Director of Research, Nursing
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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 Chief Nursing Officer Directorate
The Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) directorate provides professional, clinical and strategic leadership to ensure the delivery of safe, high-quality person-centered nursing care across the organisation. The Directorate sets and governs the professional standards of nursing practice, workforce capability and clinical governance that support excellent patient outcomes and staff experience.
The CNO Directorate leads nursing workforce planning, education and professional development, credentialling and scope of practice, ensuring alignment with legislative, regulatory and accreditation requirements. It partners closely with clinical services, executive leadership and multidisciplinary teams to support service delivery, innovation and continuous improvement.
The Chief Nursing Officer Directorate is supported by a Nursing Executive team, who are located across all Austin Health campuses, including:
- Director of Nursing, Austin Hospital
- Directors of Nursing, Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital
- Director of Nursing, Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre
- Director of Nursing, Mental Health
- Chief Nursing Informatics Officer
- Director Clinical Education Unit
- Director, Nursing Research
The Clinical Education Unit delivers education and training to the hospital's medical, nursing and allied clinical staff and works closely with university partners and external education providers.
About the role
The Director Nursing Research, provides strategic leadership to develop, implement and sustain a high-impact nursing research program that advances evidenced based practice, improves patient outcomes and strengthens knowledge translation across the nursing profession.
As a member of the Nursing Executive team, the role is responsible for building research capability and capacity within the nursing workforce, strengthening partnerships with academic institutions and ensuring research outcomes translate into improved patient care, workforce development and health service innovation.
The role leads the integration of research within clinical practice consistent with the Austin Health Nursing Professional Practice Framework, fostering a culture where inquiry, evidence and improvement are core to nursing practice
The role will also work with the Austin Health Director of Research to foster multidisciplinary collaboration, build nursing research capacity beyond health services research and across medical specialities.
About you
You will be someone who has excellent communication skills, with a strong commitment to excellence in patient care. You’ll bring energy and drive to your work, and have a keen interest in developing your skillset.
To be successful in this role you’ll bring with you:
- PhD in nursing or related health science
- Demonstrated leadership in nursing or health research
- Experience building research capability within clinical environments
- Track record of peer-reviewed publications and successful research funding
- Evidence of established national academic standing through research contributions
- Strong strategic leadership and stakeholder engagement skills
- Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills for effective research collaboration and engagement
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: Kristie Mackenzie, Chief Nursing Officer at Kristie.Mackenzie@austin.org.au
Interested in finding out more about this opportunity? Read the position description for further details.
Application closing date: Thursday 7 May 2026
