Head of Strategy and Partnerships

54 reasons is proud to play a pivotal role championing a childrightsbased approachensuring childrens voices experiences and strengths are central to every aspect of our service delivery.

Join us as the Head of Strategy and Partnerships and play a leading role in shaping a future where every childs rights are this exceptional opportunity youll amplify our national impact by driving bold partnerships unlocking sustainable funding and scaling innovative solutions where childrens rights are not being met.

54 reasons is Australias leading child rights organisation no ordinary not-for-profit.

Proudly part of the Save the Children Australia Group and global movement were here to make sure that children and young people have their rights met and thrive in all their diversity.

With the childs voice at the centre we provide quality services to children and their caregivers in every state and territory and across regions remote areas and capital cities. From our programs to our support services - this is the place to realise your purpose.

A place to make a difference:

In this full-time permanent role youll work as a part of our Strategy and Partnership team in Melbourne but wed be happy to chat with any interested candidates located elsewhere to help us create lasting change for children everywhere.

You will make a difference by:

• Leading change to drive scalable solutions where childrens rights remain unmet
• Championing the voices of childrenensuring they are heard at every level of decisionmaking across Australia.
• Strengthening service delivery and advocating for policy and systemlevel change
• Deepening our relationships with First Nations communities and Community Controlled organisations to drive systems-change for refugee and migrant children.
• Partnering with the Leadership Team internal leaders and key external stakeholdersincluding government service partners media and sector networksto represent and elevate 54 reasons

A place to feel valued:

Your track record of integrity and collaboration and deep expertise in a similar role designing and delivering strategy and/or innovation portfolios in the Australian community services sector will be invaluable. Youre highly self-organised skilled in coordinating and delivering through teams to strict timelines with a solutions mindset sound judgement and problem-solving skills.

This role requires:

• Demonstrated success in high value business development and an ability to engage deeply with community sector financials and diverse funding or business models
• Strong applied understanding of Australian national state and territory government policy and processes
• Ability to build negotiate and sustain genuine lasting partnerships across government for profit and not for profit sectors
• Demonstrated ability to influence communicate and lead change with Board to exec subject matter experts and on ground practitioners tailoring with respect to cross-cultural and other diverse audiences
• Senior leadership experience operating within complex environments
• A genuine passion to support and manage a high-performing team to meet and exceed objectives and achieve positive outcomes for children and young people.
• Minimum Bachelors degree in a relevant field

A place to belong:

At 54 reasons we invest in the development and wellbeing of our people. Our workforce is approximately 600 people strong and proudly diverse whether in race ethnicity gender age disability sexuality cultures and beliefs.

It takes all types of people to do the challenging work we do. We are diverse personalities backgrounds and talents embracing our differences as one strong and united team. We see and celebrate the unique value you bring to our organisation and offer a range of rewards for your effort including:

• Opportunity to work on additional projects to enable you to stretch and feel connected to programs in a different way
• Individual learning plans to support your career development
• Full salary packaging benefits use this link to see how much this benefit could mean to you!
• Extra leave including ceremonial leave to ensure youre able to perform at your best
• Support for workplace wellness including access to our free confidential Employee Wellbeing Program
• Celebrate and feel supported in your diversity. We have a highly inclusive culture and diverse workforce reflecting the communities we serve allowing you to bring your whole self to work (if thats what you want)!

Follow this link for the full list of our employee benefits.

Does this sound like the place for you

Wed love to hear from you. Submit your cover letter and resume below.

We strongly encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates to apply.

Applications Close: Friday 6 February 2026. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis as they come in so dont delay in applying!

Position Description: Head of Strategy and Partnerships

For more information about this position please contact Vicki Mau on Or for more information about a career at Save visitour Careers Page.

We understand the need for work-life balance. Weve advertised this role as Full-time but if youre looking for something different please let us know.

We have tested our application process with diverse groups in mind with the intent to ensure its straightforward and accessible for all to apply. Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our culture and improve our ability to reach our most vulnerable client groups. But we also know there is no one-size fits-all when it comes to recruitment - so if we didnt quite hit the mark for you please let us know at . Were dedicated to ensuring Save the Children Australia is a place where everyone can feel supported no matter your race ethnicity gender age disability sexuality neurodiversity culture and beliefs.

Save the Children Australia is a child-safe employees are required to undergo a National Police Check a Working with Children Check and sign our Child Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct. We also support the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.

Save the Children is committed to providing and maintaining a safe working environment for its employees and client groups consistent with our obligations under OH&S legislation.

If you are having any issues with uploading your application for this role please contact for further support.