Chief People and Culture Officer
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Step into a pivotal executive role where leadership, culture and community come together to advance DeafConnect's mission: Standing with the Deaf community, building capacity and influencing social change.
* Lead organisation-wide people and culture strategy that strengthens capability, builds leadership at all levels and supports sustainable impact;
* Lead, mentor and inspire the HR team, ensuring a high-performing, engaged and values-aligned workforce; and
* Partner closely with a passionate CEO to influence strategic decisions and drive organisational outcomes.
u&uis proud to partner with Deaf Connect to appoint an exceptional Chief People & Culture Officer. This is a rare opportunity to join the Executive Leadership Team and influence the future of a growing, values-driven organisation dedicated to connection, equity and empowerment. Reporting directly to the CEO, this pivotal executive role will shape enterprise-wide people strategy, embed a high-performance and inclusive culture and strengthen organisational resilience.
You will lead across people, culture, safety, risk, compliance and facilities, ensuring Deaf Connect is positioned for sustainable growth and exceptional community impact. This is more than an HR leadership role. It is a leadership opportunity to shape culture, foster leadership capability across the organisation and champion inclusive pathways, empowering and developing all staff to thrive and lead. You will ensure every system, structure and strategy reflects purpose, integrity and shared accountability.
About the Role
As Chief People & Culture Officer, you will operate as a trusted advisor to the CEO, Board and Executive, leading enterprise transformation across workforce strategy, employee relations, governance and risk.
Key areas of impact include
Enterprise People & Culture Strategy
* Design and deliver an integrated People & Culture strategy aligned to DeafConnect's strategic vision and values;
* Embed a purpose-led, high-accountability and inclusive culture across a geographically dispersed workforce;
* Lead workforce planning, talent acquisition, retention and capability frameworks to meet evolving sector demands;
* Build a robust succession strategy with a strong focus on leadership development and future capability pathways;
* Oversee enterprise learning and development initiatives to future-proof organisational capability; and
* Shape internal communications strategy to strengthen engagement, alignment and clarity.
Employee Relations & Industrial Strategy
* Provide executive oversight of complex and high-risk employee and industrial relations matters;
* Guide workforce reform and industrial frameworks that enable long-term sustainability;
* Act as the escalation point for critical people risks and sensitive organisational matters; and
* Advise the Executive and Board on employment legislation, industrial instruments and contemporary people practice.
Safety, Compliance, Quality & Risk
* Set the strategic direction for enterprise risk, compliance, safety and quality frameworks;
* Champion a proactive risk culture, embedding accountability and governance at every level;
* Lead organisational readiness for audits, regulatory obligations and incident response (including emergency management); and
* Oversee facilities strategy to ensure accessibility, safety, professionalism and alignment with organisational needs.
Executive Leadership
* Contribute to enterprise-wide strategy as a collaborative and influential member of the Executive Leadership Team;
* Represent Deaf Connect across sector forums and community networks, advocating for the Deaf community;
* Deliver high-quality reporting, strategic papers and business cases to the CEO and Board; and
* Foster a culture of transparency, innovation, safety and continuous improvement.
About You
You are an accomplished executive leader with deep experience operating in complex, regulated and purpose-driven environments. You bring a track record of leading transformation through people, culture and risk leadership, and you are energised by the opportunity to create meaningful community impact.
You will demonstrate:
* Significant executive-level experience across People & Culture within large or multi-site organisations;
* Proven success embedding culture strategy and leading large-scale organisational change;
* Strong expertise across employee relations, industrial strategy and legislative compliance;
* Experience overseeing enterprise risk, governance and safety frameworks;
* The ability to influence at Board and Executive level, navigating complex and sensitive matters with integrity;
* Exceptional communication, negotiation and stakeholder engagement capability;
* High emotional intelligence, personal credibility and ethical leadership;
* Tertiary qualifications in Human Resources or a related discipline (essential);
* Auslan proficiency, or a genuine commitment to learning (highly regarded); and
* Experience within community, not-for-profit or human services sectors (desirable).
Why Join Deaf Connect?
Deaf Connect is a values-led organisation guided by a clear mission: To stand with the Deaf community to build capacity and influence social change while paying respect to history, culture and language. Their work is driven by a vision of a community that is empowered, connected and achieving.
This is an opportunity to shape an inclusive, high-performing workforce and contribute to a strategy that strengthens community impact, builds leadership and organisational capability, deepens partnerships and reinforces accountability across the organisation.
As Chief People & Culture Officer, you will play a critical role in enabling DeafConnect's 2026 – 2030 Strategic Plan, supporting the key strategic pillars: Community, Leadership and Capacity Building, Partnerships and Organisational Accountability. This plan reinforces the commitment to their mission. You will foster leadership capability across the organisation, championing Deaf leadership pathways while also empowering and developing all staff to thrive and contribute to shared success.
Please note, applications will only be accepted through the official application process. Direct email submissions will not be considered.
How to Apply
Atu&uRecruitment Partners, we value diversity, equity and inclusion. We welcome applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds and people with disability.
For more information or a confidential discussion please email Kate Benson at kate.benson@uandu.com quoting reference number 44312.
Should you require reasonable adjustments or have a preferred method of communication throughout the recruitment process, we encourage you to make a request via adjustments@uandu.com to discuss. In response to these requests, we will collaborate closely with you to implement the appropriate adjustments.
Additionally, for a barrier‐free and inclusive online experience, you can access u&u's opportunities using accessibility software Recite Me at https://www.uandu.com/jobs.
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