Chief Governance, Risk & Research

Mercy Community is seeking an experienced and strategic Chief Governance, Risk & Research to provide strategic leadership and drive excellence across governance, risk, compliance, assurance, continuous improvement and research at our Nudgee office.

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, you will play a pivotal role in strengthening organisational governance, overseeing clinical and corporate risk frameworks, and ensuring effective compliance, assurance and internal controls. Working across aged care, families and young people, and our broader service portfolio, you will help shape a culture of accountability, continuous improvement and research-informed practice, ensuring Mercy Community continues to deliver safe, high quality, ethical and sustainable services to the communities we serve.

Salary commensurate with experience plus superannuation, with salary packaging available

This role will include:

• Develop, maintain and oversee Mercy Community’s clinical and corporate governance frameworks, policies, structures and processes, ensuring alignment with legislative and regulatory requirements, recognised good practice and organisational objectives.
• Provide strategic governance advice and support to the Board, Board Committees, Chief Executive Officer, Executive Team and senior leaders, including advice on governance obligations, accountability and organisational effectiveness.
• Coordinate and provide governance, compliance, risk and assurance information to support effective Board and Executive oversight, transparent decision-making and statutory obligations.
• Promote and monitor the consistent application of sound governance practices across Mercy Community. 
• Articulate, embody and strengthen Mercy Community’s mission, vision and values across the Governance, Risk & Research portfolio.
• Own Mercy Community’s business continuity and disaster recovery framework, ensuring plans across all programs are fit for purpose, tested and aligned to enterprise risk priorities.
• Maintain effective enterprise risk registers and reporting, ensuring risk owners are accountable for agreed treatments and actions.
• Conduct and/or oversee risk assessments, gap analyses and scenario planning to identify vulnerabilities, emerging risks and opportunities for improvement.
• Monitor relevant legislative, regulatory and sector developments and ensure material changes are assessed, communicated and incorporated into organisational systems and practices.
• Provide oversight of organisational compliance frameworks and support leaders to understand and discharge their regulatory and contractual obligations.
• Lead the governance of organisational policies, procedures and guidelines relevant to governance, risk, compliance and assurance, ensuring they are current, accessible and appropriately controlled.
• Establish mechanisms to monitor policy implementation and adherence, including internal controls, audits, reviews and reporting arrangements.
• Design and oversee risk-based assurance and monitoring systems that provide confidence in the safety, quality and effectiveness of care, services and corporate operations.
• Coordinate internal audits, assessments and reviews and monitor management responses and corrective actions through to closure.
• Provide evidence-based assurance to the Board, Executive and, where required, external regulators regarding compliance, governance and risk management effectiveness.
• Oversee systems that support the effective investigation, analysis and organisational learning arising from significant incidents and complex complaints.
• Work with operational and corporate leaders to ensure improvement actions are practical, sustainable and embedded into service delivery.
• Lead Mercy Community’s approach to research governance and act as the principal organisational contact for research activities.
• Establish and maintain appropriate governance, approval, ethical and risk controls for research undertaken by, with or involving Mercy Community.
• Develop collaborative relationships with universities, research institutions, industry partners and other stakeholders to support research that advances evidence-informed practice and service outcomes.

About you

As the successful applicant, you will possess:

• Lead Mercy Community’s approach to research governance and act as the principal organisational contact for research activities.
• Establish and maintain appropriate governance, approval, ethical and risk controls for research undertaken by, with or involving Mercy Community.
• Develop collaborative relationships with universities, research institutions, industry partners and other stakeholders to support research that advances evidence-informed practice and service outcomes.
• Postgraduate qualification in governance, risk management, business, finance, accounting, research or a related discipline (Desirable)

Why Mercy Community

Mercy Community is a Catholic not-for-profit organisation that provides a range of residential aged care services and community services supporting families and young people, and the elderly. Our work is driven by our core values of Compassion, Integrity, Dignity & Empowerment.

Being part of the Mercy Community team means you have access to some fantastic benefits, such as:

• Increasing your take home pay through the use of generous salary packaging - up to $18,550 per annum of your salary is available as a tax-free component
• Providing you and your immediate family free, professional and confidential counselling services
• Free annual influenza and/or other vaccination reimbursements

Please note we will review applications as they are received and we may interview and appoint prior to closing date, do not delay in applying.

For any queries, please contact MCSCareers.Mailbox@mercycs.org.au. We do not accept applications via email so please ensure you apply online.

Mercy Community Services is a Circle Back Initiative Employer and commit to respond to every applicant.