Director Patient Safety and Clinical Excellence

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• Permanent, full time position
• Attractive salary packaging options + 5 weeks annual leave
• Join a supportive, expert team that values wellbeing and has flexible work options that support a work/life balance
• Opportunity influence patient outcomes and lead improvements in care

Austin Health is the major provider of tertiary health services, health professional education and research across three campuses in the north-east of Melbourne and statewide. We have a highly engaged, diverse and collaborative workforce that is unified by our goal to help people live healthy and fulfilled lives. 

About PSCE Division

The PSCE Division sits within the Directorate of the Chief Medical Officer and provides supports across the organisation to ensure that the care delivered at Austin Health is equitable, patient-centred, safe and of excellent standard. The Division supports this through adverse event reviews, engaging with consumers, responding to feedback and maintaining compliance with the National Standards.

In addition to this, the Division integrates equity and inclusion principles with safety and quality standards for priority populations. An integrated lens of evidence-based practice and improvement science are used to ensure care is improved in a standardised and effective way.

The Division consists of approximately 30 full time equivalent staff with oversight across all Austin Health sites including three Associate Directors. The Director works with the Associate Directors of Patient Safety, Clinical Excellence and Patient Experience as well as nominated national standards leads in the preparation for accreditation in relation to the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards. The PSCE unit will lead the organisation with clinical governance, safety, risk management, adverse events and quality assurance. The Associate Director of Patient Experience works in collaboration with the Associate Directors of Clinical Excellence and Patient Safety to develop, implement and facilitate systems and processes which promote an organisational culture of meaningful patient experience including management of Austin Health’s feedback mechanisms.

About the role 

The Director PSCE provides strong, strategic and operational leadership to the PSCE Division ensuring that safe, inclusive, equitable and high-quality care is consistently delivered and improved at Austin Health. The Director is responsible for leading and managing the patient safety, patient experience, clinical risk, national safety and quality health service accreditation and, quality functions as well as consumer services across the organisation. The Director is responsible for ensuring strong clinical governance structures are in place across every level of the organisation and has oversight of systems improvement to support our staff to deliver equitable, safe, effective and inclusive care.

The Director PSCE will deliver outcomes aligned to Austin Health’s strategic direction and ensure Austin Health’s commitment to meeting requirements under several Commonwealth and State laws associated with quality and safety requirements.  It will do this by focussing on the integration of priority groups initiatives and strategic plans, consumer feedback, consumer partnership and strong clinical governance and quality and safety monitoring.

The Director PSCE has a key role in linking strategy and innovation to clinical excellence, consumer and staff experience in collaboration with People & Culture, ensuring Austin Health is a community that prioritises excellence and safety in all aspects of the organisation.

About you 

You are a values-driven leader with exceptional clinical governance expertise and a passion for clinical excellence and safety in public health. You can think on your feet and communicate effectively with large and small audiences. You thrive in dynamic environments and exemplify effective strategic insight, collaborative leadership, and evidence-based decision-making. Diversity, equity and inclusion factors in to all that you do.

You’ll further bring with you: 

• Proven leadership in clinical governance, safety, and quality within a large health service
• High-level communication, influencing, and relationship management skills across multidisciplinary and stakeholder groups
• Expertise in leading change
• Ability to lead, mentor, and empower teams to achieve performance excellence
• Strong analytical and data-informed decision-making capability
• Relevant Masters level qualification

Our benefits 

Working at Austin Health means enjoying a strong sense of purpose, engaging in meaningful work every day. Our people also receive a variety of rewarding benefits, including: 

• Greater take-home pay through generous salary packaging, for living expenses, meals, and holiday accommodation. 
• A suite of wellness initiatives designed to support you, including discounted fitness memberships and special offers on health insurance, and a comprehensive wellbeing program. 
• Onsite childcare at Austin Hospital, easy access via public transport and car parking options. 
• Mentoring and career development opportunities. 

Work with us! 

We are committed to cultural safety and health equity for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People. We celebrate, value, and include people of all backgrounds, genders, identities, cultures, bodies, and abilities. We welcome and support applications from talented people identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, people with disability, neurodiverse people, LGBTQIA+ and people of all ages and cultures. 

If you feel this role is right for you, we encourage your early application. Even if you don’t meet every single requirement, we encourage you to apply. What matters most is your passion, your drive and your willingness to learn and contribute. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews may take place prior to the closing date. This means we reserve the right to close a job ad prior to the advertised closing date. 

All appointments are made subject to a satisfactory National Police Check and if required, a Working With Children Check. If you require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, you are welcome to reach out to the hiring manager: Heidi Gregory, Acting Chief Medical Officer at Heidi.Gregory@austin.org.au or 03 9496 5432.

Interested in finding out more about this opportunity? Read the position description for further details. 

Application closing date: Sunday 30 November 2025