Co-Director – Women’s, Children’s and Families

• Lead strategic and operational performance across Barwon Health’s Women’s, Children’s and Families Directorate, a critical clinical portfolio within one of Australia’s largest regional health services.
• Report directly to the Chief Operating Officer while working closely with the Clinical Director to drive service excellence, workforce reform and sustainable models of care.
• Influence the future direction of women’s, children’s and families services through operational leadership, governance oversight, service redesign and continuous improvement.
• Make a lasting impact on health outcomes for a rapidly growing regional population while enjoying the lifestyle benefits of Victoria’s thriving Geelong region.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Barwon Health is one of the largest and most comprehensive regional health services in Australia, delivering care across the full continuum from primary and community services through to acute, mental health, and aged care. Serving a population of more than 500,000 people across a network of over 20 sites and supported by more than 9,000 staff and volunteers, the organisation plays a critical role in meeting the health needs of a rapidly growing and diverse regional community. It operates within a complex and evolving environment shaped by increasing demand, workforce pressures, and the need to deliver sustainable, high‑quality care aligned to contemporary models and government priorities.

The Women’s, Children’s and Families Directorate is one of Barwon Health’s most significant and strategically important clinical portfolios, delivering an extensive and highly integrated range of services across maternity, midwifery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, neonatal care and family-focused community programs. Spanning inpatient, outpatient and community settings, the directorate supports women, children and families across every stage of the care continuum and plays a central role in improving the health and wellbeing of communities throughout the Barwon South West region.

The service is both broad in scope and sophisticated in complexity, providing more than 3,000 births annually and offering a comprehensive suite of contemporary maternity models, including Midwifery Group Practice, Homebirth, shared maternity care and tertiary high-risk obstetric services. Complementing these services are a Level 2 Special Care Nursery, inpatient paediatric services, Hospital in the Home, developmental and rehabilitation programs, multidisciplinary child development services, an Early Parenting Centre, paediatric outpatient programs and a range of specialist community-based services. Collectively, these services represent one of the largest and most visible clinical directorates within Barwon Health, requiring executive leadership that can successfully balance operational excellence with long-term strategic vision.

This appointment presents an exceptional opportunity to join a highly regarded executive leadership team at a defining moment in the directorate’s evolution. With the Victorian Government investing more than $500 million in the development of a new Women’s and Children’s facility, the successful candidate will help shape the future delivery of maternity, neonatal and paediatric services for the region.

THE ROLE

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer and working in close collaboration with the Clinical Director, the Co-Director, Women’s, Children’s and Families provides strategic and operational leadership across a diverse and complex directorate. The role is jointly responsible for developing and delivering service plans, achieving performance objectives and ensuring services are aligned with Barwon Health’s strategic priorities and commitment to safe, patient-centred care.

The position carries broad responsibility for the operational management of the Directorate, including service performance, workforce leadership, patient flow, resource allocation, financial stewardship and the delivery of high-quality clinical services. The Co-Director leads the implementation of strategies, policies and governance frameworks that support operational excellence, service sustainability and continuous improvement, while ensuring compliance with regulatory, accreditation and organisational requirements.

A critical aspect of the role involves fostering strong relationships across clinical, operational and executive stakeholder groups to support integrated models of care and effective service delivery. The Co-Director works closely with senior clinicians, managers and professional leaders to build workforce capability, strengthen multidisciplinary collaboration and drive innovation in response to emerging service and workforce needs. The role also contributes to organisation-wide initiatives, strategic planning, risk management and after-hours executive leadership through participation in the Director-on-Call roster.

THE CANDIDATE

The successful candidate will be an accomplished executive leader and Registered Midwife with a proven record of leading large, complex women’s and children’s services within a contemporary health environment. They will bring demonstrated experience in partnering effectively with senior clinicians to deliver integrated models of care, driving operational excellence across quality, safety, workforce and financial performance, and successfully leading organisational change within a matrix environment. Equally important will be their ability to build trust and credibility across the organisation, engage confidently with government, community and health sector stakeholders, and provide the stable, authentic leadership required to guide the directorate through a period of sustained growth, increasing service demand and significant transformational change.

For a confidential discussion, please get in touch with:

Lynette Taylor
​HardyGroup Executive Director, Search and Recruitment
​M. +61 (0)431 293 861 | E. ltaylor@hardygroupintl.com

HOW TO APPLY

The closing date for applications is Monday, 24 August 2026

The reference number to include in your application is H26_5531.