CPD is looking for an outstanding Social Services Lead to join our team in Canberra or Sydney. In this position, you will have a leadership role in developing policy and system reform ideas in the Social Services space, particularly focused on supporting children and families to thrive in the early years. You'll bring deep subject matter expertise and lead streams of work, collaborating closely with the Social Services Director and the wider team, including contributing to work across other focus areas within CPD as needed.
This is an exciting opportunity to join an organisation reforming Australia's social services system, with the goal of making it more
people-and place-centred
to better support children, families now and into the future. In this role you will work on reforming the social service systems that children and families engage with such as health and early childhood education and care, and creating the drivers, tools and practices for people and place centred practices to thrive. Our team enjoys frequent interaction with government policymakers, private sector, media, and the wider policy world. You'll be joining a close-knit team that delivers real impact.
We believe our people are our key asset and we are committed to recruiting and retaining talented and dedicated individuals. Currently CPD has a presence in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Jakarta. We support flexible work and will consider either full-time or part-time work for the right candidate.
Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity
We encourage First Peoples, people of colour, people with lived experience of forced migration, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQI+ community, and people without a family history of tertiary education to apply for this role.
Salary
Starting at $113, % superannuation, with higher salary available depending on experience, skills, and fairness and equity across the team.
Location
The role will be based in Canberra or Sydney.
Some Additional Benefits
(These benefits are part of CPD's Salary and Benefits Policy, which is reviewed every two years.)
* Hybrid work and flexible hours
* A 4% annual increase to base salary, applied each year on 1 January
* Additional week of annual leave entitlement after 3 years employment, and a paid 3-month sabbatical leave after 5 years employment
* Additional end of year leave (between Christmas and New Year), study leave, birthday leave and wellbeing leave for all staff
* Parental leave: 14 weeks' paid parental leave (after one year of service at the expected due date) + 12 months of unpaid parental leave
* Floating Public Holidays
* Collaborative culture that will foster your skills, build your career and broaden your horizons
Here's a taste of what you'll do
CPD uses a distinctive
Create-Connect-Convince
method to influence government policy making.
Create
* Create and champion compelling policy reform ideas that drive system change for children and families.
* Lead the social services agenda, supporting the Policy Director in the strategic management and delivery of CPD's workstream, and developing new streams of work that identify strategic opportunities for long-term impact.
* Be part of implementing CPD's social services strategy, ensuring people- and place-centred approaches become business as usual.
* Work with the Policy Director to create innovative projects that advance CPD's social services strategy objectives.
Connect
* Strengthen relationships with key stakeholders across government, the community sector, philanthropy, and academia.
* Build and grow influential networks working to reform social services that improve outcomes for children and families.
* Facilitate high-level discussions, including roundtables, workshops, and meetings, that bring leaders together to crystallise shared policy action.
* Collaborate across CPD's wellbeing portfolio to ensure alignment and cross-pollination of ideas across teams.
Convince
* Convince Federal, State, and Local Governments to adopt CPD's social services reform recommendations through well-informed, evidence-based advocacy.
* Convince decision-makers by distilling complex research into compelling and practical policy recommendations.
* Represent CPD at public and external events, articulating the organisation's vision for people- and place-centred system reform.
* Collaborate with the Communications team to create clear, accessible, and persuasive messages that bring complex policy ideas to life in the media and public debate.
About you
You'll be the right person for the job if you have the following skills:
* You have experience working on policy issues relating to people and place centred reforms, or reform of social service systems that impact children and families.
* You have an existing network of Social Services policymakers and stakeholders in Australia, and the ability to identify and engage new stakeholders.
* You can develop your own vision and take initiative in developing projects, methodologies, and ideas, and then turning conceptual discussions into concrete actions.
* You have a proven track record of achieving policy impact by
creating
practical solutions,
connecting
relevant stakeholders, and
convincing
decision-makers.
* You have excellent political judgement/nous and understanding of how policy is made.
* You have strong analytical rigour, with an ability to perform and communicate complex analysis clearly.
* You have sound judgment working on sensitive topics, often with senior members of other organisations, with the ability to know when to act on your initiative and when to seek advice.
* You are able to work at pace on several different projects and different teams at once.
* You are able to lead and motivate a small team and work collaboratively with other teams.
About CPD
The Centre for Policy Development (CPD) is an independent, not-for-profit policy institute with staff in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, and Jakarta. Our vision is a fair, sustainable society and wellbeing economy that serves current and future generations in Australia and Southeast Asia.
Our mission is to help create transformative systems change through practical solutions to complex policy challenges. We tackle the hard questions, working towards change that is systemic and long-term.
Through our work, we aim to contribute to governments that are coordinated, collaborative, and effective, with an eye to both the near and longer term. We strive to build a social services system that helps people and communities to thrive now and in the future, and drive shifts in policy making practice with a focus on wellbeing and sustainability rather than primarily economic growth.
We acknowledge and celebrate Australia's First Peoples.
To learn more about our work check out our latest Impact Report.
How to Apply
Candidates are invited to apply via Google Form (apply button) by
12pm on 07/02/26
.
If you have any questions or issues accessing the form, please contact Luana Viana as soon as possible at
Alternatively, you can submit your application directly via email by sending your CV along with responses to the three questions below to Please include the job title in the subject line:
"Social Services Lead application":
Question 1 - Convincing skills
: The Minister for Social Services has announced changes to the way that key community organisations are going to be funded. The Government is reforming the Families and Communities Activity, proposing a single new national program to replace 5 existing programs across child and parenting support, family services, family violence and mental health. The government will be trialling relational contracting; moving to longer five-year contracts; and streamlining reporting requirements. Propose a plan for CPD to advance a policy agenda. Our ultimate measure for success is influencing real-world policy. So include information about how you would test and validate your plan – ie. how would we know if your plan would lead to policy impact? Who would you talk to? (<250 words)
Question 2 - Management skills:
Tell us about a time when you had to manage a team member or colleague who was struggling – this could be something like performance issues, trouble understanding the nuance of a strategic direction, or a conflict with others. How did you approach the situation, what steps did you take to support your colleague or address the issue, and what was the outcome? (<250 words)
Question 3 - Social Services Knowledge:
Achieving a social services system in Australia where all children and families can thrive will require change on many fronts. Are there any levers we could pull, or entry points for change, that you think don't get enough attention or are overlooked? (<250 words)
How we Shortlist
We will ask you to answer three questions (< 250 words) as part of your application, and to submit your CV. The initial shortlist will be based on the panel's assessment of your three answers. Your CV will be reviewed only if you progress beyond this first stage.
We are reviewing applications and shortlisting candidates on a
rolling basis
, so we encourage you to
apply as soon as possible.
If no suitable applicants are shortlisted by the closing date, we may consider extending the deadline.
We welcome talented individuals from all backgrounds to apply and be a part of our mission to make a positive impact on public policies.
Please note:
* To be considered for this role, you must have the right to live and work in Australia.
* The role will be based in Canberra or Sydney.
* Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. We aim to reach out to all shortlisted candidates by 17 February 2026 (Please be aware that while we are working to stick to this timeline, recruitment can be unpredictable and changes might occur).
We look forward to receiving your application