Head of Nursing and Clinical Governance

Head of Nursing & Clinical Governance

Parramatta CBD / Sydney CBD | Senior leadership role

Current registration as a Registered Nurse with AHPRA is mandatory

Lead clinical excellence where it matters most.

This is an opportunity to shape nursing, clinical governance, and the quality of care across one of NSW and the ACT’s largest community and care organisations.

At Uniting NSW.ACT, our purpose is simple: to inspire people, enliven communities, and confront injustice. We work across all ages and stages of life, supporting people and communities experiencing vulnerability and disadvantage.

As Head of Nursing & Clinical Governance, you will provide organisation-wide clinical leadership, assurance, and influence across a complex and highly regulated environment. Your work will directly contribute to safer, higher-quality, and more person-centred care for the people we serve.

And importantly, you won’t be doing it alone.

You will lead a highly capable team of three direct reports across Clinical Excellence, Clinical Governance, and Clinical Leadership & Capability, providing the direction, expertise, and influence that brings these streams together.

About the role

Reporting to the Chief Customer, Risk & Governance Officer, you will lead Uniting’s Nursing and Clinical Governance function and be the organisation’s senior nursing and clinical governance voice.

Your remit is broad. You will steward the Clinical Governance Framework, clinical policy portfolio, and Nursing Development Strategy, while providing expert advice on clinical risk, professional practice, workforce capability, regulatory requirements, and quality improvement.

Your primary focus will be across Seniors Services, including Residential Aged Care and Home & Community Care, with specialist clinical governance support extending into Communities services where the complexity or materiality of clinical care requires it.

You will bring together clinical performance data, incidents, investigations, complaints, feedback, care outcomes, and regulatory developments to identify systemic issues and emerging risks. More importantly, you will turn those insights into clear advice, practical action, and measurable improvement.

This is a role for someone who can move comfortably between the detail and the bigger picture - from complex clinical matters and professional practice through to executive advice, governance committees, and organisation-wide strategy.

What you’ll lead

You will:

• Lead the implementation, evaluation, and continuous improvement of Uniting’s Clinical Governance Framework and clinical policy portfolio.
• Provide clear clinical assurance and advice to executives, service leaders, and governance forums.
• Identify and escalate material and systemic clinical risks and monitor whether management actions are implemented and effective.
• Lead the Nursing Development Strategy and strengthen nursing leadership, professional practice, and clinical capability.
• Use clinical performance information, incidents, investigations, complaints, and care outcomes to identify trends and drive improvement.
• Ensure the experience, rights and feedback of the people we serve inform clinical governance priorities and improvement.
• Lead the management contribution to the Seniors Services Quality Care Governance Committee, ensuring clinical reporting is analytical and focused on material trends, management action and residual risk.
• Maintain strong regulatory stewardship across the changing aged care environment.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, professional bodies, and other key external stakeholders.
• Partner with service leaders to embed clinical governance into everyday performance, decision-making, and improvement.
• Lead and develop three senior leaders across Clinical Excellence, Clinical Governance, and Clinical Leadership & Capability.
• Influence enterprise change while maintaining clear accountability with operational leaders.

About you

You are an experienced senior nursing and clinical governance leader who understands that clinical governance is not simply about frameworks, policies, and compliance — it is about improving the experience, safety, rights, and outcomes of the people receiving care.

You will bring:

• Current registration as a Registered Nurse with AHPRA — mandatory.
• A Bachelor of Nursing or equivalent qualification recognised for registration in Australia.
• Significant senior leadership experience across nursing, clinical governance, clinical quality, safety, or clinical risk within a complex and regulated care environment.
• Strong experience leading clinical governance frameworks, assurance systems, and systemic improvement.
• A sound understanding of contemporary aged care regulation, including the Aged Care Act 2024, Aged Care Rules 2025, Strengthened Standards, and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. .
• The ability to interpret complex clinical information, identify what really matters, and translate it into clear executive advice and action.
• Experience influencing across a large, complex organisation and confidently engaging executives, service leaders, and governance forums.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary professional teams and managing workforce and financial resources.
• Strong judgement, credibility, and the ability to have constructive conversations about clinical risk and accountability.

A postgraduate qualification in clinical governance, quality and safety, health service management, nursing leadership, or a related discipline would be highly regarded, as would senior leadership experience within aged care or another complex multi-service care environment.

Why Uniting?

You will join the Customer, Risk & Governance Directorate, a team that sits at the intersection of governance, risk, quality, safeguarding, and service delivery.

But more than that, you will join an organisation where your expertise has a clear purpose.

The opportunity

This is a chance to take a senior clinical leadership role in an organisation where clinical governance genuinely matters.

You will have the opportunity to lead the implementation and continuous improvement of Uniting’s Clinical Governance Framework and Nursing Development Strategy, strengthen clinical capability, and drive measurable improvements in the safety and quality of care.

If you are a registered nurse with the clinical credibility, governance expertise, and leadership maturity to influence at this level, we would like to hear from you.

Join more than 12,000 employees working together to inspire people, enliven communities, and confront injustice.

 In return, you will enjoy:

• A competitive executive salary package aligned to the seniority and impact of the role.

• Access to not-for-profit salary packaging, helping you pay less tax and take home more of your income. Better still, your full annual benefit is available from 1 April 2026, allowing you to maximise your tax savings from the start of the FBT year.

• Fitness Passport, providing discounted access to hundreds of gyms, pools, and fitness facilities across Australia to help you live your best life.

• Additional paid leave options, including the opportunity to purchase extra annual leave.

• Exclusive employee discounts through our U Rewards program.

• Opportunities to strengthen leadership capability and experience and broaden enterprise perspective.

• The chance to do meaningful work every day for an organisation committed to inspiring people, enlivening communities, and confronting injustice.

• A collaborative executive leadership team.

How to apply

Please submit:

• Your current CV.

• A cover letter outlining why this opportunity interests you, what you will bring to the role, and why you would like to contribute to Uniting’s purpose.

If you would like to have a confidential discussion about the role before applying, please contact Louise Massie, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist, at *******@uniting.org. 

To ensure every application is managed fairly and consistently, all applications must be submitted through our online careers portal. Unfortunately, we cannot accept applications sent directly via email.

Our Commitment

Uniting NSW.ACT contributes to the work and mission of the Uniting Church in NSW and the ACT through social justice advocacy, community services, and spiritual care. We provide care and support for people through all ages and stages of life, with a focus on people experiencing disadvantage and vulnerability. Our purpose is to inspire people, enliven communities, and confront injustice.

Uniting is a Child Safe Organisation committed to promoting the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of children and young people.

Empowered by diversity

At Uniting, inclusion isn’t just something we value. It’s how we work. We welcome people from all backgrounds, experiences, and identities and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, people of all ages, cultural backgrounds, faiths, genders, and sexual orientations.

If you require adjustments to participate in our recruitment process, please let us know.