Purpose-led safety where it matters—on the ground, for good.

If safety is more than compliance to you, if it’s about culture, care, and the ripple effect of resilience, if you’re done ticking boxes and you want to build something that protects, inspires, and lasts then you’re our kind of leader.

Join Disaster Relief Australia (DRA) and bring your WHS expertise to the frontlines of real-world disaster relief, recovery and preparedness through. You won’t just lead safety systems—you’ll shape the legacy of how safety is lived across DRA. From cyclone-hit communities to bushfire recovery zones, your work will actually make a difference to our volunteers. Your strategic decisions will directly shape how safe, confident, and prepared our volunteers are as they enter disaster-affected communities.

What you’ll take charge of

• Design and lead a national Safety Management System (SMS) that protects staff, volunteers, and communities—aligned to ISO 45001 and built for action, not just audits.
• Develop and champion scalable safety capabilities: from Safety Officers and Coordinators to mentoring programs and national training pathways.
• Integrate safety where it counts—deployment planning, live operations, risk escalation, incident response, SITREPs, and more.
• Stay ahead of risk—investigate incidents, track regulatory shifts, and embed continuous learning.
• Foster a strong safety culture that’s respected in the field and felt across the boardroom.

Why this isn’t your average safety gig

• Values-aligned leadership – Lead a team where courage, service, and care aren’t just posters on the wall—they guide every deployment, decision, and debrief.
• Mission > Metrics – Trade in the treadmill of corporate KPIs for work that facilitates high performing volunteer teams for communities in need.
• High-trust leadership – Run with bold ideas, own your national remit, and shape a movement, not just a department.
• Real impact, real fast – Drive change across a lean, agile organisation where your influence reaches every corner.
• Hybrid heart – Combine the professional credibility of a national WHS system with the soul of a volunteer-powered NFP.

The mindset we need

You’re a values-aligned safety leader who brings strategic vision and operational credibility. You thrive in complexity, act decisively under pressure, and love mentoring others to elevate safety culture. If you light up when a volunteer says “Thanks, I felt safe today because of you,” this is your kind of mission.

Champion a values-driven safety culture where Courage means speaking up, Tenacity means continuously improving our systems. Your work enables our volunteers to lead, serve, and return home safe. We’re looking for a leader who listens first, leads with empathy, and turns feedback into fuel for culture change.

What success looks like

• Volunteers feel supported, safe, and empowered.
• Safety is embedded into our culture, not just our compliance.
• Operational leaders turn to you early, not after incidents happen.
• Systems grow with us—and never outgrow the people they serve.

Let’s talk

• 5+ years in senior WHS leadership, preferably across defence, emergency services, or high-risk environments
• Experience building org-wide SMS frameworks
• Skilled in safety reporting, training, risk mitigation, and regulatory compliance
• Comfortable deploying to the field and leading from the front
• Bachelor’s degree in WHS, Risk Management or similar

We’re not looking for a manager. We’re looking for a leader.
Let’s build safety that protects purpose. Together.

Key accountabilities

Safety Strategy & System Leadership

· Lead the development and deployment of a comprehensive, integrated Safety Management System (SMS) aligned with industry best practices, ISO 45001, and relevant legislation.

· Design and implement safety frameworks, risk assessment models, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) across all operational and non-operational areas.

· Drive continuous improvement and conduct regular reviews of the SMS to ensure it remains fit-for-purpose and future-focused.

National Safety Capability Building

· Design and implement a national model for recruiting, onboarding, mentoring, and retaining volunteer safety personnel (Safety Officers, Safety Coordinators, etc.).

· Develop national safety training pathways in partnership with the Training & Capability Team.

· Build and sustain a deployable safety capability, including scalable models.

Operational & Strategic Integration

· Provide expert safety input into operational planning, including deployments, exercises, training events, and static activities.

· Coordinate and advise on WHS matters during operations, including the escalation of complex risks and serious incidents.

· Oversee safety reporting (e.g., SITREPs, near-miss logs, WHS incident reports), ensuring quality, analysis, and strategic follow-up.

Regulatory Compliance & Risk Mitigation

· Ensure DRA’s compliance with relevant WHS legislation across all Australian jurisdictions.

· Monitor regulatory changes and adjust internal processes accordingly.

· Lead the investigation of serious incidents and ensure root cause analysis and corrective actions are completed.

· Support the effective management of WHS elements of workers compensation claims and return-to-work processes.

Leadership & Culture

· Foster a proactive and engaged safety culture across all levels of the organisation.

· Influence executive and field leadership to prioritise safety as part of performance and culture metrics.

· Champion safety innovation and change management initiatives to uplift DRA’s risk maturity.

Key challenges

Key challenges of this position include:

· Embedding a consistent safety culture across a dispersed, volunteer-heavy national organisation.

· Aligning diverse safety knowledge and experience levels into a cohesive national practice.

· Ensuring readiness and responsiveness of deployed safety capability under high operational tempo.

· Sustaining momentum in safety leadership during non-operational period.

Capabilities for the role

Personal Attributes

· Strong values alignment with DRA’s mission and ethos.

· Strategic mindset with operational credibility.

· Resilient, proactive, and adaptable in complex or high-pressure environments.

· High degree of professional integrity, ethical conduct, and emotional intelligence.

Relationship & Influence

· Proven ability to influence at executive and field levels.

· Collaborative leadership style that inspires and builds trust.

· Skilled in stakeholder engagement and cross-functional alignment.

Results & Execution

· Demonstrated ability to lead national initiatives and deliver measurable safety outcomes.

· Competent in data analysis and performance reporting to inform decisions.

· Experience in budget planning and resource prioritisation for national programs.

Business Enablers

· A highly developed capacity to coordinate business efforts to ensure synchronised and fully integrated outcomes across DRA.

· A strategic thinker that understands the DRA vision, to identify possibilities that will create sustainable value.

· The ability to navigate comfortably through complex policy, processes and people related organisational dynamics.

· A sound understanding of the legislative instruments that underpin the Organisational Support portfolio.

· Support the implementation of systems improvement initiatives and the introduction and roll-out of new technologies across the organisation.

· Strong project management skills, with the ability to balance multiple priorities under pressure.

· Collaborative and results-oriented, with a demonstrated track record of effective partnership building.

· Analytical and data-driven, with a commitment to continuous improvement in preparedness practices.

Other Requirements

· Willingness to travel nationally as required.

· Ability to deploy to field operations in safety leadership roles.

· Must hold relevant WHS certifications (e.g., Cert IV WHS, ICAM, Lead Auditor)

Location: Flexible - ideally Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, hybrid/remote work

Salary: $110-115,000 p.a. + superannuation, salary packaging, 2 weeks of additional paid volunteer leave

Start: As soon as possible