership team: Member alongside the Policy, Advocacy, Media & Communications, and Philanthropy & Fundraising directors

Reports to: CEO

Direct reports: 2 x Operations support officers, operational contractors

Basis: Permanent full time

Location: Canberra (ACT), Wollongong (NSW) or Brisbane (QLD). Hybrid office + work from home role

Salary range: $125,000 - $150,000 per annum plus super, depending on skills and experience. Salary packaging, paid study or field work leave, plus extra annual leave are part of the package

About the Invasive Species Council

The Invasive Species Council is Australia’s only national environmental organisation dedicated solely to advocacy on invasive species. In the past 5 years we have grown from 8 to 25 staff, and from $750,000 to more than $3.5 million a year in income.

Our staff work around the country, mainly from home, with an office currently in Wollongong (NSW). Our Board-approved strategy is to be a truly national organisation by 2030, with state-based advocates and strong policy and communications capability, which will mean further growth in staff. Our guiding principle is to ‘make it bigger than us’. Our culture is strong: in our latest staff pulse survey 100% of staff reported they enjoy working at the Invasive Species Council and are proud to work here.

Purpose of the role

This is a new senior role, created to complement the growth of the Invasive Species Council. The People & Operations Director will ensure the Council has the money, the people, the systems and good governance needed to deliver its mission. The Director will own responsibility for the organisation’s finances and budget,



people policies and practices, governance, legal and risk, and operational systems. The CEO leads the Council’s overall strategy and culture, and this role is the CEO’s key partner in putting them into practice.

This is both a strategic and a hands‑on role. You will manage a small team of direct reports, plus a budget for contractors, tools and expert advice. The work ranges from setting multi‑year financial strategy with the CEO and the Board to organising a staff event or chasing an overdue invoice, and the successful applicant will need to be comfortable with this range of responsibilities. You’ll do a substantial share of the hands‑on work yourself, not only oversee it.

Some travel is required, including to our twice-yearly all-staff gatherings and occasional events.

How we work

We are committed to building an internal culture that empowers, supports and sets clear expectations for our staff and volunteers. These are the behaviours we expect of each other:

- We are relentless in pursuing outcomes and having impact.
- We are not scared to fail and learn from the experience.
- We are collaborative, resourceful and take initiative.
- We are all responsible for a healthy team culture.
- We are connected to and speak up for nature.
- Integrity is not negotiable.

We also believe in good governance,



delivered with the minimum of processes required. The Council deliberately has a small operations footprint so that most of our resources go to the mission. In this role that means we expect you to:

- Protect the organisation’s legal, financial and reputational standing.
- Design systems that are suitable and necessary and remove ones that no longer have value.
- Explore ways to do things better and bring ideas to the table.
- Muck in wherever the organisation needs it.

Why this role is different

- Your work will matter. You’ll build the foundations that help us grow our impact for Australia’s wildlife and wild places.
- You’ll shape the organisation, not just maintain it. Your first big task is to review our finance, legal and HR arrangements and design the structure we need for the next stage of growth.
- You’ll have real influence. You’ll sit on the Senior Leadership Team as an equal partner to our policy, advocacy, communications and fundraising leads, and work closely with the CEO.
- Your ideas will get used. We’re small enough that a good idea can be in place next month, not next year.

You’ll thrive here if you:

- want to make a difference for nature, and are relentless about getting results
- are ready to step up to a director role, or are already there and want work that matters
- believe in good governance with the minimum process needed, and enjoy asking ‘do we still need this?’
- take initiative, aren’t afraid to try recent things, and learn from the ones that don’t work
- are just as happy fixing a spreadsheet as presenting to the Board, because everyone he

📌 People & Operations Director (Canberra)
🏢 Invasive Species Council
📍 Canberra